"What The Cards Were For"

A Card Captor Fanfiction

By: Bekah-chan

Rated: PG (for,

fire damage)



Disclaimer: I don't now, have never, and will never own Card Captors. *sigh*



I like the Reviews...... Thank You! =)



Chapter 31:

Luckily Sakura's father had packed some clothes for her, so she had something dry to change into. And, since this was his apartment, Syaoran wouldn't have any trouble finding attire that was........ less damp. Sakura was already changed and was currently sitting on the edge of the tub, toweling her hair dry. But she wasn't really paying attention, so her hair was starting to resemble a baby chick that got dunked then assaulted with a blow-dryer.

Instead Sakura was thinking about what Kero had, and hadn't, said. She was about to ask Kero if there had been anymore of Clow's visions involving her and Syaoran, when the water fiasco made her forget her question. There were many other frantic thoughts also bouncing around in her head. How could they fight this? They didn't even know what it was! And Sakura had never felt less confident in her own magical powers. Which reminded her of something else Kero had said. Sakura absently folded the towel she was still holding in half, draping it over the towel-rack to dry. Then she left the bathroom and went looking for that floating fluff-ball. She had some questions, and she wanted answers.

She went down the hall and into the kitchen. Someone had wiped the chalk marks off the floor, but they hadn't been able to get the wax from the candles up. Sakura hoped it didn't come out of Syaoran's deposit. The table and chairs were also back in the kitchen, which was where Sakura located Kero.

"There you are," Kero said, coming to land on the table next to a candle that was taller than he was. It was a plain white taper, held securely in a pewter candlestick. "This is where we start practicing," Kero explained, giving the candle a little pat. *sigh* It seemed that her questions would have to wait.

Sakura pulled out a chair, and sat down at the table. She was resigned to her fate, she needed to get used to this magic, fast.

"What do I do?" she asked her Guardian.

"I want you to light this candle," he indicated the object again, "using magic."

Touya came to stand on the left side of the table, Syaoran, who was wearing dry clothes in the form of jeans and a green T-shirt, on the right. They both held fire extinguishers, and Sakura began to feel uneasy.

"Kero," she asked, "will what happened with the wa..."*gulp* ~Careful not to say 'water', Sakura~ "what happened in the livingroom, happen this time?"

"It might, that's why we have the extinguishers, but I don't think so. I'll walk you through it, we'll take it step by step, and I have every confidence that you'll avoid frying us all," he gave her his most reassuring smile, which always looked kinda funny on his cute little face. But it did help her feel better, and she was grateful for that.

"Okay, what's first?"

"First, I want you to go into a semi-trace, like I taught you to do when you were sensing for Clow Cards." She closed her eyes and did as he asked. In front of her she felt the small sun of power that meant 'Kero'. To her left was a faint trace of Moon magic. Sakura realized she was sensing her brother's link to Yue. Which meant that her magic senses were also increased, as she had never sensed it before. To her right the Card Mistress sensed the warm, affectionate pull of Syaoran's magical aura. She almost smiled at the feelings of concern and support coming from him. It made her remember, what seemed like eons ago, but was probably less than 12 hours, when she had declared her love for Syaoran, in front of Guardians and family. She wondered how he felt about her, making a mental note to talk to him after this was over. If they were still alive, that is. *sigh*

"Stay relaxed Sakura," Kero voice came floating to her, "and turn your senses on yourself, tell me what you see." Again she did as he asked. She was almost blinded by the 'sight' of her magic, now flowing through her veins and giving her skin a physical glow. Looking at it this way, it was easy to see why her magic was now visible, it was just too *bright* to stay within the magic spectrum. So it was spilling into the real world where anyone, magic or not, could see it. She tried not to think of what would happen if she went to school, glowing like a beacon. She told Kero what she saw.

"Now, look in your magic for the place where the Cards are." She found it quickly, the place was more 'cardy' than the rest of her magic.

"Found it."

"Good, now make contact with the Fiery Card."

~Fiery, are you there?~ she got an instant response.

~Yes, Mistress? What do you require?~

~I'm not sure, Kero's having me do an exercise~ she explained, ~How are you guys doing?~

~Oh, we're fine Mistress. We've been playing charades~

Charades? ~Who is winning?~

~Well, the Illusion *was* winning, but it was disqualified for cheating.~

~Cheating? The Illusion? How?~

~Well, how hard is it for people to guess you're a tree, if you turn into a tree?~

~That makes sense~ in an odd way ~So, who's winning now?~

~The Silent Card, it's got experience communicating without words.~

~True~ back to business ~I'm going to see what Kero wants us to do. Be back in a second.~

~I'll be here Mistress.~

"Kero?" she spoke aloud, "I found Fiery."

"Good, now remember what I told you? About why Clow made the Cards?"

"Which part?"

"That the Cards are here to help teach you how to use different parts of your magic?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Great! The Fiery can teach you how to do fire magic. Now ask it to show you how to light this candle." Sakura turned her attention inward again.

~Fiery?~

~Yes, Mistress?~

~Kero wants me to light a candle with fire magic, he says you can show me how.~

~Of course, Mistress. If you could move over?~

~Move over?~

~I don't have a body, remember?~ she felt it smile.

~Oh, right! Sorry, I'll move~ she couldn't explain how she did it, but suddenly Sakura shifted to the side, allowing Fiery to take control.

The Fiery opened Sakura's eyes, which was very odd for Sakura. She could see through her eyes, but had no control over her body at all. But she didn't panic, she trusted Fiery, and Kero. They knew what they were doing, right?

~Okay, Mistress watch closely.~ She did as it asked, listening as it described what it was doing. Sakura was glad that it continued to speak to her in her mind, and not out loud, even though it could have. Hearing her own voice talking to her would just be *too* weird.

Sakura's/Fiery's eyes focused on the candle's wick. The Fiery kept up a running commentary of it's actions for Sakura, as it pulled the potential for the element of fire out of the air. Then touched it to the wick, which burst into cheery flame.

~Did you get that?~ asked the Fiery as it moved back to let Sakura take control again.

~Yes, I think so.~

"Now you try, Sakura," Kero said drifting up to snuff out the candle.

Sakura closed her eyes to concentrate better, visualizing the wick in her mind. She tried to recreate Fiery's actions exactly. Searching with her mind to find *just* the right kind of oxygen molecule. Hey, there was a bunch! They felt like they *wanted* to burst into flame, she was happy to help them. Sakura slowly brought the molecules to touch the picture of the wick she still held in her mind. She'd done it!

But, right before Sakura opened her eyes, she heard the unmistakable sound of two fire extinguishers going off at the same time. Her eyes opened quick as, well, a wink. She found a world made white by the patented effervescence of fire-extinguisher foam.

In the middle of the table stood a slightly singed Kerberos, next to a puddle of melted wax. "I think you need more practice, Sakura."

To Be Continued ^_^