Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura belongs
to CLAMP and not me.
" Speech
* Thoughts
() Translation
~ Inserted sound like laughing or
coughing
--*The Punishment*--
Syaoran ran out of the apartment with his sword in its pendant form. He raced towards the airport, not bothering about the traffic, or getting on a bus instead of running.
Meiling watched him disappear of in the distant.
*He didn't even pack any clothes...* She thought worridly, and walked into Syaoran's green room. She took out his suitcase and began packing for him, neatly folding his clothes into little piles. She stuffed some toothpaste and a toothbrush into the bag, and glanced at Syaoran's night table.
There was a picture of Sakura with a flower in her fingers, and smiling brightly. Meiling quickly grabbed the picture from the table and placed it in the bag to.
"Wei?" Meiling carried the suitcase out to the living room.
Wei appeared out of the kitchen with a worried look. "Yes?"
"Can you please ship this to Hong Kong? To the....Zhong Hua Hotel? I'll be booking a room for Xiaolang right now...I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to stay home..."
Wei smiled at Meiling. *She is growing up...* "Of course." He took the suitcase out of Meiling's hands and Meiling hurridly booked a room for Syaoran.
*Now how am I going to contact him?!* Meiling frowned at the problem.
Wei seemed to read her thoughts. "Why don't we phone the airport and tell them to get Xiaolang on the phone? I mean, they wouldn't mind espeically if they knew he was part of the Li-clan."
Meiling nodded and watched as Wei spoke over the phone.
*I wonder if Xiaolang is even there yet...* Meiling spoke to soon, because she heard Syaoran's panting voice over the line. Meiling took the phone out of Wei's hands.
"Xiaolang?"
"What Meiling?! I have to get to Hong Kong! I have no time for this!"
Meiling frowned but continued. "I booked a hotel for you. It's the Zhong Hua Hotel, next to that shopping place we use to always go to. Got that?"
"...Thanks Meiling...."
"My pleasure, and I've told Wei to send your suitcase over."
"Thanks again...."
"What are cousins for?!" Meiling smiled.
"Ok...zai jian (good bye)..."
"Zai jian..."
Meiling hung up and sighed deeply, then she looked at Wei. "Why would the Li-xlan take Sakura away?"
"Maybe....maybe she is part of the punishment..."
Meiling's eyes widened in shock. "But I thought the punishment was just for Syaoran to fight against some crazy monsters that the elders will conjur up! And if he dies he dies, and if he lives, than great! But what does Sakura have to do with this?"
"...Maybe the elders have decided to do a different type of punishment than the traidtional Li-clan one." Wei thought aloud. "We will just have to wait for new Miss Meiling."
Meiling frowned but nodded.
*Come back Xiaolang...with Sakura.*
Syaoran jumped out of the taxi and into the hotel. He checked in, and dumped his suitcase into his huge hotel room.
*Why did Meiling book such a large room?* Syaoran crinkled his nose. The smell of the room smelled of smoke and stail perfume. He quickly opened the window and looked out at the familiar city. *I'm back...*
Syaoran could actually see a bit
of the roof of his house from where he stood. He glared at it and stomped
out of the room and to his house. *Sakura, hang on!*
Sakura groaned softly, and stiffled a yawn. She slowly opened her eyes, and noticed her surroundings were unfamiliar. She sat up, and winced. Her head was throbbing with pain, and she ran her hand over the top of her head, and felt a kind of bump.
*I must have been knocked out.* Sakura looked around the room. It was practically pitch black except for a little light seeping through the closed thick curtains. *Where...where am I?* Sakura frowned and got off the bed she had been laying on.
Suddenly the door opened, causing Sakura to block the sudden light that seeped into the room from her eyes. She slowly dropped her hands down, and noticed a women standing by the doorway.
She had black hair pulled up into a sort of bun. And she had a stern look on her face which made Sakura kind of scared of her.
"Where am I?" Sakura demanded to know.
The women raised her hand and pointed it at Sakura. "You." She started. "Are in my house. Which you can also say, is Xiaolang's house."
"Xiaolang...isn't that Syaoran?!" Sakura gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.
"Yes, you are right. I am Yelan Li, Syaoran Li's mother," Yelan said.
Sakura was confused, and why was she here in the first place. "Why am I here?!"
"Because Xiaolang failed to finish his task. And now, he must face his punishment."
