Disclaimer: Yes. I don't own CCS....CLAMP does. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUB IT IN!!!

Darkness

By: Sakura1301

Chapter 4 Stuck in A Bind

The following morning came quickly for many, but for one young man, it came slowly. Too slowly.

The sun streamed it's way down onto Li Syaoran's face. He slowly cracked an eyelid open. As soon as the light hit his eyes, he pulled the covers over his head. "Go away stupid sun....can't a guy get some sleep around here!?" He yelled. Suddenly, his alarm went off. He poked his head out of the covers and glanced at the clock. It read 6:45 AM. He lazily reached his hand out and swatted at the clock. Hoping to make the irritable buzzing sound go away. As soon as the clock was turned off, he swung his feet over the side of the bed and headed for the shower.

Tomoyo hummed merrily as she flipped a pancake over in the pan. She stopped as Li walked in. She looked at him. "Your finally awake. You know what time it is?" He shook his head. She put her hands at her hips and sighed. "It's 7:05. School starts at 7:45. So we have 40 minutes. Now, eat quickly. We have to get you inrolled at our school today. So hurry." She slid a plate of pancakes towards him. He eyed it quizically. "Don't worry. It's safe." He looked at her and then turned his attention back to his food. He slowly picked up his fork and started to eat.

~7:35 AM~

"Okay Mr. Li. Here's your new schedule. And i'll leave it up to Ms. Daidouji to show you around campus. Have a nice day." The principal then shoved the two out of his office and out into the hall.

Tomoyo glanced at her watch. "Okay. We have ten minutes to spare. Now, how about I show you around campus?" He nodded. "Good. Lets go!" She then grabbed his hand and started to drag him along. Showing him all of his classes.

Sakura walked slowly along the sidewalk. She sighed. She didn't want to go to school today. She didn't want to face Li Syaoran. And if she was lucky, he wouldn't be in any of her classes. Plus, she wouldn't see him the whole day. It was his fault her life had been so miserable. But if it wasn't for their promise, then she might of not been alive that day. She sighed again. Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch. "Hey Sakura!" It was Eriol. "Hey Eriol." He blinked. "You...you actually said something to me...." She looked at him sadly then at the ground. "I....I feel even worst. Now that Li's back...." She said quietly. He patted her back. "Why do you feel bad? You haven't done anything to him." "Yes I did. Yesterday...when he came back...I ran." "Ran?" "Yeah...I ran from him." "Oh...well, don't worry about it Sakura-chan! That was then. This is now! So cheer up!" He said as he clenched his fist. She sweatdropped. She gave him a weak smile. "Thanks Eriol." He smiled. "No prob!"

Sakura sat in her first class of the day. Geography. This had to be the most BORINGEST class in the whole world. It was easy and stuff, but it was just SO boring. The teacher walked in.

"Settle down class!....I said SETTLE DOWN!" Everyone ran to their seats and set all of their attention on the teacher. "I have an announcement to make!" Sakura didn't care. She turned her attention to the Sakura blossoms perched on the Sakura trees below. "We're going to have a new student join us today!" Sakura didn't even hear what Mr. Hanmatsuura was saying. "You can come in now." He said. Just then, the door slid open and the class went silent. Li Syaoran appeared in the doorway. Whispers swept through the class. The girls were sighing and some making it a gossip topic while the guys clenched their fist and grumbled. "Class, please welcome Li Syaoran. He's a transfer student from Hong Kong. So treat him as you would like to be treated. You may have a seat in any seat that is available." Li nodded and looked around. He then spotted Sakura. She was turned in her seat to where she was facing the window. He smirked and headed to the empty seat behind her. 'This is just perfect. I got a seat behind Sakura like old times!' He thought cheerfully. As he walked towards the empty seat, he could feel glares coming from the guy population in the class room. But they didn't faze him. He continued towards his destination.

Sakura watched the flowers. 'Oh, I wish I was a flower. They don't have any troubles at all. They just sit there...' Her head snapped up. She felt it. The green aura. It was coming from the back of the class room. She turned her head. It was Li. He smiled gently at her. She only turned her head away so that she was facing the front of the class and away from Li Syaoran.

