Sakura opened her eyes to find herself standing somewhere in space, where stars and planets swirled around her. "Where am I?" she asked aloud.
The angel that made her choose between life and death appeared before her again, "Welcome, Sakura."
"Oh! It's you again!"
"Yes, my name is Yue."
"What are you? My guardian angel or something?"
Yue shook his head, "I am your guardian, yes, but not an angel."
Sakura's eyes glared at Yue, "So if you're my guardian, why didn't you protect me?"
"You weren't fully awakened yet. I'm sorry."
She sighed, "So what brings you here?"
"I promised you a present, remember?"
"Yeah..." Sakura said slowly, wondering what could possibly be the present.
"Li Syaoran didn't break his promise..." Yue began.
Sakura's anger flared, "He said he wouldn't hurt me, and he did! And I was foolish enough to believe him!"
"Let me show you what he saw when he kissed Hakai," Yue replied calmly as he waved his hands. Trees and flowers replaced the stars, and Sakura saw Hakai and Daemon talking to her surprise. Daemon had just handed a necklace of some sort to Hakai.
"We'll just call it some magic. Open the bottle when you're sure Sakura is near, and it will make you look like the dead Sakura in his eyes. Sakura on the other hand will seem like she's invisible to his eyes. However, Sakura will still see your true form. I want you to kiss him while she's watching," Daemon said with a cruel grin on his face.
Sakura's eyes widened as she saw this scene play before her eyes. She turned to Yue, "So...he didn't..."
Yue motioned for her to continue, "Keep watching."
The scene had changed again, and this time she found herself in her classroom. Although she was standing right beside Syaoran, she was still able to see herself talking with the group. She saw Hakai open the bottle, and transform into the auburn-haired girl from her visions... She saw her own body disappear, but nobody seemed to notice. Syaoran's eyes had brightened when the fake Sakura jumped into his arms and began to kiss him.
"It's the girl he loved...the one that died..." she whispered hoarsely, tears coming into her eyes. "Syaoran...forgive me."
"You are that girl..." Yue spoke as the scene melted back into the stars.
"I'm...what?"
"You are the Card Mistress...my Mistress..." Yue said, as everything began to fade away slowly.
***
Meanwhile, Syaoran saw that Sakura was shivering and tears were coming from her eyes. Hesitantly, he climbed into bed next to her. As if by instinct, Sakura had curled up next to him, burying her head into his chest. He draped an arm around her, pulling her closer careful to not touch her wounds and the shivering stopped.
"Syaoran...forgive me..." he heard her whisper.
He smiled a little, "Always...I'll never leave you again, Sakura." He drifted off into a relaxed sleep, holding Sakura in his arms. Just then a small glow emitted from both of them and all of Sakura's wounds evaporated from her skin. A few seconds later, Sakura stirred in her sleep.
Why am I so warm? she thought to herself. Opening her eyes, she blushed finding herself curled next to Syaoran with one of his arms around her. She smiled to herself as she breathed in the cool autumn scent that radiated from him. Then she noticed that she didn't feel any more pain from her body, and looked down at her arms. All the wounds were gone...
Sitting up, she also woke Syaoran, "Oh, Sakura...you're awake..."
She smiled when she heard him use her first name and looked into his eyes. It was filled with happiness and relief that she was alright, and fear and sadness that she might reject him. "Thank you for keeping your promise."
His eyes widened, "You're all healed!"
She smiled weakly, "Yeah... Um...do you know who Yue is?"
Syaoran looked at her, "Do you remember?"
"Well...an angel appeared in my dreams...and he said his name was Yue. And he also showed me something else so I know now that you kept your promise," Sakura whispered weakly. Syaoran brushed a lock of Sakura's blond/pink hair away from her face and smiled at her. She blinked back at him, "Ano...Li-kun?"
"You can call me Syaoran," he grinned, still holding Sakura protectively.
"Ano...Syaoran...do you that um...maybe I could..." Sakura began then hesitated. She wanted to see if she could stay with him tonight. Then again she had only known this boy for a few days...it would be a little strange, yet she felt most safe when he was around. "Could I stay here with you?" she asked shyly in a small voice.
Syaoran looked at her with a bewildered face, "Of course you can!" Sakura's eyelids fluttered, still tired from the loss of all the blood even though all her wounds had healed somehow. "You're still too weak, I'm not about to let you go anywhere."
Sakura let out a weak laugh, "Arigato..."
He noticed that she began to shiver again; he blushed slightly when he realized the reason. Her clothes were torn up so much that she barely had anything on. "I'm just going to get something for you to wear, ok?" he asked kindly knowing that she didn't want him to leave her side.
