Giggling echoed down the long corridor of the Daidouji residence. The silver moon grinned optimistically at the town of Tomoeda. The stars twinkled vibrantly in the great distance. It was a cool, calm summer night. The humidity didn't bother to rise or fall.
Sakura, Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko stayed the night over at Tomoyo's large mansion for a slumber party. The clock's hands settled themselves to the numbers, 10 and 6. 10:00 in the evening.
"I know!" Chiharu said as she clapped her hands together. She pointed her index finger at the ceiling. "Let's play 'Truth or Dare'".
"Perfect!"
"Great idea, Chiharu."
"Yeah!"
"Um, okay."
"Okay, okay! My turn to ask first, since I thought of it," Chiharu said gleefully. She turned to Rika. Rika slightly turned pink. "Truth or dare?"
"Um.. truth."
"Okay, Rika-chan—who do you have a crush on?"
Rika turned a shade of bright red.
"Uh—well, er—" stuttered Rika. She blushed even more. All the girls looked at her.
"Come on, Rika. You can tell us. We're your best friends!" Chiharu said eagerly.
"P-promise not to tell anyone?" she squeaked nervously. They all nodded in unison.
Rika took a big gulp. She was perspiring more than anyone had ever seen her.
"I-I-I have a crush on-on…," She hesitated for a moment, looked at everyone and finally said, "I have a crush on Terada-sensei!"
A tiny gasp escaped from each girl's lips. Rika flushed heavily. She had never felt so embarrassed in all her life.
"Really?" asked Naoko. Rika nodded in response. "In fact—we-we're engaged. We're going to get married once I get older…" She stared at the floor.
"I think Rika should get to ask next," suggested Tomoyo. They each exchanged looks.
"Yeah, I think so too."
Rika immediately looked up at Sakura. "Sakura-chan—truth or dare?"
"Hoe?—Oh! Ano… truth—No, dare. Hai, dare," Sakura said uncertainly. She twiddled her thumbs.
Rika thought deeply for a moment. "Hmm…," She snapped her fingers. "I know!"
Everyone stared at her, wondering what would happen next.
"I dare you to…," Rika hesitated. "Forget this! This is a boring game. I wish we had some boys over here. Then we could play 'Spin the Bottle'!"
Naoko gave her a disgusted look. She stood up. "I'm going to go get a glass of water." She then went out the door.
Everyone was left sitting there on the floor in their nightgowns, with nothing to do. They sat uneasily, staring at one another suspiciously, as if they were hiding something. Rika gave Sakura a look that made her feel nervous. It seemed as if Rika was on to her.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
The girls quickly got to their feet. "That sounded like Naoko-chan!" stated Tomoyo. She had a worried look in her eyes.
"Don't worry, Naoko-chan! We're coming!" Sakura cried as she ran out the door. She found Naoko huddled up in the corner of the hallway, trembling in terror. There were bits of broken glass, and a pool of water. Sakura kneeled down to her side.
"What happened?" Sakura asked the frightened girl.
"A black cat p-passed me!" told Naoko. The girls exchanged confused looks.
"Naoko, that's not an emergency," Chiharu said, irritated.
"What do you mean?! That is an emergency! I'm going to have bad luck! And I don't want bad luck!"
Sakura chuckled sheepishly. She helped Naoko stand up. "Come on. Let's get back inside the room."
"Sakura-chan, what was a black cat doing here? We don't own any cats," Tomoyo whispered into Sakura's ear. That made her wonder. It could not have been magic. She didn't sense anything.
Eriol stood on the roof with Nakuru and Suppi-chan.
"Very well done, Suppi-chan," complimented Eriol. He smirked so evilly, it can send chills down someone's backside.
"Hai, Eriol-sama. It was quite simple," Suppi stated quietly. Suppi-chan glanced over at Nakuru, who was now Ruby Moon.
"I think my prank will much better than yours was, Suppi-chan," Ruby Moon said as-of-a-matter-of-factly. Suppi sighed at the guardian.
"My being-the-black-cat-which-scared-Naoko-chan was very simple," said Suppi. "I bet you couldn't do my trick."
She crossed her arms across her chest and grunted. "We shall see about that!"
"Silence, you two," Eriol ordered sharply. "Get ready, Ruby Moon. After that, I shall do my job."