Li sighed. It was going to be a long school year.

~After School~

Sakura had her eyes glued to the ground. She didn't care where she was going. Life was so depressing at times. She stopped in her tracks. She felt it. She felt it again. The same as last time. She broke into a run towards the park, where the power was the strongest. As soon as she made it to King Penguin Park, the feeling of power died. She dropped her bag and called out her key. With out words, it appeared in her hand. Her head darted in every direction. Hoping to spot something. Just the, she heard foot steps from behind. She knew who it was. There was only one person that she knew that had a green aura. And that was Li. "Sakura. Did you feel it too?" He asked as he panted for air. No answer. He looked at her. She had a dead serious look on her face. Li called out his sword and had incantations in his hands. Just then, two green vines launched themselves from the trees towards Li and Sakura.

Sakura saw the vines coming. She tossed out her jump card and wings grew on the back of her shoes. She jumped out of the way.

It was so sudden. Two green vines just shot out of the trees at Li and Sakura. Li had been practicing magic all of his life. So he called out. "Element! Fire!" And fire shot out of the small incantation in his hand and hit right smack into the vine. The vine caught on fire and fell limp to the ground. Li smirked. This was too easy. Or so he thought. Out of no where, five more vines shot out towards him. His eyes widened and he decided to make a break for it. He spotted Sakura up ahead, jumpping from limb from limb. He decided to follow.

Sakura had to think of something. And something quick. The vine was starting to catch up with her. As soon as she blinked, five other vines shot out from the ground below her. Now she had six on her ass. She took a quick look behind her. She spotted Li following her. She started to think of different cards. Shield! Or course! She tossed the SHIELD card out and hit it with her wand. A pink bubble surrounded her. She stopped on the limb and turned around to face the vines.

The vines saw that Sakura had stopped. But it didn't stop. It headed straight for her.

Sakura saw Li coming closer and closer but before he could make it to the SHIELD'S protective bubble, the vines got to her first. She thought the SHIELD would work. But as soon as the vines came in contact with the SHIELD, the SHIELD vanished. Sakura's breath caught in her throat as everything seemed to go in slow motion. She looked up and saw Li yelling at her but then, he fell over as the vines grabbed hold of his ankles. Then she looked towards the vines coming towards her. She was about to call the FLY card but before she could, the vines wrapped itself around her waist. Everything then seemed to flash by fast. The vines wrapped around her and she dropped the Star Staff in the dirt. She grabbed the nearest thing to her, a tree branch. It wasn't very big so it was starting to crack. She stretched her arm out and had barely managed to grab hold of the staff before the limb broke and she dragged along the dirty ground.

