Okay, I'm not going to lie to you: This chapter sucks, plain and simple. I
kinda rushed it in anticipation of the next chapter. But keep reading! The
next chapter will be better… I promise.
Q+A Time!
Bill and Jen, the two demons Syaoran tied up won't be making a reappearance. They disappeared when the crystal broke. The crystal was what was sustaining the lives of the demons, and when the crystal went, so did the demons.
Secondly, yeah, she should probably be saying "FIREY!" Instead. I blame it on myself. You see, I really want to see all of the CCS DVDs, but I have only two DVDs and I believe only 7 of 18 are out. So I haven't seen it all, but I have read a lot about it and seen almost all of Cardcaptors. ::shudders:: DAMN YOU NELVANA!
Third, yes I do like video games… assuming by "like" you mean utterly obsessed. Like I'm listening to a game soundtrack now… while typing… while playing "Golden Sun" on my GBA…
Okay, that's enough for now. Onto the crappy chapter…
Chapter 21
"Come on, you two, my village is just ahead!" Meilin ran ahead screaming as Sakura and Syaoran slowly walked behind the energetic Meilin. They were exhausted. "Ugh… she's been hyper for hours… my feet are killing me… you've known her longer than I have, Syaoran, has she always been like this?" Sakura asked. "No," he responded slowly, panting in exhaustion. "She's never been this hyper before… usually she was the one to lag behind ME!" Meilin ran back. "What's taking you so long? Come on, my village is only about a mile or two away. How can you be so tired already? We've only walked about 20 miles!" Their eyes widened. "Only twenty miles?!" Sakura asked in shock. Meilin rolled her eyes. "I guess that's what happens when you aren't training to be a warrior for seven years like I have been." Syaoran looked annoyed. "Well, it's not like we had a choice. We were sent through a time portal, remember." "Yeah, yeah, but come on, or we won't be there before Sunset and we'll miss dinner." "DINNER?!" They both said with their eyes widening. In all the confusion, they had forgotten to steal any food in the fortress that now lie in waste. They hadn't eaten again all day and once again found themselves wandering on empty stomachs.
"There!" Meilin pointed out a clearing in the woods. Sakura and Syaoran walked up the clearing and collapsed on a tree stump in exhaustion. Sakura groaned. "Finally… I thought we'd be wandering forever." Syaoran agreed. "It's about damn time." They sat up next to each other and were amazed. A group of warriors were hard at work training. Huge burly men in green tunics were running in and out of giant wooden buildings with smoke billowing out the roofs carrying giant logs. Slender women in blue tunics were practicing amazing acrobatics by back flipping, jumping over giant stonewalls, and practicing karate. Another woman ran to Meilin. She was a red haired girl about 11 years old in a small red tunic that fit loosely. She had large brown eyes. "Big sis!" She screamed as she ran and hugged Meilin. "It's nice to see you too, little sis." Sakura and Syaoran looked on in confusion. "Umm, excuse me, but who's this?" Syaoran questioned. The little girl saw them and screamed, "DEMONS!" She ran over to them, grabbed their hands, and with minimal effort flipped Sakura and Syaoran onto the ground. "STAY AWAY FROM OUR VILLAGE, YOU DAMNED MONSTERS!" She screamed. "MIHOSHI! NO!" She said as she grabbed her arm. "They're not demons! Look, I'm dressed like them too! We were disguised as demons so we could get into their fortress. Go tell the village leader that I'm back and it was a successful mission." Mihoshi walked over to Sakura and Syaoran. "…Sorry, I thought you were demons… I'm really sorry. My name's Mihoshi." Syaoran looked up, still upside down against the tree stump, with Sakura still on top of him. "I'm Syaoran, and this is Sakura. But, just promise me you won't do that again." Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, alright." And she ran off. They stood up and brushed the dirt off their tuxedos. "…She's pretty strong." Sakura said in amazement. "Well, she isn't really. She just caught me off guard. If I were ready, she couldn't have even come close. Plus, I don't hit little girls." Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Sure." Meilin smiled. "Well, that's what happens when you practice karate for 9 years. I've trained her since she was two." "TWO?" They asked in astonishment. "Yeah… when I first arrived here seven years ago, I came across a family of three in the woods be attacked by demons. It was Mihoshi and her parents. I managed to kill the demons, but her parents were fatally injured. So when the villagers learned that I saved her, they decided to let me come here to live, since at that point, there was no way to return to China. This village is for people like me who have no magic power, but wish to use their physical strengths to fight Sadin. I raised Mihoshi and taught her ever since that day when she was two. I taught her the basics, and by five, she knew the basics. She's very special. She thinks of me like a big sister. She's a little over protective though, as you just saw."