"Hai..." she nodded. Syaoran reluctantly got up and went to his closet. Rummaging through it, he pulled out a plaid dark green button up shirt. Then hesitating he also got put a pair of boxers for her to wear. Walking back over to the shivering girl, he handed her the clothes. "Here...um...Meilin said that boxers were very comfortable to wear as pajamas..." he said blushing.
She nodded gratefully, and pushed herself off the bed. Her knees buckled from underneath her and fell, but Syaoran caught her. "You better change here..." he said concerned. Sakura gave him a weak smile as she slowly pulled off her torn clothing and replaced it with the stuff Syaoran had given her. The clothes smelled of him with his cool autumn scent and she inhaled it deeply. Immediately, Sakura felt warmer. This felt so familiar...
"How about I fix us something to eat and watch a movie here?" he asked with a warm tone.
"No scary movies..." she replied smiling.
"Anything you want." Scooping her up into his arms, he carried her to a small cozy room that had a plush couch and a television. Gently placing her onto the couch, he took a nearby blanket and draped it over her. "I'll go make some miso soup, ne?"
Nodding her satisfaction, she watched him disappear into the kitchen. He's so nice...and so warm too. I really like him...Sakura realized. She shifted her position and gazed around his apartment. It was very clean, cleaner than her apartment in fact. There were some framed pictures on the walls making the room even more warm and cozy. Examining the pictures closer she realized it was Syaoran and the auburn-haired girl with their friends in the background. The auburn-haired girl was laughing and holding his arm cutely while Syaoran was looking down at her with soft golden amber eyes. They make the perfect couple...she though sadly to herself. Then again that Yue said I was her...but that doesn't even make any sense. I have memories of my childhood! How could I be her!
Syaoran interrupted her thoughts when he placed a tray that had two bowls of steaming miso soup on it next to her. "So what do you want to watch?"
Sakura looked up at him, "Do you still love her...?"
He noticed a tint of sadness in her voice, "You mean the other Sakura?"
She dropped her head slightly and nodded.
"Of course," he said confidently. Sakura's heart broke, but she felt him lift her chin up. "Because you are that same Sakura..."
She felt a tear trickle down her cheek, "How do you know?"
He wiped her tear away, "Does it really matter? We're together again, and I'm never ever going to let you go again."
Pushing his hand again she asked, "How do I know you really like me? How do I know that you're not acting this way because you only think I'm the Sakura you lost before?"
He stared deep into her eyes, and it hurt him to look at the pools of hurt. She's been hurt so much before that she's almost lost all her trust in people... How can I prove it to her that I really do love her...? An idea flickered into his mind, and grinned. Syaoran sat down next to her moving his face closer to hers. Their lips meant and Syaoran kissed hers with all the love that he could. Sakura closed her eyes and returned this kiss, returning the trust, and returning the love.
"Do you believe me now?" Syaoran whispered into her ear as he drew away.
She nodded dumbly, savoring the chocolate taste of his lips. Then before she could say anything, Syaoran stuck a spoon full of miso soup into her mouth. It was surprisingly good! He laughed as he watched her eyebrows go up in surprise.
"Surprised that I'm such a good cook, Sakura?" he asked smugly, pulling the spoon away from her mouth.
"Iie...it's just that you surprised me that's all. And it's so good! I've never had such good miso soup before!" she exclaimed.
"It's my own secret recipe," he grinned. He spooned some more soup into her mouth until the bowl was clean. Sighing contently, Sakura snuggled deeper into Syaoran's arms. "So what movie do you want to watch?"
"Mm...anything...I don't care," she mumbled.
"Let's see what's on," Syaoran declared flipping the TV on.
While Syaoran flipped channels, Sakura spotted the other bowl of miso soup, which was still steaming. Grabbing a spoon and filling it with soup, she popped it into his mouth. His body flinched in surprise, but gulped the spoonful of soup down. After only half a spoonful was left in the bowl, Sakura put the spoon down. Dipping her finger into the bowl, she collected the rest of the soup onto her finger. Syaoran's eyes widened a little as she stuck her finger into his mouth. Licking her finger clean, he still sucked at the delicate finger in his mouth. When she withdrew her finger, she dragged it over his neck leaving a cool wet trail of his saliva.
Grabbing her wrist, he pulled Sakura onto his lap. "You make things taste better than they really do, you know that?" he whispered into her ear.
She giggled, "Arigato for the clothes by the way."
