Author's Note: This is the last of the four cards that weren't covered. Next time, we look at the Earth Card and then we look at the Final Judgment. And after that, it's time for me to start on a new story. One I think you'll all like very much.
2nd Author's Note: Readers of 'If Only You Knew' will remember that Sakura used the Return Card to go back to the day she sealed Libra. Well, here's what she saw. ^_^
Summary: Still debating whether or not to tell Li about her dream, Sakura and Kero can't help but look back at the day…when they couldn't help but tell the truth.
Episode 52- Recalling the Libra Card and Telling the Truth
Kero tried to pretend he was asleep. His drawer was slightly open and he didn't bother to try and close it since he felt he needed the fresh air. He needed to reflect upon the events of what happened earlier in the day. Kero couldn't tell if Sakura was awake or not. But eventually he had to tell her what happened. He had to tell her that Tori knew about him…and even called him by name.
This all seemed to tie into the dream Sakura had been having. Kero had some inkling of what Sakura had been seeing, but she wasn't willing to confess EVERYTHING she had seen. The only she had told was Madison and Madison clearly wasn't telling.
Kero kept lying on his back. He wondered how long Tori knew about him. He was suspicious and had a feeling that Tori may have seen him once or twice seven years ago. He should have seen it all before.
"Kero? Are you awake?"
Kero sweatdropped upon hearing Sakura's voice. He didn't know what to say. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell Sakura, but it was also a matter of ego. He was the mighty guardian beast of the seal. He should have known this all along. It was bad enough he fell asleep on the job in the first place; that was enough humiliation. All Kero could think about was…how could he sense the magic in Ms. Mackenzie…and completely miss Tori?
"Kero? What's wrong?"
A light bulb suddenly went off in the little guardian beast's head. When in doubt, change the subject and pass the heat to someone else.
"Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking…have you decided to tell Li about your dream?"
Sakura sweatdropped herself. "N-No. Kero…I don't want to tell him."
Kero sighed. "Sakura…it'd be better if you told him the truth. The truth can be a liberating thing. Haven't you heard 'the truth will set you free'? And don't you remember what happened seven years ago when you couldn't do anything BUT tell the truth?"
Sakura gulped. "That…has to be THE longest walk home from school ever!"
~--------------------~
Flashback: Front of Reedington Elementary
P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon
Sakura had a few minutes to kill before going on her way. She was going to walk home with Madison and Li, but they hadn't come out yet. So in the meantime, Sakura went in circles on her rollerblades while…playing with a yo-yo.
"Since when do YOU use a yo-yo?"
Sakura looked behind her to see that Li was finally out…and shaking his head. Obviously, he wasn't the yo-yo type.
"Since my dad found one in at the university," Sakura answered. "I kinda like it."
"Me, too," another voice chimed in. Sakura looked over to see Madison smiling and holding up her camera. "If you ever learn any tricks, I can get them all on tape. It'll be a whole new side to you, Sakura."
Sakura looked into the camera and giggled sheepishly. "Madison…I can't yo-yo with a camera on."
"Just pretend I'm not here," Madison grinned.
Sakura sweatdropped. "Um…you can tape me while I walk home."
~----------~
[Kero: Sakura…that's not what I had in mind.]
[Sakura: Hey, I have to start somewhere, don't I? Every good story has an introduction. So anyway, that set the scene for the long walk home. I would've saved myself a lot of headaches if I had just known from the beginning…]
~--------------------~
Flashback: Just a Regular Sidewalk
P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon
Sakura kept playing with her yo-yo as she slowly skated down the street, noticing Madison had her camera on her the whole time. Feeling awkward, Sakura decided to bring something up to Li.
"Li, I can hardly believe it. I only have two Clow Cards left. I can't believe it's almost over."
Li nodded. "I wouldn't have believed it in the beginning. But you've gotten so much better."
Sakura blushed…until Li kept going.
"Of course, you're still not better than me."
Sakura frowned. "Now I thought you could have put your ego aside by now. I thought that's why you've been helping me."
Li shrugged, as if he didn't mean to say what he did. "I meant to say that…as good as you've been, I'm still better. But it's not like it was in the beginning. I thought you were just some airhead that stumbled on the cards." Li gasped and covered his mouth.
"AIRHEAD?!?!" Sakura shouted.
"I didn't mean to say that!" Li backtracked. "I meant to say…blockhead." He covered his mouth again.
"So I'm a blockhead, huh?!" Sakura shouted indignantly.
Madison desperately tried to calm the situation. "Sakura, I'm sure he doesn't think you're a blockhead anymore. In fact…I think he likes you." Madison gasped and covered her mouth with her free hand.
Sakura looked at her best friend strangely. "What did you say?"
"She said…" Li quickly stopped himself before he said anything more by covering his mouth and running into a nearby alley. He stuck his head in a trashcan and let out a loud scream.
"This…is weird," Sakura blinked.
"I'm telling the truth, though," Madison said. "He likes you. I mean…what's not to like about you?"
Sakura smiled. "You mean that?"
Madison blushed. "I know I'd love to have you." Then she sweatdropped and turned away nervously. This was beyond strange.
"Madison…is something wrong?"
Madison turned back around. "I'm just saying…who wouldn't want you? You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." She sweatdropped again.
So did Sakura. "Um…thanks. I…never thought I was THAT beautiful."
