Author's Note: I'm in SUCH a good mood right now, because I just saw "The Third Element" (obviously my all time FAVORITE episode)! So here's Part 20...which goes the route of a songfic somewhere in the middle. Hope you all like it!
Summary: While looking through the scrapbook on a night alone with Li, Sakura thinks back to the day Kero ran away from home.
Key:
"~* Thoughts *~" = Thoughts
"[NAME:]" = Character voiceover
Episode 20- Recalling Storm and a Fight Between Friends
Sakura and Li were spending a lot of time together that night. But the idea Li had made Sakura blush. He wanted to look over the secret scrapbook…up on a tree. Sakura loved that idea, especially since she had seen Eriol and Madison do it so many times back when they were kids.
"You said you had a picture in mind, Li," Sakura began. "Which one was it?"
Li turned the page to a picture that Sakura had all but forgotten. It was a picture of her posting a reward flyer on a telephone pole. She was posting flyers to find her missing…Kero.
"I remember this," Sakura said emotionally. "It was the biggest fight Kero and I ever had."
"Wait, it was this one?"
Sakura looked around and so did Li. Then they looked in a nearby bird's nest. There was Kero, spying on both of them.
"What are you doing here?" Li demanded. "This is private!"
"Sorry, but I couldn't resist," Kero replied. "I wanted to know what picture you wanted to see, kid. But…I didn't think it would be this one. This felt like…so long ago."
"Yeah…" Sakura breathed. "I almost forgot this day. It all started when we went chasing after the Storm Card…"
Flashback: The Streets
P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon
This had not been a good night for Sakura thus far. She spotted an unusual cloud in the sky and she immediately knew it was a Clow Card. Of course, it took a little while to face it since Madison had a costume lying in wait. But when Sakura got to the cloud, she saw Li had already shown up. So once again, it had become a competition.
Unfortunately, no matter what Sakura tried, the Storm Card was having its way with Sakura. It formed tornadic winds with its cloud and wreaked havoc. There seemed to be no way to combat it. Then Li bravely stepped forward.
Kero knew what he was about to do. "Don't do it, kid! It's too dangerous!"
"There's no other way!" Li shouted. "I have to!"
Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing. Li was jumping right into the cloud. He disappeared out of sight.
~* What's he doing?! He'll be killed! *~
Just then, Sakura watched as lightning began to shoot out form the cloud. But it wasn't coming from Storm. It was coming from Li's sword. Then the cloud burst, releasing Li and leaving a stunned Storm in its visible form. Sakura took advantage of Storm's dazed state.
"Storm Card! Return to your power confined! Storm!"
Sakura struck Storm and expected to receive the card. But to her disappointment, the card floated over to Li.
Sakura was shocked. "What? Why did he get the card?! I…"
"Let him have it," Kero cut her off.
Sakura couldn't believe what she just heard. "What? How could…?"
"I said let him have it!" Kero reiterated. "He went through a lot to take Storm down. He deserves it."
~* You never stood up for Li before. I thought we were on the same side. *~
Kero calmly started flying away to a nearby tree as Madison came out from her hiding place with her camera. Sakura still felt disappointed.
"Cheer up, Sakura," Madison said gently. "You've got to admit, Li did deserve the card this time. Are you going to be ok?"
Sakura nodded, but she felt different inside.
~* That's the second card I lost. I was supposed to be destined to have them, and now I've suddenly had two slip through my fingers. I'm not jealous of Li, I'm just…sad. *~
With that thought, it was time for Sakura to go home.
~----------~
[Li: You mean after all I went through, you STILL wanted the card? I almost killed myself!]
[Sakura: I was just disappointed. I wasn't used to losing out on a Clow Card. Slowly my disappointment started to turn into anger, and I was about to take it out in the wrong place…]
Flashback: Sakura's house
P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon
After a tiring night, Sakura was ready to just jump into bed and go to sleep. She was still reflecting on that loss earlier. She couldn't forget Li's smug grin or Kero's acceptance of the whole thing. She kept it all in mind while she entered her room…and found her things on the floor.