Just then a large man in a black tunic with high brown boots surrounded by what appeared to be guards walked up to them, with Mihoshi in tow. The man appeared to be about forty, but was still in very good shape. He had dark black hair with a tint of gray and round brown eyes. Meilin bowed down. "Chief Cornia, I am proud to report my mission was a complete success. I destroyed the fortress and all of it's inhabitants, including Seifer." Syaoran put his hand on his face and purposely coughed. "…Oh, and they helped, too." Sakura rolled her eyes and thought, "Same old Meilin. Still the same after all these years." The chief looked at them. "And who are these two?" They stepped forward and introduced themselves and bowed in respect. "I am Syaoran Li." "And I am Sakura Kinomoto. We were in the fortress trying to steal some food and to try to destroy it. That's when we met up with Meilin." Syaoran added, "We've known Meilin from long ago, since before Sadin's invasion." The chief smiled. "Is that so? Any friend of Meilin is welcome in our village. Well, this is a glorious day! Dinner is to be ready soon, but I will have our chefs work extra hard. Tonight, we feast!"
About an hour later, Sakura, Syaoran, Meilin, and Mihoshi were sitting next to each other at a long table covered in foods. Within a few seconds, Sakura and Syaoran were once again stuffing their faces as fast as they could. This time, however, they weren't alone. The rest of the village was eating just as fast. Meilin was too. "Man, running and training all day sure works up an appetite!" After about a half an hour of eating every type of meat they could, Sakura and Syaoran stood up stuffed. But not before Sakura grabbed some fruit and put it in her backpack for the road. They were extremely tired from their day of walking. They were headed for the rooms that had been assigned to them, when Mihoshi grabbed them by the arms. "Come on! It's time to dance!" An upbeat theme of music in drums was beginning to play. Many villagers were starting to dance in pairs together. Mihoshi started to push them towards the center of the field where the dancing was beginning. "Alright, it's time to celebrate! It's tradition that the entire village must dance after a victory like this! Come on, all the couples must dance!" They just blushed, though it didn't really show in the setting sun. "But we're really not a couple! We're just friends!" Sakura said. "Uh-huh. I've seen the way you two look at each other." Syaoran looked angry. "What do you mean by that?!" Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, nothing, really. But you have to dance anyways." They stood in front of each other, blushing as Mihoshi walked away. "So… umm… should we really… ummm I mean would you like to…" "Of course! I mean, I guess we could…" Sakura interrupted. They walked close to one another, ready to put their arms around the other to dance, when…
RUMBLE! The entire ground shook, and everyone fell over. They looked up and saw in horror a bright orange liquid spurting from the top of a mountain. "A VOLCANO!" Sakura gasped. "That must be where the next shrine is!" Meilin walked up to them as they stood up. "Are you two okay? That happens a lot. It means that the volcano will probably erupt in a few days. Don't worry about the village, though. There is a small lake at the base of it that the lava flows into that prevents it from reaching here." Syaoran said, "But we can't let that happen! The next shrine is in that volcano! We need to get there soon!" Meilin looked worryingly at the volcano. "You're kidding! Oh damn… then the only time you can go would be tomorrow morning. It's too dangerous right now, and if you leave too late, it will boil you alive. You'll have to leave as soon as you wake up. But if you are going, then you'll need a few extra things. I'll put them in your backpacks. You should get to sleep. You'll need all the energy you can for tomorrow." Syaoran sighed. "Well, I guess we gotta put a rain check on our dance." Syaoran said half relieved, half disappointed. "I can't dance anyways…" Then he whispered. "Though I was sorta looking forward to… Wait! What am I saying? I must be too tired…" "Come on, Syaoran… let's get some rest." Sakura said yawning. They took one last look at the fiery mountain. They walked off to their rooms right next to one another and jumped right into their soft beds and fell asleep.
