Sword - Chapter One
Sword

By Chustang Sundust

Chapter 1
"The Calm Before the Storm"


Through wind-tossed, ominous black hair, a pair of vehement gray eyes seemed to analyze the land before him. A quiet and languid town whose sidewalks bristled with the feathery pink embrace of sakura trees lay invitingly at his feet. The mysterious figure, along with the magical weapon shining dull light along its blade, pulled up the collar of the dark cloak he wore. Another few hours… he thought restlessly.
The unearthly warm wind of change and chaos was blowing steadily at his back; the choice to attack was made now, he was sure of it. Flickering his misty gray eyes aged years ahead of his body with cold intensity, he shook the cowl loose of its stiffness before drawing it over his wild black hair. The figure turned away from his rival's domain and left Reedington in peace to prepare for tomorrow's showdown.

"Sakura!" Li yelled suddenly from behind her, but his voice was conquered by the raspy and dark voice of the storm that roared through their very existence. In the flinty gray depths of the Storm card's funnel cloud, it was hard enough to drive onward through the onslaught of ever shifting winds. With such fury pitted against them, the female Card Captor was constantly swinging the wand she and Li rode to avoid being trapped in its swirling vortex of wind. The wings that sprouted from the end of Sakura Avalon's Sealing Wand violently shook in their frame and the weightless, snow white feathers that were ripped away spiraled with no end into the dark storm clouds. In all the confusion and pure, chaotic nature, it would have been impossible for her to see Li rocking dangerously on the wand in the incessant darting and wheeling. If she had, at any moment, taking her concentration off staying airborne and in control it would have been as futile for them as a leaf in a whirlpool.
Suddenly, a blast of wind attacked them from beneath and it rattled them from their ride. The two kids gave a yell of terror, as the lightweight Sealing Wand was ripped from their grasp. For a split second, their fingers lingered over nothing, left helpless to the storm, and one more blast would have been enough to finish them off. But it seemed the Card wasn't finished toying; Sakura was thrown back onto the wand and her momentum caused the thing to buckle and swing out.
As a reaction, once recovered, she turned her head slightly to check on Li. It came as a shock when those fiery brown eyes she knew… simply weren't there. "Li?" she shouted at the top of her lungs, over the storm. Her green eyes went wide with shock, instantly wheeling the wand around, as she saw him plunging through the winds. "Oh my gosh! Li!" With tears of fear streaming down her face, she wrenched the neck of her ride downward into a dive afterward. This couldn't happen! No!
Her mind blurred with images and each one showed the golden brown eyes of her precious with their magic. He'd haunt her mind constantly, and now, the storm of emotions and pictures was getting harder to shake off. Li, standing in her mind, rich green robes blowing around his frame, with his sword lifted up to his cheek; Li, leaping up to meet the Sword card with his own; Li, staring dreamily out the window at the sakura blossoms in Language class; Li, running down the field in Soccer, weaving easily with the ball through the crowd; Li, enchanting brown eyes watching the river, dipping his toes in; Li, groaning as Meilin tightly flung herself around his waist, then looking up to her.
Sakura blinked away this onslaught of memories just to find she'd dropped back, and she urged the wand down. About fifty feet below her, she saw him grappling to free his sword from its hold in the intolerable wind force. His face twisted up in determination, and his brown hair whipped at his face. As if he was no more than a feather, the Storm cloud seemed to laugh in its windy voice while it tossed him around.
Suddenly, his sword came lose and the experienced Card Captor wasted no time. Straining to lift the blade in the power and untamed attack of the wind, Li concentrated his magical powers that stirred in preparation deep within him. "Rai tei sho rai!" he screamed against the wind, snapping his intense brown eyes open to see Sakura rushing down the funnel to his aid. It dawned on him, just what he'd done, as the sword began to crackle with its lightning energy. "No, Sakura, get out of the way!" he warned desperately, knowing it was too late to avert his action.
Light spilled mystically out in all directions, as sparks whipped across the blade then jolted around jaggedly, forming into a blast of lightning. Silence seemed to overcome the whirl of the Storm card, as the sword warmed up ominously, lit up, and then with a crack of light, spit lightning out in all directions. Li was flung back with the recoil that shot up his hand through the hilt he tightly clutched, and he barely could focus on the darting form of Sakura as the lightning chased after the flying object. Fear snatched at his eyes, darkening his world, and after hitting the ground violently, it was black.

End Chapter 1

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Please go easy on flaming if your going to; this is my first CCS fic, alright! I'm a big fan of the series, but I can only see the English version, Cardcaptors, and they show it in very little order, so I've had little exposure to it. Sorry if I get something wrong; please tell me what and I'll fix it. My Syaoran-chan is so cute! – I just had to do a fic! And it had to be a fic where he was hurt, struggling, then is a big hero! Oops! Did I just give it away? R&R!!!!

Chustang