"You should look in a mirror sometime," Madison blurted out. "AAH!" Madison turned around and took a few steps away.
~* What's going on? Everyone's acting strange. *~
"Madison…you're acting weird. Weirder than usual." Sakura gasped and covered her mouth.
~* Did I just say that? I'd never say that to Madison…not to her face, anyway. *~
"What did you say, Sakura?" Madison asked.
Sakura struggled to say what she really wanted to say.
~* I just have to say 'nothing'. So…why won't it come out? *~
Instead, Sakura said, "You're not acting as weird as you usually do."
"You think I act weird?" Madison asked. She sounded hurt.
~* What am I doing? I can't just hurt her feelings like this. Just tell her…she's unique. *~
But instead, Sakura said, "I don't see any other normal girls taping me obsessively. HOE!" Sakura quickly covered her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that, but she did.
"You don't like me taping you?" Madison quivered.
"I DO like you taping me, Madison."
~* FINALLY! I said something right. *~
"I like it when you tape me. If there's anything I find weird, it's your costumes."
~* HOE!! WHY DID I SAY THAT?! *~
"You don't like my costumes?" Madison squeaked, with a tear rolling down her cheek.
"They're just…unusual," Sakura blurted out. "The skirts are always so short."
Madison looked for a response. "I make the skirts so short because you have such a nice…AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Madison panicked and ran into the alley. Sakura just blinked.
~* Now THAT was weird. *~
Seeing how everyone was in the alley, Sakura followed. She walked towards Li and pulled his head out of the trashcan. Madison was hiding behind a dumpster. This was too weird.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Sakura asked. Suddenly, she stopped. "Wait…there's a Clow Card nearby."
Li finally snapped out of it and realized the same thing. "I sense it, too."
Sakura walked towards the end of the alley, still sensing the Clow Card. As soon as she reached the end of the alley, a scale appeared out of nowhere.
"What is THAT?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know, but don't get too close," Li instructed. "Be careful."
Sakura reached for her key. "Key of Clow! Power of magic! Power of light! Surrender the wand! The force, ignite! Release!"
Sakura took her wand…but didn't know where to go from there. She was expecting some kind of attack, but met up with…nothing. The scale didn't move. It just floated in the air doing nothing.
"Maybe it's like Shot and it attacks when I say its name," Sakura thought.
"Do you really want to tempt fate like that?" Li pointed out. "Just seal it."
Sakura held out her wand. "Clow Card! Return to your power confined!"
It was completely effortless, but this Clow Card was sealed. It floated towards Sakura and landed in her hand. It read…
The Libra
"The Libra?" Sakura read. "What's that?"
"I remember hearing about Libra once," Li recalled. "It's shrouded in mystery."
"Why didn't it attack?" Sakura asked. "It didn't put up a fight or anything. What's it supposed to do?" She then got an idea. "Libra Card! Release and dispel!"
The Libra Card came out, but to Sakura's disappointment and confusion, all she saw was that scale again. It was doing nothing.
"What is this supposed to do?" Sakura asked.
"Like I said, it's a mystery," Li answered.
Sakura sighed and recalled Libra. There was no explaining it. She had no idea what this Libra Card was supposed to do.
Meanwhile, Madison finally got out of her corner. She walked over towards Sakura and held out her camera again. "Is it ok if I tape you, Sakura?"
Sakura smiled. "Madison, don't be afraid to ask."
"I don't want you to think I'm weird or anything," Madison mumbled.
"You are not weird, Madison," Sakura said comfortingly. "You're unique."
~* Where was THAT earlier? *~
"You really think so?" Madison asked. "And you like my costumes, too?"
"Yeah, I do. But you were saying something, though. Something about why you make the skirts so short."
Madison sweatdropped and blushed. "I-I-I was j-just saying you have a n-n-nice…way of…bringing my costumes to life…yeah…that's what I was saying."
Sakura blinked. "Oh…ok."
Li shrugged. "Can we just go home now? It's been a long day."
Madison concurred and she walked right behind Li as he started to leave. But Sakura stood still. A realization hit her.
"Sakura…" Madison began. "What's wrong?"
Sakura slowly uttered those fateful words. "I…have…only one…Clow Card…left."
~--------------------~
"And Earth was just about the only other card that could top the eventfulness of Libra," Kero continued.
"It wasn't THAT eventful at the time," Sakura pointed out. "I didn't even know what Libra did."
"True. It took you two more years to figure out what Libra was supposed to do. At least with the last one, you know what it did."
"I sure did," Sakura sighed. "I was lucky I wasn't killed." Then she paused. Kero looked at her to see that a realization was made. "You know something, Kero? For the last few months, we've been looking back at seven years ago so much. I never realized it until now. But…where's my scrapbook? I want to go visit Madison for a little while."
"Scrapbook's under your bed," Kero answered. "I'll go with you."
Sakura smiled as she reached for her scrapbook. "I can't wait. After this dream I've been having…it reminds a lot of the other dream I used to have. The one that preceded the Final Judgment."
Kero was suddenly reminded of Sakura's dream. It was a good thing he managed to get Sakura's mind elsewhere…
…because he wasn't ready to tell her that Tori knew about him.
Any comments? Get ready to recall the last Clow Card and the Final Judgment. Mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below.