The next morning, Sakura woke when she heard a knocking on her wooden door. She walked out to see, after adjusting to the bright sunlight, Meilin standing in the doorway holding Sakura's backpack. "I gave you some fresh supplies for you, and some fresh clothes in here. It's time for you to go." Sakura sighed. "…That was barely enough sleep…" She ran her hands through her long her, trying to straighten it out. She noticed Syaoran leaning on the wall. "Come on, Sakura. I'm still tired too, but it's either being tired, or be burned alive when the volcano erupts. And if we don't go, it might be months before we can attempt to go, if we ever can." "Hoe… Alright." She grabbed her backpack from Meilin and began to walk north. But before she could catch up with Syaoran already waiting for her on the trail to the volcano, Meilin whispered in her ear, "And just remember, you better take good care of Syaoran, or I'll come looking for you!" Sakura gulped and walked to Syaoran. "What did Meilin say to you, Sakura?" "Oh, nothing…" She said with a sweat drop rolling down her head. She turned to see Meilin waving them goodbye.
"I wonder if I'm doing the right thing…" Meilin thought. "I love him, but I know they love each other… they just are too slow to realize it… I could join them and maybe become Syaoran's girlfriend before Sakura! …No… Syaoran will be happier with Sakura… Good-bye Syaoran… AND YOU BETTER TAKE GOOD CARE OF EACH OTHER!" She screamed out loud with tears forming in her eyes. She walked to her room and thought to herself…
Sakura and Syaoran walked in silence through the woods, until they came to the end, and what they saw amazed them. In front of them stood a gigantic lake at the base of the volcano. Steam was rising from the water, creating a dense fog. Sakura walked to the shore of the foggy lake and put her hand in the water. "So warm… it's like a giant hot tub!" "The ground must be heated by the lava. It really is a giant hot tub. Hey, what are you doing?" Syaoran asked as he saw Sakura pulling out her staff and a Clow Card.
"CREATE CARD! BUILD A WALL AROUND THE HOT SPRINGS!" Suddenly, a giant screen of white paper walls similar to the religious shrines Syaoran had seen in pictures of the Buddhist temples in China. "Umm, Sakura? What's with the paper walls?" Sakura grabbed her backpack and walked over to one half of the walls and stepped behind them. "I haven't had a bath in days. I really need one. I feel so dirty. And I bet I smell pretty bad, too. I never go this long without bathing." Syaoran just blushed. "B-b-but we don't have any swimsuits or anything! We're just going to—" "Well, that's what the walls are here for, silly! And I can't stand another minute in these hot and itchy tuxedos. Come on, we can try on those special clothes Meilin said she packed for us." She giggled. Syaoran was still blushing, but he needed one too. So he just took the top off his tuxedo and walked to his side silently. A few minutes later, they were both submerged in the hot water. Syaoran heard Sakura talking on the other side to herself. "Ahh… it feels so good to get all those itchy clothes off…" Syaoran's face turned bright crimson red. "Don't think about her like that… don't think about that… don't think about that…" He repeated to himself over and over. Eventually, Syaoran managed to relax. He slowly let himself sink from top to bottom underwater. Sakura did the same. She felt her long hair floating in the water, when suddenly she felt a burning sensation. She rose to the surface and stood on the side of the shore, but still hiding behind the shade of the walls. "Syaoran, did something just burn you too?" She said peering her head around the corner. Syaoran did the same. "Yeah… what happened? A few more seconds and I would have been boiled!" Sakura turned her head towards the other end of the lake. She noticed something glowing a dark orange. "I see it! Some lava has flowed into the lake." "Dammit." Syaoran said. "What are we going to do now? We'd be boiled on the inside if we tried to swim across now." Sakura held out her backpack. Well, first let's change into something. I don't think going into a volcano completely nude is the brightest thing to do."