It was because Kero had completely cleared out one of her desk drawers. Everything was on the floor and Sakura ran over to her desk. She saw Kero calmly setting up some leftover supplies and matchboxes in the desk drawer.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Sakura demanded.
Kero looked up innocently. "Sleeping on top of the desk just doesn't feel comfortable anymore. So I got a great idea. I decided I'd set up my own room, right here in your desk drawer. So what do you think of my new room so far, Sakura?"
Sakura grabbed Kero's matchbox bed and crumpled it up. "Get back to your space! NOW!"
"Hey, what's your problem?" Kero asked indignantly. "I was just trying to set up a room for myself."
"Not in my desk you aren't!" Sakura snapped. "Now get back to your space! I'm warning you, Kero!"
"What if I don't?" Kero dared.
Sakura didn't say anything. She just picked up her things from off the floor and stuffed them back into her desk drawer, crushing what remained of Kero's would-be room. Kero, needless to say, was ticked.
"What'd you do that for?! That was totally uncalled for!"
"I don't want to see you clearing out my desk drawers again!" Sakura scowled. "Now GET to your space and GO TO SLEEP!"
"Why are you acting like this, Sakura?" Kero asked angrily. "You're acting like a total monster!"
"What did you call me?!" Sakura demanded.
"A monster! Which is just what you're acting like!"
Sakura almost blew a gasket. She grabbed Kero and tossed him across the room, leaving him on the floor near the closet. Sakura then plopped into bed and turned off the light.
"NOW GO TO SLEEP!!"
Sakura then pulled the sheets over her head, not listening to anything Kero had to say. As much as she didn't realize it, her disappointment had blossomed into full-blown anger. And her anger had all been unleashed…on Kero.
~----------~
[Sakura: I couldn't even see clearly. All I had on my mind was what happened earlier that night and I didn't even consider anyone else's feelings.]
[Kero: I knew she was really upset, because she was never this cold. So naturally I was hurt. Not only that, but a guardian beast has his pride, too, you know. So I wrote Sakura a note…and I ran away…downstairs…]
Flashback: Sakura's house (Downstairs)
P.O.V.: Kero
Kero had just left a note for Sakura on her desk, telling her he was leaving. But he wouldn't really leave. At first, Kero just wanted to give Sakura a little scare.
Special
You think you're special
You do
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it when you laugh at me
Look down on me
You walk around on me
~* She'll be sorry. Let's see how much she misses me when she realizes she doesn't have little Kero to help her anymore. Of course, I need a good hiding place until she comes to her senses. *~
Then Kero looked on the coffee table and spied a box of chocolates.
~* Hmm…maybe I can stop for a little snack first. *~
Kero flew over to the box and pulled out each chocolate. He sadly drowned his sorrows by indulging himself with the entire box of chocolates. Then Kero started to feel a little woozy.
~* Hmm…feeling tipsy. Can't…seem to…HICCUP…string coher…HIC…coher…HIC…can't think clearly. Those…HICCUP…were some GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD chocolates…HICCUP! What's…in that stuff? *~
Kero drunkenly staggered towards the box of chocolates. His vision was blurring fast, but he could make out the words on the box that read:
Warning: These Chocolates Contain Alcoholic Content. Keep Out of Reach of Children
~* Well…HICCUP…howzabout that? HICCUP! No wonder I couldn't eat just one…HIC! *~
Just one more fight
About a lot of things
And I will give up everything
To be on my own again
Free again
Kero then started to fly around, occasionally stumbling into objects, but eventually he found himself outside.
~----------~
[Kero: Now the rest of the details are kind of sketchy. I don't know what I was doing. Alcohol will do that to you. All I can remember was stumbling into some abandoned street…]
Flashback: Some Abandoned Street
P.O.V.: A drunk Kero
YEAH!
