Summary: Graduation is minutes away. So where's Sakura? She hasn't shown up yet and frankly, Li and Meilin are getting nervous. So leave it to Madison to calm them down…with a story.
Author's Note: Today's look back will be kind of brief, because there is a vital side story. See the announcement at the bottom.
Episode 36- Recalling the Dash Card and Moving On to Graduation
"Where is she?"
Li was starting to get worried. He and Meilin looked around everywhere looking for Sakura. Finally, they had settled under a tree where Madison was just finishing a conversation with an old friend.
Li walked up to that old friend. "Hi, Jessie. Have you seen Sakura?"
Jessie shook her head. "I haven't seen her anywhere. You mean she's not here yet?"
"We haven't seen her," Meilin answered. "We don't know if she's here. Of course…she's probably just late…again."
"Late for her graduation?" Jessie asked skeptically. "Sakura wouldn't be late for her graduation, would she?"
Li and Meilin nodded. She would.
"Well, I hope you find her," Jessie added. Then she smiled at Madison. "It's been great talking to you, Madison. I'll see you guys up on the stage. Good luck!"
Everyone just waved as Jessie sped towards the rest of the crowd, who would be in attendance. Jessie knew all about the pressures of graduation, since she had to go through it herself a few years ago. Her words of encouragement must have put Madison at ease, and it left Li feeling less tense also…but there was still that one thing bothering him. The whole class had shown up…except for Sakura.
"Where is she?" Li asked again.
"Relax, Li," Madison smiled. "Sakura wouldn't miss this day for anything. In fact…why don't I help calm you guys down?"
"How?" Meilin asked dryly.
Madison looked out towards Jessie, who stood with the rest of the crowd. "Seeing Jessie today brought back a lot of memories. It was seven years ago…when we stumbled into her house while looking for a Clow Card…"
~--------------------~
Flashback: An Unknown House
P.O.V.: Madison Taylor
It was the first time in a while that a Clow Card had escaped Sakura. But that Dash Card was lot quicker than any of them thought. In fact, Madison could hardly get any of it on tape. Sakura saw the Dash Card stumble into this house the night before, but they couldn't go any further because of the nosy guard. The night had now passed and Sakura needed a way to get into that house. Of course, Madison was prepared for just such an occasion.
Sakura sweatdropped. "Are you sure about this, Madison?"
Sakura was unsure about what Madison had dressed her up in. It was…a baseball uniform. But Madison was more than confident.
"Trust me, Sakura. If anyone sees you in there, you can just tell them that you lost your ball. It's that simple." Then she let out a grin. "Besides…you look cute in that uniform."
Sakura nervously scratched the back of her head. "If you say so."
Madison looked up at the top of the house's wall. "Trust me. This will work." She was indeed prepared, because she had a baseball in her hand. Madison tossed the baseball over the wall and grinned at Sakura. "Now go get it."
Sakura sweatdropped again as she climbed the wall. There was nothing left for Madison to do except wait by the house's gate. She had a lot of faith in her best friend, but Madison couldn't foresee the sudden roadblock.
"Hi, Sakura. I didn't know it was baseball season already."
That voice got Madison's attention. She looked through the gate to see…the 6th grader, Jessie.
~* This is JESSIE'S house?! Wow…who'd have guessed? Ok…maybe this won't be as easy as I thought. But Sakura can do it. Of course she can. There's no doubt in my mind. *~
Obviously, Madison was a little disappointed when Sakura walked out through the gate a few minutes later. "You…didn't get it, did you?"
Sakura shook her head. "We'll come back."
~----------~
[Madison: I remember everything Sakura went through after that. I had another plan to seal Dash, but then I saw that look on her face. Sakura must have realized that Jessie was getting confident in herself because of Dash, so she couldn't bring herself to seal it.]
[Meilin: But you couldn't have just left it out, could you?]
[Li: Of course not. I had to bring her back down to reality. But…when I did…I kinda started to feel bad…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: Inches From Jessie's House
P.O.V.: Li Shoran
It's been days since Li started sensing a Clow Card nearby. So now he's finally decided to go look for it. With the Lasin Board in his hand, Li searched the shrubbery and the trees, finding nothing thus far.
"Force, know my plight! Release the light!"
Finally, he had a lead. The light was pointing…near a house. Li ran over to that house and peered over the wall. There was Dash and that track runner, Jessie. Dash seemed to be recovering well, but then it spotted Li. It leaped over a wall and started running away. Li ran after it.