A minute later, Sakura walked out from her side. She had on the new suit Meilin had given her. She wore a pair of brown boots that went half way up to her knees. She had on a fire red mini-skirt made of some kind of leather and a loose-fitting red sleeveless leather top. A long red pointy sock-like red cap sat on her head that was as long as her hair. "Are you ready Syaoran?" Syaoran walked out. He had the same boots and hat as Sakura, but he had a sleeveless red tunic that ended halfway between his knees and hip with a brown ammo belt around his waist and around his shoulder. He put his sword in a special sheath specifically designed for it over his shoulder. They stared at each other and blushed for a second, noticing the others lack of many layers of clothes. But they were going into a volcano, so they needed to keep cool, so many layers wouldn't be too smart. "Yeah, but now what?" Sakura pointed at a brown piece of paper hanging on his shoulders. "What's that?" Syaoran grabbed it and read it.
"Dear Syaoran,
The tunic for you and the mini-skirt and top for Sakura are made of a special fabric. They are heat-absorbing suits that will protect you from the heat of the volcano. A spell has been placed on the volcano that keeps the inside of the volcano at a constant. 1,000° F. But as long as you wear these, you should be fine, but I wouldn't recommend staying too long. And falling in lava will still most likely be an instant death. So watch your step.
Love, Meilin"
"Well, at least we know we won't fry just being in there. Come on, I have an idea." She grabbed her staff and threw a card in the air.
"FLY" The end of her staff sprouted a pair of wings and Sakura sat on it. "Come on. We need to get there fast!" Syaoran hopped on and held onto Sakura's side. They took off and flew above the fog. Sakura zoomed in and flew at high speeds, dive-bombing towards the fiery pit of molten rock.
To be continued…
Q+A Time!
Bill and Jen, the two demons Syaoran tied up won't be making a reappearance. They disappeared when the crystal broke. The crystal was what was sustaining the lives of the demons, and when the crystal went, so did the demons.
Secondly, yeah, she should probably be saying "FIREY!" Instead. I blame it on myself. You see, I really want to see all of the CCS DVDs, but I have only two DVDs and I believe only 7 of 18 are out. So I haven't seen it all, but I have read a lot about it and seen almost all of Cardcaptors. ::shudders:: DAMN YOU NELVANA!
Third, yes I do like video games… assuming by "like" you mean utterly obsessed. Like I'm listening to a game soundtrack now… while typing… while playing "Golden Sun" on my GBA…
Okay, that's enough for now. Onto the crappy chapter…
Chapter 21
"Come on, you two, my village is just ahead!" Meilin ran ahead screaming as Sakura and Syaoran slowly walked behind the energetic Meilin. They were exhausted. "Ugh… she's been hyper for hours… my feet are killing me… you've known her longer than I have, Syaoran, has she always been like this?" Sakura asked. "No," he responded slowly, panting in exhaustion. "She's never been this hyper before… usually she was the one to lag behind ME!" Meilin ran back. "What's taking you so long? Come on, my village is only about a mile or two away. How can you be so tired already? We've only walked about 20 miles!" Their eyes widened. "Only twenty miles?!" Sakura asked in shock. Meilin rolled her eyes. "I guess that's what happens when you aren't training to be a warrior for seven years like I have been." Syaoran looked annoyed. "Well, it's not like we had a choice. We were sent through a time portal, remember." "Yeah, yeah, but come on, or we won't be there before Sunset and we'll miss dinner." "DINNER?!" They both said with their eyes widening. In all the confusion, they had forgotten to steal any food in the fortress that now lie in waste. They hadn't eaten again all day and once again found themselves wandering on empty stomachs.