Everything was hazy. Her head was spinning and she felt like something was rubbing her arms and waist. Suddenly, flashbacks of what had happened appeared in her head, causing her eyes to snap open. She looked around. She was still in the forest. She felt some tugging from behind her. She looked behind her only to see....Li Syaoran. And he was tied along with her. She had to get away. And fast. She started to struggle with the vine bindings around her. Then, she saw a flash of green light. She looked around, when suddenly, something jumped in front of her. She looked closely. It accured to her. It was the BIND card. It looked almost like the storm card except it was green with red eyes, and vines for hair. It grinned evily. Sakura glared at it. It snapped it's fingers and the binding around their waists disappeared and one of the bindings around Sakura's and Syaoran's wrist disappeared. Only leaving on binding on, and that bound Sakura and Syaoran together....by the wrist. Just as fast as it appeared, it disappeared. Sakura looked around. And a thought struck her. Where was her staff!? She grabbed the string that held it on her neck. She sighed a breath of relief. It was on her necklace. Good. She started to head home, but then, she felt a tug on her wrist. She looked down. The horror. The binding around her wrist that was once vine was now metal. She then followed the 'other' wrist up to it's owner. Her breath caught in her throat. She was STUCK to Li. Great. JUST great. He looked up to her and grinned. "Uh...hey Sakura. Isn't this a suprise? That we get stuck together by a card? Hehe...." He trailed off as he saw Sakura frown. "You could at least say 'hi.' Ya know." He said. She ignored him and started to drag him along. "Hey...HEY!? Will you cut that out!?" He said as his wrist started to ache as she tugged. She kept on walking, ignoring his plea's. When they were almost out of the forest, he was getting pissed. "Hey! Why aren't you talking to me!? Answer me!" She didn't. "Sakura! Stop being selfish!" It felt like a knife hit her in the gut. She stopped. He blinked. "Sakura?" She lowered her head as tears started to well up in her eyes. "Selfish?" She whispered. "Am I being selfish?" Her head shot up and was now glaring at Li. "How can you think I am being selfish!? I was the one who had to suffer! Not you! Im not the one who made the phone call! Do you know how long I waited for you?" Her voice was getting softer. "Do you? Do you!? Ever since you left I waited. I even waited for you after that phone call! Day after day I waited....and I waited. But you never came! And now look! Look at whats happened to me! Im not the Sakura you knew back then! Im not! I've lost all of the Love! Look into my eyes. Do I look like the Sakura you knew? The one that loved you and would do anything for you? The one that would wait till the end of time for you to return?" Her voice grew to a whisper again. "No...the Sakura you knew is gone. And she's not coming back. She's not. She's never coming back. EVER!" She got on her knees and started to cry into her hands. Now Syaoran knew how she felt. And he felt extremily sick. If he had known that this was going to happen, he would of never made that phone call and would of lied to his mother. In the Li clan, it was unhonorable to lie. But it would of been better than this. Way better. He slowly begun to stroke her hair. But then he heard a small whisper. "Just leave me alone...." So he lifted his hand away and sat down.

~Later that night....~

Syaoran had been sitting down for hours now. Wasn't she done yet? He looked at her. This time, she had her head up. "Are you ready to leave?" He asked quietly. "Yeah. I guess." And she stood up. "So...my place or yours?" He asked. She said, "Yours." coldly. He shrugged. "Fine with me. Lets go." And they headed off.

~Tomoyo's~

Sakura looked at Tomoyo's 'house'. "Why are we here?" She asked coldly. "Im staying here for a while. Tomoyo offered a room to me here till I can find my own." He said casually. "Oh. Figures." He blinked. "Whats that suppose to mean?" "None of your buisness. Keep your nose where it belongs." "Oh, and wheres that?" "Out of my business. Thats where." He didn't like the tone in her voice. It was too cold to be his Sakura-chans. They pressed the doorbell at the gate. "Hello. Daidouji's residence. Who's this?" It was Tomoyo's sweet voice. "It's me." "Oh. You. Okay. Come in." Her voice changed as soon as she heard Li's voice. Li noticed. 'Dang. Why is everyone being so cold?' He thought. He remembered Sakura's speech at the park. 'Ugh. Why didn't I realize this sooner? Im such a Baka.'

Tomoyo opened the door, only to come face to face with Li and a grumpy Sakura. "Sakura? What are you doing here?" "Oh, I just came here on my own will. Thats all." She said sarcastically. Li tapped her shoulder. She looked at him. He pointed at their wrists. "Oh, I see. Sorry. Come in." They both stepped in. "So...what happened here?" Tomoyo asked. "Ask him. I don't feel like talking now." Tomoyo smiled at Sakura, understanding how she felt at the moment. "So Li, what DID happen?" "It's a long story. We should sit down first." Tomoyo nodded and shut the door behind them as they headed for the living room.