Dash still wasn't running at full speed, which meant it was still tired from whatever battle it had. Li was ready to take it down. He held up his sword.
"Lightning!"
Lightning struck the Dash Card and left it stunned. He was ready to finish it off, but then…
"Li, STOP!!"
It was Sakura. She and Kero were around this area, too. She quickly ran up to Li and gripped his wrists. It seemed like she was trying to protect the Dash Card.
"What are you doing?!" he demanded.
"Please, Li!" she begged. "Just leave it alone!"
"Sakura, we've been over this!!" Kero shouted.
"I can't do it, Kero!" Sakura wailed. "I just can't!"
~* What is she DOING?! Doesn't she know how dangerous this can be? What's wrong with her?! I knew she was hopeless! *~
Kero kept trying to coax Sakura. "If she wins tomorrow, then it'll be because of the Dash Card's magic and not because of her own abilities. It would be like a lie, Sakura. And what kind of friendship is that?"
The Dash Card was starting to come to and was getting ready to run away again. Li knew that only Sakura could seal it.
"SAKURA!"
Sakura finally shook off whatever was on her mind and held up her wand. "Dash Card! Return to your power confined! Dash Card!"
Sakura struck her wand and sealed the Dash Card. It flew over to Li. As happy as Li was to have another Clow Card, he couldn't get over what just happened.
"You KNEW the card was here?" he snapped. "What's wrong with you? Why didn't you seal it?"
Li didn't get an answer from Sakura. Instead he got an answer from a voice desperately calling out in the distance.
"Hoppy! Hoppy! Come back! Hoppy! Please come back! HOPPY!"
It was Jessie. She was desperately calling out for…Hoppy. He didn't know what to make of it…until he saw Sakura's face. She looked so…sad…like she was ready to cry. Finally, it hit Li.
~* Hoppy…the Dash Card! That's why I saw Jessie taking care of it. She must have thought it was a pet…and that's why Jessie's been winning so much. It was Dash's magic. *~
Li looked at Sakura again. A tear started to come down one of her emerald green eyes and roll down her cheek. It broke Li's heart to see it.
~* She only wanted to help Jessie. This must have been so hard for Sakura…and I didn't help at all. I know we had to seal Dash. We had to. So…why do I still feel like a jerk? *~
As Li looked on at the somber expression on Sakura's face…he started to get another idea…a way to make amends.
~----------~
[Li: Of course…I didn't want to tell Sakura. There was still a little matter of my ego, but the next day…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: Reedington Elementary (The next day)
P.O.V.: Li Shoran
~* I can't believe I'm going through with this. *~
Li walked down the empty halls of Reedington Elementary. There was no one in there at that moment. Everyone was out watching the track meet. Just as Li feared, Jessie was despondent over losing her pet and, from what he heard, good luck charm. She had completely lost faith in her own abilities and as hard as that hit Jessie, it seemed to have hit Sakura even harder. Li felt awful inside and that's why he was doing what he was about to do.
He saw Jessie on the track…and Sakura with the cheerleaders. They were both down in the dumps. Li hoped to change all that. He reached in…and took out the Dash Card.
"Dash Card!"
He struck Dash with his sword and he saw it fly out the window. Dash seemed to be floating out…in the middle of the track. No one noticed it…except seemingly for Jessie. Jessie didn't know what to make of it. Then Li noticed that Sakura was seeing the same thing, because a new fire lit inside her.
"You can do it, Jessie!!"
Seeing Hoppy…and hearing Sakura's words of encouragement was enough for Jessie. She grew determined as she took her place on the track. Sure enough…when the race began…it was already over. Jessie won easily and no one even came close to catching her. Everyone rejoiced…especially Jessie. Li let out a smile and started to walk out.
~* Well, I did my good deed for the day. I'd better go. *~
"Li, wait!!"
Li stopped in his tracks. He turned around to see that Sakura had caught up to him. He didn't know what to say. It wasn't just that he was trying to hide his good deed, but he had never noticed Sakura in this light before. He never noticed how pretty she looked in her cheerleader's uniform and the way her eyes shimmered in the light…those eyes…that were much happier than they were a few minutes ago.
Sakura then spotted what was sure to incriminate Li. "The Dash Card? Li…"
~* Ok…it's cool. I just have to stay cool. *~
Li calmly gave his response before Sakura could finish. "Are you insinuating that Jessie won the race because I used the Dash Card? Where do you get these ideas, Avalon?"
Li didn't leave Sakura any more time to say anything. He just turned to leave.
