TWINE1 A/N: A new fic idea I recently came up with. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura in any way, shape, or form. I do not own the song "The World is Not Enough" from that particular James Bond movie. The fic, however, remains mine. I normally would try to protest more in my diclaimers, but I really wanna get on with the fic, so on with it!

Chapter 1: Perfect Soldiers

A/N: This fic takes place in the year 2500. The world has changed a lot over time. Weaponry technology and science are more advanced, and multiple parts of each country have split up to form different, powerful, clans that specialize in a certain field. Many have alliances or peace treaties, and even more are at war. For in this time of great power, the world can only handle one ruler. But who is it to be, when no one can agree?

"I know how to hurt,
I know how to kill,
I know what to show, and what to conceal.
I know when to talk,
And I know when to touch,
No one other day, or wanting too much."

An eight year old child with auburn hair and green eyes steps up to her father, the Head Chief of the Nihongo Clan.
"Otousan, I am ready."
"Good, Sakura. I knew you would be. It is time for you to understand what is going on in the world around you." the older, kindly man says as he leads his daughter into another room.
Pressing a button, a hologram image pops up. Sakura's emerald eyes were watching the picture intently. A voice joined the pictures and explained about the gruesome war taking place between the Nihongo Clan and the Li Clan over world domination, both clans the most powerful out of them all. Battles are shown. People die. The world goes on, and so does the war. The hologram then shut down.
"That is our current situation," explained Fujitaka. "Do you wish to take on your responsibilties?"
"Yes, father. I wish to help our people. I wish to become a soldier and join the war."

