Chapter Five:

The next day at school...



Tomoyo listlessly took her coat and shoes out of her locker. Sakura jogged beside her.

"G'morning, Tomoyo," she tried cheering up her friend with her stories all morning. Tomoyo tried focusing on what Sakura was telling her but found it hard. She wished Sakura would just leave her alone.

Classes started. Eriol didn't show up. "It's so unlikely of him to be late," she thought. After a while, Eriol still didn't show up. He's absent. She started to worry. She wanted to visit him then remembered Kaho.

"Forget about it," she told herself and walked home with Sakura and Syaoran instead.

They were silently walking when they passed the shrine. Just then, the wind seemed to shift direction and blew against them. It grew stronger and stronger until it made a hurricane and started to lash at them. Syaoran drew his sword and tried throwing spells on it. But it didn't help. The hurricane changed its course and headed for Syaoran. It hit him full force and knocked the wind out of him.

"Syaoran!" Sakura cried and ran towards him. "Use Windy," he whispered painfully. She called her staff and used Windy against the hurricane. Windy wrapped herself around the hurricane and the wind died down. She thought it was already over. She was about to kneel beside Syaoran when she noticed the Windy card glowing and dropped to the ground. It shrank its size. Sakura knew. Windy lost its power and was an ordinary card right now.

"No." she tried denying to herself as she picked up the card. In some ways, she felt that Windy has become her friend already. She couldn't bear the thought that she lost her. Tears started to form in her eyes and she clutched the card close to her chest.

"Why? Why did this happen?" she asked herself. She didn't notice that the water rose behind her. It formed pointed icicles and hit Sakura flat on the back. Sakura felt pain jarring through her whole body, reverberating back and forth. She slowly fell, dropping Windy to the ground. "No." was her last word as she slid to unconsciousness. Tomoyo, witnessing all these couldn't take it anymore.

"NO!" she cried as she ran towards her fallen friend. She shook Sakura gently by the shoulder, "Sakura, wake up! Syaoran, wake up! Don't leave me here! Sakura!" she cried. She heard the waters behind her formed itself again. She stood up and looked down, her eyes shadowed. Suddenly, she glowed bright red. Flames seemed to surround her body and lick everything that's touching her.

"No!" she shouted then looked up. She looked so fierce, so savage. Just then, the icicles attacked her, the fiery aura boosted and became brighter, invading everything about her. The sign before her appeared. Then, it formed fiery icicles that wrapped itself around the water and destroyed it all at once and setting fire to the woods by the shrine. Syaoran groaned. Sakura and Syaoran slowly came back to consciousness. She glowed even more and sign became more visible as the fire ate the remaining woods. Then without any warning, Tomoyo unconsciously fell.



The next day at Hiragizawa's house.

"Enough Kaho, I have had enough of your lies." Eriol wanted to shake her. He discovered she's harboring a grave secret. For the first time, he felt so much anger to one person that he wanted to resort to force. He finally realized Kaho wanted nothing from him but his power. That's what she wanted in Touya in the first place. Why would a woman 20 years his senior would live with him after all? How could he be so stupid? Kaho put her tea down. She walked toward the window and leaned on the sill. Then she smiled innocently.

"Eriol, do you know that the longest eclipse in history will happen today?" Eriol was shocked. Of course it's today! He stared at Kaho bewildered.

"Now, don't look so confused. I'll let you in a secret, Eriol, since I really like you so much. The end of the world will be today and I'm one of the instruments. No, Eriol," she shook her head, "I'm not evil. It's what Fate made us to do. And nothing will be stopping it now. Everything will be no more in a matter of," she looked at her watch, "few more hours. Or less."

Eriol couldn't believe her revelation. Swiftly he drew his staff. At once Ruby Moon and Spinnel (in their true form) appeared beside him. Above them is the Clow sign appeared. The room suddenly became dark red and they seemed to floating in space. Kaho looked up and whispered to herself, "Wrong move, Clow Reed." A wry smiled formed in her lips.



Meanwhile, at the school yard.