"Anything for you, anything," he mumbled as he bent his head down to her neck. He licked it softly then began to suck softly on it. Sakura tilted her head so he could have easier access, and felt his arm twine around her waist. Syaoran changed to another spot on her neck before he left a mark anywhere. Letting out a sigh of content, she relaxed her body against Syaoran.
With Syaoran's touch on her skin and his soothing autumn scent, her eyes began to droop. Syaoran noticed her slowly drifting off to a peaceful sleep, and slowly stroked her hair. Just when Sakura went to into a deep sleep, the door burst open. Meilin stormed in, her eyes furious when she saw Syaoran and Sakura.
"WEI AND I HAVE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU! AND WHERE DO WE FIND YOU!?!?! HOME! PERFECTLY FINE!!!!!!" Meilin boomed.
"Meilin could you lower your voice? Sakura is sleeping..." he responded quietly, still stroking Sakura's baby soft hair.
"I don't care! I've been worried sick about you!"
"Want to see the remains of her clothes?" Syaoran asked, ignoring her previous comment.
"What do you mean the `remains' of her clothes?" she asked narrowing her eyes.
Syaoran stood up with Sakura still sleeping peacefully in his arms. She shifted a little, but still continued to breath evenly. Walking to his bedroom, Meilin followed with curiosity. Once they arrived at his bedroom, Syaoran laid Sakura gently on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Then he picked up a few scraps off the floor, and held them up.
"These are the remains of her clothes when I found her," Syaoran choked. Meilin was speechless, all she could do was stare in shock. "I found her tied to a bed...almost dead... I think she was whipped too because there was this wooden frame nearby and a whip lying near the floor," Syaoran continued, tears coming to his eyes. "She was bleeding all over...all these cuts around her entire body...I thought I lost her again..."
Meilin put a hand on his shoulder, "Gomen...I didn't know... But...I don't see any cuts now..."
"That's the strange part. When I woke up she was completely healed...although she was still weak from all the blood loss."
"Take good care of her Syaoran. She got hurt so many times before, and if you don't..." Meilin began. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Then she glided out of his room, but popped her head back in, "I'll go call Tomoyo to make a new school outfit for her."
"Arigato..." Syaoran thanked gratefully. He turned his attention back to Sakura and brushed away the hair from her face. She's so beautiful...even when she's sleeping, Syaoran thought to himself.
The angel that made her choose between life and death appeared before her again, "Welcome, Sakura."
"Oh! It's you again!"
"Yes, my name is Yue."
"What are you? My guardian angel or something?"
Yue shook his head, "I am your guardian, yes, but not an angel."
Sakura's eyes glared at Yue, "So if you're my guardian, why didn't you protect me?"
"You weren't fully awakened yet. I'm sorry."
She sighed, "So what brings you here?"
"I promised you a present, remember?"
"Yeah..." Sakura said slowly, wondering what could possibly be the present.
"Li Syaoran didn't break his promise..." Yue began.
Sakura's anger flared, "He said he wouldn't hurt me, and he did! And I was foolish enough to believe him!"
"Let me show you what he saw when he kissed Hakai," Yue replied calmly as he waved his hands. Trees and flowers replaced the stars, and Sakura saw Hakai and Daemon talking to her surprise. Daemon had just handed a necklace of some sort to Hakai.
"We'll just call it some magic. Open the bottle when you're sure Sakura is near, and it will make you look like the dead Sakura in his eyes. Sakura on the other hand will seem like she's invisible to his eyes. However, Sakura will still see your true form. I want you to kiss him while she's watching," Daemon said with a cruel grin on his face.
Sakura's eyes widened as she saw this scene play before her eyes. She turned to Yue, "So...he didn't..."
Yue motioned for her to continue, "Keep watching."
The scene had changed again, and this time she found herself in her classroom. Although she was standing right beside Syaoran, she was still able to see herself talking with the group. She saw Hakai open the bottle, and transform into the auburn-haired girl from her visions... She saw her own body disappear, but nobody seemed to notice. Syaoran's eyes had brightened when the fake Sakura jumped into his arms and began to kiss him.
"It's the girl he loved...the one that died..." she whispered hoarsely, tears coming into her eyes. "Syaoran...forgive me."
"You are that girl..." Yue spoke as the scene melted back into the stars.
"I'm...what?"
"You are the Card Mistress...my Mistress..." Yue said, as everything began to fade away slowly.
***
Meanwhile, Syaoran saw that Sakura was shivering and tears were coming from her eyes. Hesitantly, he climbed into bed next to her. As if by instinct, Sakura had curled up next to him, burying her head into his chest. He draped an arm around her, pulling her closer careful to not touch her wounds and the shivering stopped.