This time I'ma let it all come out
This time I'ma stand up and shout
I'ma do things my way
It's my way
My way or the highway
Someday you'll see things my way
Cause you never know
Where, you never know
Where you're gonna go
"Yoooooooooouuuuuuuuu think she…HICCUP…had ANY right to talk to meeeeeeeeeeee like that? All I wanted was…HIC…a little roomy of my own. Wuz that…HIC…tooooo much to ask? Maybe sheeeeeee's just jealous. She's…HIC…only mad 'cause that stooooooooooopid Shoran kid actually outdid herrrrrrrr. Sheeeeeeeeeee ain't no Cardcaptor. I'd make…HICCUP…a betterrrrrrr Cardcaptor…"
Kero was drunkenly staggering around on an abandoned couch left on the street. The only one there for Kero to talk to was…a stuffed pink hippo.
"Maybe…HIC…I should beeeeee a Cardcaptor. Whatcha think? Ya think Madison would make me one of them cutesy costumes? I dunno, what would I look like with one of them little pink skirts? I could…HICCUP…prance around in a skirt better than ol' What's-Her-Name.
"I tells ya, Pinky. By tommora, she'll be beggin me to come back. She'll…HIC…be oner knees saying, 'Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese Kero, come home!' But she'll…HICCUP…see. I'll be the one sleepin on the bed and SHE'LL sleep in the desk. Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu just watch, Pinky. Whoo! Am I supposed to feel this…WHOA!"
Kero didn't watch his step. He fell backwards off the couch and fell to the sidewalk, losing consciousness.
~----------~
[Kero: Yeah, I didn't remember too much about that night. What I did remember, though, was totally embarrassing.]
[Sakura: And that was only from CHOCOLATE.]
[Li: Remind me to keep the wine bottle away from you, Kero.]
[Kero: Yeah, well at least that night was short. At least I THINK it was. Anyway, I woke up the next morning…]
Flashback: Some Abandoned Street (The next morning)
P.O.V.: Kero
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, my head!!!"
Kero woke up with the mother of all hangovers. His sight was finally clearing, but he was in far too much pain to move. So he lay there on that abandoned couch. Kero was covered in grime and dirt and he felt awful. He hardly remembered anything from the night before, except for one thing. Kero had run away from home.
"Oh, a little stuffed animal!"
Kero lifted his head. "Huh? What's happening?"
"Oh, a talking stuffed animal!"
Kero looked up to see a little girl, about half Sakura's age, pick him up. "Huh? Where am I?"
"You're lost," the girl said. "Don't worry. I'll take you home."
The little girl then carried Kero gently away from that abandoned street, presumably to go 'home'…wherever that was.
"So what happened after that?" Li asked.
Kero was just about to continue, until the three heard a creaking sound coming from the branch Sakura and Li were sitting on. The branch was giving way. Then the branch snapped and Sakura and Li fell to the bush below.
"OW!! MY ARM!!"
"OW!! MY HEAD!!"
"OH!! MY BACK!!"
"OH!! MY CAMERA!!"
Sakura recognized her own voice and Li's, but she also heard two other voices coming from the bush they landed on. Kero flew down to the bush to see Sakura and Li dusting themselves off. But Sakura was also surprised to see two certain spies.
"Madison! Meilin! What are you two doing here?!"
Madison dusted herself off. "I was hoping to get something really good on tape, but instead it looks like I got bruised."
Meilin scowled. "Well, we might as well go inside as long as we're all here. You can tell us the rest of the story in there."
Sakura and Li sighed, then conceded. The four friends all began to walk inside. With the branch snapping off, the romantic mood had died. So maybe they could at least finish that story.
Any comments? Oh, yeah, I forgot. Most will recognize the song as "My Way" by Limp Bizkit. I just thought it worked well with this story. What did you think? Tell me what you think so far? Love it? Like it? Hate it? Let me know by reviewing below and giving me YOUR feedback!