Sakura didn't talk to her this morning. She couldn't quite understand why. All she knew is she just woke up lying on the ground yesterday, Sakura's worried face was the first thing she saw. What's happening, huh? School was suspended early because of the eclipse. Nobody should miss it, the teacher said. She was walking alone on the abandoned street beside the woods. She sighed. Sakura left her again. 'She's mad at me? Then, why?' she wished she'll confront her about it rather than avoid her. She missed Sakura now. She sighed again, her shoes squeaking on the pavement.

"Tomoyo." came a voice behind her. She whirled around and brightened instantly. But something whacked the side of her head and she unconsciously fell.



At Eriol's mansion.



Kaho formed several rings of fire and threw it to Eriol. Eriol has avoided these weak attacks easily. He knew these rings would go back and he attentively waited for that. At one swing of his staff, he had put the fires out. Suddenly, Kaho wasn't in front of him anymore.

"Looking for me? Here." Kaho whispered from behind. She immediately drew two daggers but Eriol handled the attack easily. He had to admit he was quite surprised by her agility. He smiled in amusement. This would be fun.

Kaho attacked him consecutively, using different weapons. Beams of water, icicles, wind chains and formed different weapons from fire but Eriol could always formulate counter attacks. He wondered briefly why Kaho was continuously attacking him when she should know it would be fruitless. Then, he realized she's not trying to hurt him. Another beam of icicles shot at him from nowhere. His shield barred it. Then he realized something horrifying. Kaho was always appearing at different places around the room. Oh no. She's tying him.



At the schoolyard...



The sky was getting deeper and deeper crimson with each passing moment. Tomoyo woke up and found herself sprawled on grass.

"Huh?" She groggily shook her head. Pain was lancing at her brain and she felt that her head would split into two. Blinking twice, she could see the blurred image of Sakura crying not far from her. Then she remembered what happened. Sakura appeared behind her. At the same time, Syaoran hit her square on the side of her head. She was momentarily lost then tried sitting up.

"Sakura, she's waking up. Get ready," she heard someone whisper to Sakura.

'Why? What happened? Why should they get ready?' She looked up and the sight of it made her back out a few inches. Bathed in the bloody red of the eclipse above them were Yue, Kero-chan and Syaoran all looking at her with murderous look in their eyes. Her heart doubled up beats.

'They would kill me' she realized and Sakura couldn't do anything about it. She was so scared now.

"What's happening here?" she tried to scream them but she just choked the words out. Sakura stood up and quietly said, her eyes dead and expressionless, "This is for the best, Tomoyo. Just don't forget I love you and you're my best friend." She remembered what happened just last night at her own room.



FLASHBACK! "No, Syaoran, you are lying!" Sakura cried as realization dawned upon her. Syaoran looked at the moon outside. "I wish I am just lying. But I'm not. I saw it. The constellations. The divided times. The sun. The moon. We have to do it. You have to do it." Sakura searched Yue's face for consideration. None. Kero-chan's face. She only saw torment there. She buried her face in her arms and cried again.



'What's this? I'm not going away!' she wanted to scream and cry. She was so frightened and scared now. She wished this would be just a big joke or a dream. Suddenly, without any warning, Syaoran drew his sword and leaped at her, slashing at her. She rolled on the grass to avoid it, but Syaoran was fast. He tore her sleeve. Then, Sakura called her key and used the Shot Card on her.

"What?!" was all she can ask and she found herself running through the woods for her dear life. At the sky, the sun and the moon are getting bloodier. Red beams tore through her skirt and gashed her right arm. She's bleeding but not profusely. She's frightened. really frightened.

"No...God, I don't want to die yet," she prayed as she ran faster than she has ever ran all her life. She knew she was just exhausting her energy since the shot card doesn't seem to get tired of pursuing her. Tears pooled at her eyes, making her vision blurry. Above all her fright, cold and numb body is the confusion.

"Why? Why is everybody eager to kill me? Why my friends? What did I do wrong? Oh god, WHY?" she heard herself screaming. Feelings of betrayal and ultimate misery seeped through her. She suddenly tripped on an overgrown root in the middle of the path. She kneeled slowly. Now her knees are gashed too. She clutched the damned earth beneath her.

"I can't run anymore." she cried desperately. She's sobbing and heaving loudly now. She looked up. She saw one red beam heading straight towards her.