"Syaoran...forgive me..." he heard her whisper.
He smiled a little, "Always...I'll never leave you again, Sakura." He drifted off into a relaxed sleep, holding Sakura in his arms. Just then a small glow emitted from both of them and all of Sakura's wounds evaporated from her skin. A few seconds later, Sakura stirred in her sleep.
Why am I so warm? she thought to herself. Opening her eyes, she blushed finding herself curled next to Syaoran with one of his arms around her. She smiled to herself as she breathed in the cool autumn scent that radiated from him. Then she noticed that she didn't feel any more pain from her body, and looked down at her arms. All the wounds were gone...
Sitting up, she also woke Syaoran, "Oh, Sakura...you're awake..."
She smiled when she heard him use her first name and looked into his eyes. It was filled with happiness and relief that she was alright, and fear and sadness that she might reject him. "Thank you for keeping your promise."
His eyes widened, "You're all healed!"
She smiled weakly, "Yeah... Um...do you know who Yue is?"
Syaoran looked at her, "Do you remember?"
"Well...an angel appeared in my dreams...and he said his name was Yue. And he also showed me something else so I know now that you kept your promise," Sakura whispered weakly. Syaoran brushed a lock of Sakura's blond/pink hair away from her face and smiled at her. She blinked back at him, "Ano...Li-kun?"
"You can call me Syaoran," he grinned, still holding Sakura protectively.
"Ano...Syaoran...do you that um...maybe I could..." Sakura began then hesitated. She wanted to see if she could stay with him tonight. Then again she had only known this boy for a few days...it would be a little strange, yet she felt most safe when he was around. "Could I stay here with you?" she asked shyly in a small voice.
Syaoran looked at her with a bewildered face, "Of course you can!" Sakura's eyelids fluttered, still tired from the loss of all the blood even though all her wounds had healed somehow. "You're still too weak, I'm not about to let you go anywhere."
Sakura let out a weak laugh, "Arigato..."
He noticed that she began to shiver again; he blushed slightly when he realized the reason. Her clothes were torn up so much that she barely had anything on. "I'm just going to get something for you to wear, ok?" he asked kindly knowing that she didn't want him to leave her side.
"Hai..." she nodded. Syaoran reluctantly got up and went to his closet. Rummaging through it, he pulled out a plaid dark green button up shirt. Then hesitating he also got put a pair of boxers for her to wear. Walking back over to the shivering girl, he handed her the clothes. "Here...um...Meilin said that boxers were very comfortable to wear as pajamas..." he said blushing.
She nodded gratefully, and pushed herself off the bed. Her knees buckled from underneath her and fell, but Syaoran caught her. "You better change here..." he said concerned. Sakura gave him a weak smile as she slowly pulled off her torn clothing and replaced it with the stuff Syaoran had given her. The clothes smelled of him with his cool autumn scent and she inhaled it deeply. Immediately, Sakura felt warmer. This felt so familiar...
"How about I fix us something to eat and watch a movie here?" he asked with a warm tone.
"No scary movies..." she replied smiling.
"Anything you want." Scooping her up into his arms, he carried her to a small cozy room that had a plush couch and a television. Gently placing her onto the couch, he took a nearby blanket and draped it over her. "I'll go make some miso soup, ne?"
Nodding her satisfaction, she watched him disappear into the kitchen. He's so nice...and so warm too. I really like him...Sakura realized. She shifted her position and gazed around his apartment. It was very clean, cleaner than her apartment in fact. There were some framed pictures on the walls making the room even more warm and cozy. Examining the pictures closer she realized it was Syaoran and the auburn-haired girl with their friends in the background. The auburn-haired girl was laughing and holding his arm cutely while Syaoran was looking down at her with soft golden amber eyes. They make the perfect couple...she though sadly to herself. Then again that Yue said I was her...but that doesn't even make any sense. I have memories of my childhood! How could I be her!
Syaoran interrupted her thoughts when he placed a tray that had two bowls of steaming miso soup on it next to her. "So what do you want to watch?"
Sakura looked up at him, "Do you still love her...?"
He noticed a tint of sadness in her voice, "You mean the other Sakura?"
She dropped her head slightly and nodded.
"Of course," he said confidently. Sakura's heart broke, but she felt him lift her chin up. "Because you are that same Sakura..."
She felt a tear trickle down her cheek, "How do you know?"