"What do I have to do with this?" Sakura asked, now really confused.
"Because you are part of the punishment." Yelan stated matter of factly.
Sakura backed away when Yelan ordered two men to come in.
"I see my son has fallen in love with your beauty Miss Sakura. But if he fails the task, both of you are dead..." Yelan started walking out of the room, but Sakura stopped her.
"How can you be so cruel to your son?! He's your own son! Your own flesh and blood!" Sakura screamed at her.
"...The elders have their ways..." Yelan replied and disappeared down the hallway.
The two black cloaked men walked towards Sakura.
"What are you doing?!" Sakura cried
out as one of them grabbed her arms. She felt a tingling feeling on her
right arm, as if a needle was being injected into her, and she slumped
onto the floor.
Syaoran burst into the mansion. "WHERE IS SAKURA?!" He demanded.
Shiefa, who was reading a book in a nearby living room jumped off the couch and ran to the front door. "Dear brother!!! What brings you back here?!"
"You know why! So don't act stupid aruond me!" Syaoran snapped back. "WHERE IS SAKURA?!"
"Sakura? Oh, you mean the cute little girl that was brought to the house yesterday?"
"YES! WHERE IS SHE?!"
Shiefa shrugged, "I wasn't really paying any attention."
"Argh! Where's mother?!"
"Right here son."
Syaoran glanced up to the stairs and saw his mother standing there, with a frown. "WHERE IS SAKURA?!" He demanded again.
"The girl you will see if you live through the task. If you don't, you both die."
Syaoran clenched his fists tightly. "WHY?! Sakura has nothing to do with this! I didn't complete the task, and it's up to me alone to face the punishment!"
"But...the task has everything to do with Sakura."
Syaoran glanced down to the right of the room and saw one of the elders there. "What...what do you mean?!"
"No more questions. Let us hurry on with the punishment." The elder snapped and led Syaoran up the stairs and through endless hallways of rooms.
Syaoran had his sword clenched tightly in his left hand as the elder led him down another hallway and around a turn. Strangely, he didn't remember this part of the house.
"How come I don't remember being in this part of my house..." Syaoran asked suspiciously.
"Because this part of the house is created by magic for the task."
Syaoran fell silent as they came to a huge double door that was shining gold faintly.
"Through the doors, you will begin your task."
Syaoran nodded. "I will do this. For Sakura, for Meiling, for Tomoyo, for everyone!"
The elder nodded, impressed by Syaoran's determination. Syaoran reached for the door knob of the door, and he stepped into the room with his eyes closed slightly.
He opened them again when he heard nothing. He turned around, and noticed that the doors had swung right closed again. He tried to open the door, but the knob was stuck.
It was quiet dark in the room, except for a few lit torches along the decorated walls. The floor was made of a peached color marble, and the ceiling reached high up and shaped into a dome shape. The dome shape was made of glass, alowing you to see the sky.
Syaoran returned his gaze back to eye level and scanned the room as well as he could. He took a step, and it echoed throught the room. He had a soft breathing sound, and he walked towards it.
He knew he was getting closer and closer to whatever it was. *This could be my death....* He gripped his sword tighter, causing his knuckles to turn a ghostly white.
Suddenly, the room lighted up and Syaoran covered his eyes from the blinding light with his hands. He slowly dropped his hands as his eyes adjusted to the new light. But when his eyes did adjust, he gasped.
He nearly dropped his sword, but he didn't. He felt his arms go weak slightly and his legs to.
"S..Sakura...?" He walked closer to the familar girl.
She was laying on her back, on a higher platform in the center of the room. Sakura blossoms were sprinkled around her, and steps lead to her.
Syaoran felt something hit him. *Is...is she dead?!* He shook the though away since he could here the soft faint breathing of Sakura.
On the platform was a smaller stand where the Clow Book was, and beside it was the Clow Key.
*...What are they doing here?!* Syaoran walked up the steps. *This can't be the punishment...it's to...easy...*
He reached out to touch Sakura, but fell back. There was some energy sheild blocking Sakura away from Syaoran. Syaoran slowly stood back onto his feet, and reached for her again. This time, Sakura's eyes shot open and she shot into a sitting position.
"Die Syaoran!" She cried.
AN: Die Syaoran?! Now why did Sakura
say that?! And what the heck is going on?! Read on to find out! Please
R+R =)
