Ok,
Starlight, starbright,
These characters, I don't own, right?
But I wish I may,
I wish I might,
Borrow them for my fics tonight.
~Shin-chan (NOBODY STEAL THIS! IT'S *MINE*!!!)

^_^ Read and Review, people!!

Feel free to criticize any wrong gramar and speeling. ^_^ eheheh...


CHAPTER 3- Wisps of Jade Dreams

Sakura wheezed, breathing in short, strangled gasps. Her club had kept her from going home early, and she was straining her efforts to get back as fast as possible. After all, she had to make dinner for her father. Oh, and for Touya.

Left, right, left, right. Her movements gained a rhythm as landscapes whizzed past her in a hazy blur.

Left, right, left right. Her bag swayed in the air behind her.

Left, right, left, ri— She jerked abruptly, losing her balance. A skate had caught on an invisible obstacle, sending her sprawling on asphalt. She winced, her skull connecting with the ground, giving her a sudden headache.

She blinked rapidly, as a red miasma began engulfing her vision. It clouded her sight more and more and more… Until all she could see was crimson.

And then a grayish fog crawled over the scarlet one. Slowly, slowly, before morphing into the darkest of blacks.

Then all she could see was shadow.

***

A robed form was outlined by orange beams of sunlight. Cloth was flying in the gentle breeze that whispered through shrubbery. Fingers were pressed to sinister lips, as a singsong voice wafted with the gusts of wind.

"Nearer and nearer…"

***

Green. Bright green. All she could see were the faint illuminations of emerald radiance pulsing from an elevated pillar. Another one of them. But this was different. There was something else this time, besides the beam and the words that were inevitably going to follow. There was a soft whirring— or rather, humming. It was periodic, and almost musical.

The stanza came, matching the steady measure. It seemed to flow about her, drifting near her, brushing her, inside her. The words were almost tangible, as if she could reach out and grasp them with her bare hands…

"And they wait...
Forcing down their sorrows...
Just to have at least one thing...
That they could believe in...
Yet, still nothing happens...
All remains the same...
As it was...
Past...
Present...
Wanting the future...
To be different..."

***

Syaoran shuddered, wrapped in a blanket. He was holding a warm cup of chocolate, blowing and sipping as he stared out a window. Spring as it was, he felt unusually cold. Like was gradually freezing over. He felt a weird throbbing in him, almost as if something was controlling his heart's pumping, his lungs' contracting.

He inhaled the scent of his drink, savouring the sweet sensation. He took another gulp of the mildly hot liquid. And another. Then he began to gaze into its swirling depths.

Its hypnotizing spin… Steadily twirling into place… Forming a vague portrait…

Syaoran gasped, eyes fixed on the beverage.

"…Eriol?"

***

Sakura awoke, eyes fluttering open and trying to take in her surroundings. She was lying on the porch of her own house, head cradled by a bouquet of flowers. She tried to lift her hands, but they were heavy as lead. She tried to shift her legs, but they wouldn't budge. Completely motionless. No matter what she did, somehow it was like she was plastered to the floor with concrete.

She inhaled deeply, then struggled to talk. Her tongue was numb, and there was a frosty tinge in her body. She tried harder, and succeeded in getting a few muffled words out.

"Help… Someone?"

No one came. She was still alone. Perhaps Touya was inside? Or maybe her father? She attempted to call out again, louder this time.

" 'Niichan? 'Tousan?"

And there was no sign of either of them being present. Or anyone else for that matter.

She was resigned to wait, leaning on the flower arrangement, her eyelids closing.

***

Tomoyo walked hurriedly through different roads, taking detours everywhere she could. It was already dark and the only lights around were from the streetlamps looming overhead. She carefully avoided alleys as she made her way to the Kinomoto residence.

Earlier, she had found Sakura's books lying chaotically on the sidewalk while going home from choir practice. Her best friend's schoolbag was also nearby, sporting a gash in the pink material. It looked as if it had caught on… something… sharp and was ripped apart.

Now she was rushing to the card mistress's house, after gathering items she had come across, worried that something horrible may have happened to her precious companion.

***

Her eyes were open, green orbs staring out towards nothing in particular. Sakura had fallen asleep for about five minutes, before suddenly jolting awake.

She clenched her fists, once again making an effort to move. She *saw* one of them stir from the corner of her eye, but she didn't *feel* it. She raised her knees up and off the floor. They were right there before her eyes, and yet, it was as if they weren't there at all.

They seemed detached from her body.

In fact, *everything* seemed detached from her body. It was like she was in a void. A void with a peephole so that she could see what was going on around her. It was as if her body was a prison, and her soul was locked inside, robbed of the ability to sense.

She was trapped in a dark cave with no one but herself. She suddenly felt incredibly lonely.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Fighting back the abrupt urge to cry, she strained her ears. She thought she had heard something.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

There it was again! Someone was coming!

She desperately strived to twist her head towards the direction where the sound was coming from. She was able to get a glimpse of whoever it was, before her cranium turned mechanically back to its previous position.

Touya!

***

Tomoyo was now running, anxiety building up in her with each step she took. The same kept ringing in her head, her ears.

Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…

She urged herself to go faster. She had a bad feeling about the incident, and it grew stronger when rain began to pour. She forced herself to just jog, mindful of the fact she might lose her balance on the wet lane. But even though, she was still going fairly quickly, and in no time she had skidded and fallen on the slippery ground.

She pushed to get up, the books and bag, now damp with precipitation, tucked under one arm. She continued to sprint.

Sakura, Sakura, Sakura…

And then the Kinomoto household was directly in front of her.

She raced up the familiar driveway, steps, door… And it suddenly opened. Touya was standing there, looking at her with a knowing expression.

He knew exactly why she was there.

***

Sakura was sitting up in bed. She held a cup of tea in both hands, and was letting the rising vapors warm her face. When her brother had found her, bit-by-bit the heat was already returning to her body. She had told Kero about what happened, and he informed her that it was probably part of the Cessation too. He said something about something 'wanting' her. She had no idea what it meant, but then again, she had no desire to find out at all.

The bouquet she had been resting on earlier happened to be a dozen roses. A dozen *white* roses that were already browning. They were currently parked at the foot of her bed, untouched for the past few minutes.

Tentatively, Sakura reached out to it, spotting a card stuffed between a few leaves.

But before she could lay a hand on it, Tomoyo unexpectedly burst through the door, thoroughly drenched, with a towel draped across her shoulders.

"Sakura-chan! Are you OK!?"

"I should be asking you that!" she chuckled, "You're soaking wet!"

Tomoyo smiled and was about to comment, when she spotted the roses, "Who are those from?"

"I don't know, but there's a card. Maybe it says there."

Tomoyo scooped the bundle into her arms and sat on the edge of Sakura's bed. Her delicate fingers fished the card out and removed it from the envelope. She read the contents out loud.

"The roses wilt, and so shall the earth…"