He wiped her tear away, "Does it really matter? We're together again, and I'm never ever going to let you go again."
Pushing his hand again she asked, "How do I know you really like me? How do I know that you're not acting this way because you only think I'm the Sakura you lost before?"
He stared deep into her eyes, and it hurt him to look at the pools of hurt. She's been hurt so much before that she's almost lost all her trust in people... How can I prove it to her that I really do love her...? An idea flickered into his mind, and grinned. Syaoran sat down next to her moving his face closer to hers. Their lips meant and Syaoran kissed hers with all the love that he could. Sakura closed her eyes and returned this kiss, returning the trust, and returning the love.
"Do you believe me now?" Syaoran whispered into her ear as he drew away.
She nodded dumbly, savoring the chocolate taste of his lips. Then before she could say anything, Syaoran stuck a spoon full of miso soup into her mouth. It was surprisingly good! He laughed as he watched her eyebrows go up in surprise.
"Surprised that I'm such a good cook, Sakura?" he asked smugly, pulling the spoon away from her mouth.
"Iie...it's just that you surprised me that's all. And it's so good! I've never had such good miso soup before!" she exclaimed.
"It's my own secret recipe," he grinned. He spooned some more soup into her mouth until the bowl was clean. Sighing contently, Sakura snuggled deeper into Syaoran's arms. "So what movie do you want to watch?"
"Mm...anything...I don't care," she mumbled.
"Let's see what's on," Syaoran declared flipping the TV on.
While Syaoran flipped channels, Sakura spotted the other bowl of miso soup, which was still steaming. Grabbing a spoon and filling it with soup, she popped it into his mouth. His body flinched in surprise, but gulped the spoonful of soup down. After only half a spoonful was left in the bowl, Sakura put the spoon down. Dipping her finger into the bowl, she collected the rest of the soup onto her finger. Syaoran's eyes widened a little as she stuck her finger into his mouth. Licking her finger clean, he still sucked at the delicate finger in his mouth. When she withdrew her finger, she dragged it over his neck leaving a cool wet trail of his saliva.
Grabbing her wrist, he pulled Sakura onto his lap. "You make things taste better than they really do, you know that?" he whispered into her ear.
She giggled, "Arigato for the clothes by the way."
"Anything for you, anything," he mumbled as he bent his head down to her neck. He licked it softly then began to suck softly on it. Sakura tilted her head so he could have easier access, and felt his arm twine around her waist. Syaoran changed to another spot on her neck before he left a mark anywhere. Letting out a sigh of content, she relaxed her body against Syaoran.
With Syaoran's touch on her skin and his soothing autumn scent, her eyes began to droop. Syaoran noticed her slowly drifting off to a peaceful sleep, and slowly stroked her hair. Just when Sakura went to into a deep sleep, the door burst open. Meilin stormed in, her eyes furious when she saw Syaoran and Sakura.
"WEI AND I HAVE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU! AND WHERE DO WE FIND YOU!?!?! HOME! PERFECTLY FINE!!!!!!" Meilin boomed.
"Meilin could you lower your voice? Sakura is sleeping..." he responded quietly, still stroking Sakura's baby soft hair.
"I don't care! I've been worried sick about you!"
"Want to see the remains of her clothes?" Syaoran asked, ignoring her previous comment.
"What do you mean the `remains' of her clothes?" she asked narrowing her eyes.
Syaoran stood up with Sakura still sleeping peacefully in his arms. She shifted a little, but still continued to breath evenly. Walking to his bedroom, Meilin followed with curiosity. Once they arrived at his bedroom, Syaoran laid Sakura gently on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Then he picked up a few scraps off the floor, and held them up.
"These are the remains of her clothes when I found her," Syaoran choked. Meilin was speechless, all she could do was stare in shock. "I found her tied to a bed...almost dead... I think she was whipped too because there was this wooden frame nearby and a whip lying near the floor," Syaoran continued, tears coming to his eyes. "She was bleeding all over...all these cuts around her entire body...I thought I lost her again..."
Meilin put a hand on his shoulder, "Gomen...I didn't know... But...I don't see any cuts now..."
"That's the strange part. When I woke up she was completely healed...although she was still weak from all the blood loss."
"Take good care of her Syaoran. She got hurt so many times before, and if you don't..." Meilin began. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Then she glided out of his room, but popped her head back in, "I'll go call Tomoyo to make a new school outfit for her."
"Arigato..." Syaoran thanked gratefully. He turned his attention back to Sakura and brushed away the hair from her face. She's so beautiful...even when she's sleeping, Syaoran thought to himself.