Sakura sat there totally bored and thoroughly pissed from this situation. 'I wish I didn't have to sit next to him. If he hadn't been following me and kept his nose in his own business, then none of this would of happened.' She thought to herself. She felt a tap on her shoulder. "Sakura...are you okay?" It was Li. "Im perfectly fine except the fact that im stuck with you and all." "Im sorry Sakura. It wasn't my idea anyways." He said softly. Sakura sighed. "Yeah. I know. It wasn't mine either. *Yawn* Im tired. Im gonna head to bed." As soon as she stood up, she fell back down onto the couch. She looked down. "Oh yeah. I forgot. So, how are we gonna sleep then?" Tomoyo grinned. 'Even if im pissed at Li, I still can't resist this!' Tomoyo thought. "I know, you two can sleep together! It's the easiest way!" Li blushed, Sakura turned blue, Tomoyo had stars in her eyes. Sakura thought a moment. "Ugh. I hate this. I hate myself. I hate my life. I hate everything." "Whats wrong Sakura?" Tomoyo asked. "How do we use the bathroom? How do we shower? How do we cooperate?" Tomoyo sweatdropped. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that. Hehe....well, we'll figure that out later when it comes up." Li blushed even more when he started to think about the shower idea. Sakura noticed his red face. "Etchi...." (Pervert) She mumbled. "Well, I don't have to use the bathroom, so...what about you?" She asked Li. Hoping he didn't. "I don't." He answered immediatly. She released her breath. 'Good. He doesn't. Thank Kami-sama.' She thought. "Okay, then lets get to bed." Tomoyo said as she ushered the two upstairs and into a bed room. She then quickly shut the door.

Sakura looked around, confused on what had just happened. "What just....happened?" She asked. "Tomoyo pushed us inside." He said casually. "Okay...."

Sakura turned on her side. It was just SO IMPOSSIBLE to sleep! She looked over to Li. He was wide awake. He glanced at her. "Can't sleep?" He asked. She yawned. "No." "Same here." Sakura rolled onto her back. Both looked at the ceiling. "Li....what about school?" He froze. Good question. What about school. "I....I guess we'll just have to...skip it tomorrow...." Sakura snorted. "Yeah....great...just great. Now im gonna have homework."

Li was about to open his mouth but paused....was it the right thing to ask? He shrugged. "Hey Sakura...." "What is it now?" "Did you really wait?" "Wait for what?" "You know...for me." "Oh, yeah. I had a promise to keep and I wasn't about to break it." "You know, I tried to come back, I really did." "Can it. I don't want to hear it. Explain it to me later when I feel like listening." "Okay...." He trailed off. Silence...... "So, what are we gonna do tomorrow?" He asked. "We're gonna go find that card. Duh." "Oh...hehe...I forgot." Sakura rolled her eyes. They both laid there, listening to the clock hanging on the wall tick away. "Goodnight. Im gonna at least try to sleep tonight." Sakura said. "Yeah. Same here. Goodnight Sakura." "Yeah. Same to you." And both TRIED to sleep.

Tomoyo bust through the door with a gong in her hand. "Okay sleep heads! Wake up! School is starting soon! So get up!" She said as she hit the gong repeatedly. "Ugh! TOMOYO! STOP!" Sakura yelled. Tomoyo smiled. "Good. Your awake." "Yeah...." Sakura tried to scratch her side but she felt tugging on her arm. She looked at Li and screamed. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Li jumped up so quickly that he fell off of the bed....and pulled Sakura down with him. "HEY! WHAT DID YA DO THAT FOR!?" He asked while he rubbed his head. "Oh, sorry. I forgot you were there....." She trailed. An idea popped in her head. "Im such a baka. Why didn't I think of it before?" She asked herself. "What?" Tomoyo and Li said in unison. "Why don't we use the ERASE card to get rid of this...this thing on our wrists?" Tomoyo and Li smiled. "Good idea!" Tomoyo said. Sakura pulled out her cards and her star staff. Without words, the staff grew to full size. She then started to shift through the cards. "C'mon...I know it's in here somewhere....ah! Here it is! ERASE card! Erase the bindings on our wrists! ERASE!" The card flew out of its card-like state and flew strait at the bindings. A bright light light the room and as soon as the light faded, the bindings still remained and the card returned to Sakura's hand. They all looked down. IT WAS STILL THERE!!! Sakura sighed. "I guess it's time to call Kero. I'll bet he knows what to do." Sakura said. Tomoyo pulled out her cell phone out of nowhere and pressed speed dial.