~* Smooth. She doesn't suspect a thing. *~
As Li reached the end of the hallway…he could hear Sakura's soft voice behind him.
"Thank you, Li."
~* Well…maybe she suspects something… *~
~--------------------~
Li grinned. "I guess it wasn't so hard to figure out."
Madison looked out at the crowd. "Seeing Jessie today just reminded me of that day seven years ago. I haven't forgotten it…and I don't think Sakura's forgotten, either."
Meilin suddenly remembered. "Where IS Sakura? She's still not here!"
Madison was still calm. "She'll be here. She just said…she had something to do."
"And what's that?" Li asked.
Madison peered behind her. "She…didn't tell me exactly. But I think Sakura might be in…for a surprise."
~--------------------~
Sakura kept on walking towards the abandoned Reedington Elementary. She hadn't been here in many years. But she came…when she got a mysterious letter. Sakura looked at the letter again.
Dear Sakura,It's a special day, isn't it? It's time for you to graduate. But before you do, I have…a surprise for you. Meet me in front of Reedington Elementary on the morning of your graduation. And…have your cap and gown ready.
There wasn't any indication as to who the letter was from. At first, Sakura thought it was from Li. But then she realized it could be from just about anybody. So she showed up to Reedington Elementary on this day and she already had her cap and gown on. Her graduation was a few hours away and she didn't want to be late. So what was she waiting for?
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
That voice. That soothing voice. That oh-so-familiar voice. Sakura hadn't heard that voice in so many years. She turned around…and standing before her…was…
"Ms. Mackenzie!" Sakura was overjoyed to see her old teacher. She immediately ran up and embraced her. "You came back! I'm so happy to see you!"
Ms. Mackenzie returned the hug. "I couldn't miss your graduation, Sakura. Not after everything we've been through together."
Sakura didn't know what to say. She didn't let go of the hug. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too," she replied. The hug was broken and Ms. Mackenzie took a step back. "Oh, Sakura…you've grown up so much. You've grown into a beautiful young woman. I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday…when we were back at this school…and you were just ten."
Sakura turned her head to face Reedington Elementary. So much time had passed. "Time flies. We never notice, but it does. All we can do…is move on. But we can never really forget our past. Those are memories to always be cherished."
"I couldn't have said it any better," Ms. Mackenzie smiled.
"I thought you were traveling the world," Sakura said.
"I was," Ms. Mackenzie sighed. "But frankly…I missed my old life here. I knew I wanted to come back someday, but with all my traveling, I wasn't sure when I'd be able to come back. Then I thought of you…and I decided…that the best time for me to come back…was for your graduation."
Sakura's face lit up. "You mean you're not leaving? You're here to stay?"
"That's right," she answered. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying in Japan."
"That's wonderful!" Sakura squealed. "I have so much to tell you! It's been such a long time! You wouldn't believe some of the things that have happened while you were gone. Um…are you still staying at the temple?"
Ms. Mackenzie nodded. "I'd have to dust it off, but yes I am."
"That's great! Maybe I can come help you clean it up. I can come in every morning. I mean, I have the time. I won't have to worry about being late."
Late. Something about that word struck Sakura hard. She suddenly remembered...her graduation.
"LATE?!" Sakura looked at her watch and gasped. "AAH! I'm LATE!!"
"Calm down, Sakura," Ms. Mackenzie said coolly. "You won't be late. I'll give you a lift."
All Sakura could do was breathe a sigh of relief. She was so happy that Ms. Mackenzie was back. But she would feel a lot better…if she got back to her graduation on time.
~--------------------~
Fifteen minutes have passed since it was all over. Sakura couldn't take her eyes off her diploma. It was all over. High school was now behind her. She looked beside her to see that Li hadn't taken his eyes off his diploma, either. They were both mesmerized by the sight.
"Sakura! Li!"
Sakura finally took her eyes off her diploma to look up at Madison. She was holding up her camera and wearing a golden smile on her face.
Madison nodded her head. "Could you two…you know…?"
Sakura nodded back. She and Li wrapped their arms around each other and embraced in a kiss. Sakura reached over with a free hand and took her cap off.
Madison took that beautiful picture of Sakura and Li kissing…while Sakura tossed her cap in the air.
Author's Note: You have no idea how much I needed this chapter. With Ms. Mackenzie back…then I can go on to a side story. Of course, keep in mind that THIS isn't finished, either. So look for more parts of this story and a side story soon! Hope you all enjoy them both!
Any comments? Then go ahead and mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and PLEASE don't forget to review below!