*Ten Years Later*

A beautiful auburn-haired woman practiced swinging a sword at an illusional target created by a hologram. Weaponry technology may have been high, but pollution was getting very bad all over the continent, so all the clans had stopped making weapons that created pollution so they would not harm the atmosphere. They didn't mind, as long as they could still fight.
Sakura Kinomoto was the chieftess of her clan since her mother had died when she was only three, killed by the Nihongo's enemy, the Li Clan. Ever since, she had vowed to avenge her mother's death and defeat the Li Clan by becoming the best soldier the world had ever seen. Which she had become. However, only one of the best. Training hard daily to become the perfect soldier, she had set aside her social life and rarely talked to anyone. Very few people knew of her kindness, her faithfulness, devotion, beautiful voice, kind spirit, or anything else that were her good qualities. Everyone only knew the soldier on the outside. Rough, uncaring, unforgiving, unkind. Emotionless. Unable to feel pain. But she knew that was not the real her. But she would never let anyone else know that, because she knew it would make her weak. Learning to love others, to get emotionally attached any more than necessary. So this was how she had become. But that didn't mean she didn't know emotions. Her father knew the real her, as did her brother, Touya, and her faithful guardians, Keroberos and Yue.
Sakura swung again at her fake sparring partner. Doing a 180 turn, she did a backflip over her oponent and slashed at him through his unprotected back. The hologram disappeared. Breathing harshly, she wiped the sweat off her brow with a nearby towel and decided to go train with the other soldiers, so she would have a real oponent.
"Princess Sakura," said one soldier who abruptly stopped his practice as he turned and bowed.
Sakura ignored him and walked past. She looked around for someone available to battle and show off her abilities. Sure, she was known as a soldier, but no one knew of her great talent. She decided that it was now time to reveal her secret strength.
"Alright, everybody listen up!" she called over the clanging of swords. They stopped immediately.
"We are going to have a little tournament to discover who will become our new Captain General. Get into pairs and start duelling. The winner of each duel will battle a different winner, until one person is left. That person will then battle me. If I judge them worthy, they will become the new General. Is that clear?" she said in an authorative voice.
"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am!" they all said in perfect unison, saluting her.
Quickly they paired up and began sparring. Fluid motions met fluid motion, cold steel clanged and crashed against the blade of another, as the echo of deadly weapons reverberated through the room. Sakura watched in satisfaction as the soldiers did their best in their practise and tried to succeed. Once a battle was won, the loser went to the sidelines to watch the others as the winners found other conquerors and battled against them. Soon enough, they were down to the last two soldiers, who were putting on a stunning fight. Then, with one quick motion, one of their blades went to the other's neck and rested their, point touching the warrior's throat.
"Very good!" she said, looking at the tired and sweaty soldiers. "Step forward, knight," she said, directing her gaze to the victor. "Name, please."
"Tsukishiro, Yukito, princess," said the man.
"Ah, you must be my brother's friend," Sakura commented, "he talked about you a lot. Why didn't you join him with the first wave of troops?"
"Prince Touya wanted me to stay behind so that the second wave of troops would have another strong swordsman to back them up," he explained.
Silver flashed through his eyes for a split second. 'Yue is listening,' Sakura thought.
"Alright then. I recognize you as the champion among the soldiers. You will get a ten minute break now before you battle against me."
"But, princess, with all due respect, don't you think battle is a little tough for you? I mean, I'm quite aware of your practice, but don't you think that the skills of the soldiers meant to protect you and the Chief are stronger than your own talent with a sword?"
Sakura smiled lightly. "I do not know myself. We shall soon see."
Yukito looked slightly puzzled at this, but left with the other soldiers for a short break. Meanwhile, Sakura sat down on an elevated spectator seat and did a little meditation. She found it helped clear her mind and help her to focus her powers and abilities. Sitting still, she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She then began to shut out the world on the outside. Sound of the chatter of the warriors. The twittering of the birds. The thoughts rushing through her mind. The wind blowing against the windows. The faint patter of feet. She blocked them all and relaxed, thinking and focusing on nothing. Then she thought only of her breathing. Felt how the muscles in her chest strained as her rib cage expanded and relaxed, as she felt the air rush through her veins and feed her body with oxygen. Then she blocked that out too, and focused on the beating of her heart. Now in a little trance, she was unaware of what was going on around her. The two thumps that came with every beat of the heart, one strong, the other soft. The rythym and pattern it followed. How it pumped her blood through her arteries, sending signals to her brain and enabling her to survive. She then forgot about that too. Digging deeper within her, she explored her soul, looking for the ever growing ball of magic inside her that were her powers. She then focused all her attention to that. Grabbing a small, thin strand of that ball, she threw it around the area outside subconciously and gave it a command. The windows opened and a strong gust of wind entered the room, clearing out the humidity and odour. Getting back into reality, she opened her eyes and smiled. She was learning more uses of her magic. In this case, summoning a wind. The warriors then reentered the room, as Sakura took note that the ten minutes were over. Facial expression changing from one of a small smile to one of deep concentration and authority returned. Smile faded slowly.
"Okay, Tsukishiro. Draw your sword." she said as she drew hers and got into a battle stance, with Yukito following suit. "Begin!" she yelled.
Angling her sword into an offensive, Sakura quickly ran towards him, swinging her sword. He blocked her swing deftly, and took on the offensive. Swiftly and gracefully, Sakura avoided each and every one of his moves without having to use her sword. She flipped over his head and did a quick 180 spin to come just in time to block his swing. Regaining the offensive, Sakura quickly gave a couple of smart blows to his sword, forcing Yukito to jump back. Noticing her ease with the weapon, Tsukishiro concentrated even harder. Swing, duck, block, parry, jump, strike, block, and block again. It was a battle full of quick moves and great skill, none seeming to have the advantage. Doing a back flip away from him, Sakura quickly charged at him at full speed, and just as he was about to swing his blade at her, she quickly did a little turn and avoided him, while bringing her sword around her body after switching sword hands quickly, and pointed the tip of the blade at his neck. He lowered his blade in defeat, as applause rang through the room, since all the other soldiers had come to watch. Yukito bowed towards her in respect, as he gracefully accepted being beaten.
"Well done, princess. I had never known of your great skill."
Sakura smiled. "You are very good yourself. However, since I won, I have become the Captain General of this fleet of soldiers. However, you will be awarded with the second highest position of this fleet. Good battle, Tsukishiro. Keep it up."
He bowed again, and headed off towards the showers with the other warriors milling closely behind him. Just then, Fujitaka Kinomoto entered the room.
"Sakura, I have just heard of your victory. Congratulations, daughter. I always knew you had it in you. I am sure, now, that you may even outrank your dear brother. As the new General of the second fleet of soldiers, however, you must be kept up to date with the happenings of our war with the Li Clan. And here it is: the first fleet is being outnumbered by the army of the Li Clan. They will soon be overwhelmed if they do not get back up soon. Because of that, your fleet must depart soon. It is leaving tonight."
"Yes, father. I will notify the others and prepare."
"Oh yes, Sakura?"
"Nandesuka, otousan?"
"Good luck."
"Hai!"
The Chief of the Nihongo Clan left the room as Sakura headed off to her chambers to pack the necessities for their travel towards the Li Clan's troops and her brother's fleet. 'They say that the war started many years ago,' she thought to herself, 'But to me and many others the real battle is just beginning.'

**********

A/N: Yay! My first chapter! Okay, I would like to know what you think! I think I did pretty well, actually. Please inform me if I spelled Yukito's last name incorrectly, because I was unsure of the spelling, and if I got any of the lyrics of "The World is Not Enough" incorrect. I'm only going to be putting bits of it up at a time. In the last chapter, the last bit of the song will be there. Just combine all the bits of the song from the different chapter to get the entire thing. Thanks for reading, and R+R if you want me to write any more, because I won't otherwise!