~Kero's phone~

"NO!!!!! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! Stupid phone." He slowly flew towards the phone. "Moshi moshi." "Kero! This is Sakura." "SAKURA!? WHERE WERE YOU!? WHERE DID YOU GO!?" "Calm down Kero. I need some help." "Okay. Go on." "Well, you see, Li and I encountered a card yesterday." "And?" "Well, it put some kind of bind around out wrists...and now, it wont come off. We even tried to use the Erase card, but it didn't help." "Hmm...sounds like the BIND card." "Kero! We already know its the BIND! But how do we get it off!?" "Well, sorry to say this, but your stuck till you catch that card." "Oh, that really helps." "Also, I forgot to mention this, but some attack cards don't have effect on them. The only attack cards you can use are the Four basic elemental cards. Because Clow Reed made them stronger than the others, they should be able to handle the other cards without much difficulty." "Okay. That helps a little...." "Well, anyways, WHERE ARE YOU!?" "Im at Tomoyo's." "Oh. Also, your dad was worried sick about you. I don't know if he still is." Tomoyo cut in. "Don't worry, I called him last night and told him you were staying here." Sakura smiled. "Thanks." "Sakura...are you listening!?" Kero asked. "Yeah." "So...who were you stuck to again?" "Weren't you listening!?" "No." "Oh...figures....Im stuck to Li." Kero turned red. "Your stuck to that-that GAKI!?" Sakura sighed. "Yeah." "If he does anything to ya, just tell me, i'll get him for ya!" "Thanks Kero, but no thanks. I can handle myself." "Okay...fine, suite yourself. Well, gotta finish this game. See ya." "Yeah...see ya..." And they hung up.

~Tomoyo's~

"So, what did the Stuffed animal say?" Li asked. "We're stuck till we get that card." "Great." Tomoyo cleared her throat. Everyone turned their attention to her. "So....are you going to go to school then?" They shook their heads. "No. We got more important things to worry about." Tomoyo looked at her watch. "We have 30 minutes to spare." "Okay, how about breakfast?" Sakrua asked. Just then, she felt funny. "Whats wrong Sakura?" Tomoyo asked. "I have to go to the bathroom...." Tomoyo giggled, and Li just looked at her funny.

"So, how are gonna do this again?" Sakura asked. Sakura had gotten lost as Tomoyo started to ramble on and on about different things. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away. Okay, all we have to do is blindfold Li till your done. Easy. Huh?" "Yeah. But still....If you look once, I swear, i'll pound you into the ground Li." Li gulped. He didn't even plan on looking.

Sakura emerged from the bathroom with a blindfolded Li behind her. "Okay, done." Tomoyo took the blind fold off. "Hey Li, do you need to go?" Tomoyo asked. "No. I don't." "Are you sure? Your acting like you do." "I-I don't....really. I don't." "Last time before you have to hold it for several hours....." "FINE!" He shouted. Tomoyo walked up to Sakura and put the blind fold on her. "Can you see out of it?" "No." "Good. Now hurry. I have to leave soon." They slowly made their way towards the bathroom.

They soon returned. "So, you guys done?" Tomoyo asked. They nodded. Suddenly, Tomoyo smelt something. "What is that stench???" She asked. They shrugged. She headed to the door to see if it was coming from the hall, but as she got further away from the two, it became lighter. She then headed towards the two. "OH MY GOD!!!" She shrieked. "WHAT!? WHAT!?" They asked. "YOU GUYS SMELL!" They smelled themselves. "I don't smell anything." They both said. "Yeah, smell eachother then. They shook their heads. "No way!" They said. Tomoyo sighed. "You both need a bath or a shower, or something!!!" She said. They blinked. "Now, lets see..." She said as she put her finger to her chin. She thought for a minute.

~Down stairs~


*SPLASH!* Tomoyo pushed Sakura and Syaoran into her hot tub. "HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" They asked. "Stay here." And she disappeared in a flash.

In about a few minutes, she had returned with a few items. Sakura and Syaoran sat in the hot tub with their clothes totally wet. "Here." She said as she tossed them both some bottles of liquid soap and shampoo. She took a quick glance at her watch. "OH MY GOSH! Oh, wait...I know! I'll skip school today to help you two. It's for the best." She said happily. Sakura and Syaoran sweatdropped. She then tossed them both a wash cloth each. "There you two go. Oh wait. Almost forgot. Stay here." And she disappeared again.