Rika stepped out of the bathroom, with her fluffy, bright green slippers quietly scraping the hardwood floor.
Whoosh.
Rika stopped in her tracks. She looked around in fear.
Whoooosh.
Something passed her from behind. "W-who's there?" she croaked.
Whoosh whoosh.
She then started into a run. Rika stopped to rest once by the closet door. "I think—I think I lost it," she panted.
Suddenly, something very strong grabbed her—like fierce arms—grabbed her and pulled her into the closet.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" All of sudden, the screaming stopped.
The girls inside the room scrambled outside the door.
"Rika-chan?!" cried Chiharu.
"RIKA-CHAN!" screamed Sakura.
"The closet!" said Tomoyo.
Sakura tried to turn the knob, but the door would not budge. She pounded on the door repeatedly, screaming, "Rika-chan! Rika-chan! Speak to me!"
The door then slowly opened, revealing a tragic sight. There laid Rika, with her bright, pale, green nightgown stained with crimson blood. She laid lifelessly. There was no sign of struggle.
The rest of the girls screamed. Tomoyo clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. Her eyes began to water. Sakura grabbed Rika and started to cry. "Rika-chan..!"
"Poor Terada-sama…," whispered Naoko.
"That was beautiful, Eriol-sama!" cried Ruby Moon. She clapped her hands together in joy.
"Hai, arigatou. But of course, you had some part in it too, Ruby Moon," told Eriol.
"Ah, hai, hai. I know!"
"I must say, you were actually good, Ruby Moon," admitted Suppi.
Ruby Moon blushed. "Oh, stop! You're making me all red. I enjoyed speeding behind Rika then killing her. Oh, what fun!"
"What are we going to do now? I don't feel very safe anymore," Naoko told the girls.
"Hai, me too. And I live here!" said Tomoyo.
Sakura twiddled with her thumbs.
She sighed. Naoko stood up.
Chiharu stood up also. "I'll… go." Soon, they both trotted out the door.
"Oh, Sakura-chan. What if I have to move..? I don't want to. I want to stay in this great big house," Tomoyo said worriedly.
"Don't worry, Tomoyo-chan. Everything will be fine," Sakura replied in an almost-comforting voice. She tried to smile, but she just couldn't. Not now. Probably not ever. Everything is not fine, she thought to herself. We'll all be killed. At least I still have my magic…
Two piercing shrieks snapped the two into their senses.
Tomoyo clung to Sakura's arm. "Sakura-chan!" She cried.
Suddenly, a strong force grabbed Sakura out of the room. Another strong force snatched Tomoyo and forced her to stay into the room. Sakura reached an arm to Tomoyo.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" screamed Tomoyo.
"TOMOYO-CHAN!"
The door slammed abruptly. The force released Sakura and flew off. Sakura pounded on the door as Tomoyo screamed piercingly in the room.
"TOMOYO-CHAN! TOMOYO-CHAN!" Tears began to flow from Sakura's emerald eyes. Sakura tried to pound the door once again, but some strange force blocked. Her punch bounced off like putty.
"Hoe?!" She had not sensed the magic. She could still hear Tomoyo's dreadful shrieking.
"SWORD!" She summoned the Sword card, and her Star wand formed into a thin, razor-sharp sword. She tried to blaze her sword through the door, but it failed.
"TOMOYO-CHAN!" She screamed once again. Sakura hoped it would do some good, but she knew it would not work once she heard Tomoyo stopped screaming.
She barged into the door.
Tomoyo lay limply on the floor in a pool of blood, her faded blue nightgown soaked with the burgundy fluid.
Before Sakura could say a word, everything grew dark and cold. Soon, darkness surrounded her. Strangely, she began floating around. She was being controlled weakly, as if she was a marionette.
"Who is doing this?!" She asked. She expected an answer.
Eriol appeared out of nowhere and faced her.
"Konban wa, Sakura-san," he greeted her, smiling.
"Eriol-kun?! W-what are you doing here?!" She asked, surprised out of her wit.
He grinned maliciously. His eyes glowed sinisterly.
"To end this." He grabbed Sakura fiercely by the arm.
"Y-you're hurting me…" Sakura said weakly.
"It's what I want."
And soon, they disappeared, leaving nothing…
… but pure darkness.