She came back a few seconds later with a pair of scissors in her pocket. "So Tomoyo, what did you get?" Sakura asked. "Oh, just a little something. Don't move." They both froze. She walked behind them and grabbed a box of bubbles. She tossed a few scoops in and turned on the bubble jets. It started to bubble up. "Why did you do that for Tomoyo?" Sakura asked. "I said don't move. It something that your going to need." She walked up to Sakura and got on her knees. "Now, close your eyes, both of you." They did as they were told. She pulled out a pair of scissors from her pocket. "Oh yeah, can you both stand up?" They stood up. She started to cut the bottom of Sakura's shirt and worked her way up. "T-Tomoyo...what are you doing?" Sakura asked as heard some cutting. "Don't look." After a few minutes, it was done. All she had to do was peel the shirt off. Now it was Li's turn. She started to cut his shirt. After a few minutes, it was done. She peeled the shirt off of Li first, then Sakura. As soon as Sakura felt cold air hit her skin, she opened her eyes. Li's were still closed. She looked down and immediatly dove under water, taking Li down with her. They both came up but Sakura only came up till the water came to her chin. "Tomoyo! How could you!?" "What?" Li asked. Of course the bubbles were everywhere so he couldn't tell. But Sakura was still trying to cover herself up. "TOMOYO! THAT WAS MY BEST SCHOOL UNIFORM!!!" She shrieked. Li was totally confused. 'What is going on here?' He thought. The water met his waist but Sakura was almost all the way under. "Whats wrong Sakura?" He asked. "NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!!!" He flinched. "Oh come on now Sakura. It's not like your never going to show him." "SHUT-UP TOMOYO!" This was the most imbarrising thing to have ever happened to her before. Li was still clueless. "Whats going on?" He asked. Tomoyo grinned evily and pulled up Sakura's wet shirt. Li turned bright red and stumbled back and fell into the water, only tugging at Sakura's wrist. "Tomoyo...." She growled. "Why don't you two scrub eachothers backs?" She asked. Sakura clenched her fist. 'Who's side is she on anyways!?' Sakura thought. "No." Sakura said. Li just looked at the bubbles in the water. How imbarrising. 'How low can she go!?' Li thought. Just then, the door bell rang. "Hold on." Tomoyo said before she ran off to get the door.

Tomoyo opened the door only to come face to face with Eriol. "Hi Eriol. What brings you here?" She asked sweetly. "Well, when you didn't show up at our usual meeting spot, I got worried. So I came to see if your alright." She hugged him. "Your so sweet! Well, actually, im having trouble with Sakura and Li cooperating. Maybe you can help?" He smiled. "Sure. Anything for you." He stepped in and followed Tomoyo to the Hot tub.

Sakura was still red and same with Li. Both had done nothing but look at the bubbly water. Just then, they heard footsteps. They looked up to see Tomoyo, and.....Eriol following her!? Sakura turned even redder and went under till only her eyes and nose were above the water. Eriol blinked. "Quite....interesting...." "SHUT-UP ERIOL!!!" They both yelled. He grinned. 'Great. Now I have two guys in here gawking at me.' Sakura thought. Eriol smiled at Tomoyo and whispered something in her ear. She grinned. "Why didn't I think of that?" She said. "Okay, listen up! If you two don't wash up, then, your not getting any dry clothes!" They turned blue. Not good. Eriol and Tomoyo then left. But before they left the room, Tomoyo said, "And when your done, come tell me." Sakura gritted her teeth. She was gonna get Tomoyo for this.

To be continued....

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I know. Long chapter. Well, for me it was. I tried to add some humor to it. Next chapter is where we left off. Sorry it took so long. I feel tired. My sister wants me to go swimming in the new pool every freakin day and she wont stop! I hate the pool. I REALLY hate it. Also, the story stranded, im taking a LONG break from it. Sorry. Im just tired of messing with that story. It feels like its never going to end. I just want to delete it but I cant. I have too many reviews for it. Well, i'll post the next chapter soon. Please review!