"There!" Meilin pointed out a clearing in the woods. Sakura and Syaoran walked up the clearing and collapsed on a tree stump in exhaustion. Sakura groaned. "Finally… I thought we'd be wandering forever." Syaoran agreed. "It's about damn time." They sat up next to each other and were amazed. A group of warriors were hard at work training. Huge burly men in green tunics were running in and out of giant wooden buildings with smoke billowing out the roofs carrying giant logs. Slender women in blue tunics were practicing amazing acrobatics by back flipping, jumping over giant stonewalls, and practicing karate. Another woman ran to Meilin. She was a red haired girl about 11 years old in a small red tunic that fit loosely. She had large brown eyes. "Big sis!" She screamed as she ran and hugged Meilin. "It's nice to see you too, little sis." Sakura and Syaoran looked on in confusion. "Umm, excuse me, but who's this?" Syaoran questioned. The little girl saw them and screamed, "DEMONS!" She ran over to them, grabbed their hands, and with minimal effort flipped Sakura and Syaoran onto the ground. "STAY AWAY FROM OUR VILLAGE, YOU DAMNED MONSTERS!" She screamed. "MIHOSHI! NO!" She said as she grabbed her arm. "They're not demons! Look, I'm dressed like them too! We were disguised as demons so we could get into their fortress. Go tell the village leader that I'm back and it was a successful mission." Mihoshi walked over to Sakura and Syaoran. "…Sorry, I thought you were demons… I'm really sorry. My name's Mihoshi." Syaoran looked up, still upside down against the tree stump, with Sakura still on top of him. "I'm Syaoran, and this is Sakura. But, just promise me you won't do that again." Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, alright." And she ran off. They stood up and brushed the dirt off their tuxedos. "…She's pretty strong." Sakura said in amazement. "Well, she isn't really. She just caught me off guard. If I were ready, she couldn't have even come close. Plus, I don't hit little girls." Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Sure." Meilin smiled. "Well, that's what happens when you practice karate for 9 years. I've trained her since she was two." "TWO?" They asked in astonishment. "Yeah… when I first arrived here seven years ago, I came across a family of three in the woods be attacked by demons. It was Mihoshi and her parents. I managed to kill the demons, but her parents were fatally injured. So when the villagers learned that I saved her, they decided to let me come here to live, since at that point, there was no way to return to China. This village is for people like me who have no magic power, but wish to use their physical strengths to fight Sadin. I raised Mihoshi and taught her ever since that day when she was two. I taught her the basics, and by five, she knew the basics. She's very special. She thinks of me like a big sister. She's a little over protective though, as you just saw."
Just then a large man in a black tunic with high brown boots surrounded by what appeared to be guards walked up to them, with Mihoshi in tow. The man appeared to be about forty, but was still in very good shape. He had dark black hair with a tint of gray and round brown eyes. Meilin bowed down. "Chief Cornia, I am proud to report my mission was a complete success. I destroyed the fortress and all of it's inhabitants, including Seifer." Syaoran put his hand on his face and purposely coughed. "…Oh, and they helped, too." Sakura rolled her eyes and thought, "Same old Meilin. Still the same after all these years." The chief looked at them. "And who are these two?" They stepped forward and introduced themselves and bowed in respect. "I am Syaoran Li." "And I am Sakura Kinomoto. We were in the fortress trying to steal some food and to try to destroy it. That's when we met up with Meilin." Syaoran added, "We've known Meilin from long ago, since before Sadin's invasion." The chief smiled. "Is that so? Any friend of Meilin is welcome in our village. Well, this is a glorious day! Dinner is to be ready soon, but I will have our chefs work extra hard. Tonight, we feast!"
About an hour later, Sakura, Syaoran, Meilin, and Mihoshi were sitting next to each other at a long table covered in foods. Within a few seconds, Sakura and Syaoran were once again stuffing their faces as fast as they could. This time, however, they weren't alone. The rest of the village was eating just as fast. Meilin was too. "Man, running and training all day sure works up an appetite!" After about a half an hour of eating every type of meat they could, Sakura and Syaoran stood up stuffed. But not before Sakura grabbed some fruit and put it in her backpack for the road. They were extremely tired from their day of walking. They were headed for the rooms that had been assigned to them, when Mihoshi grabbed them by the arms. "Come on! It's time to dance!" An upbeat theme of music in drums was beginning to play. Many villagers were starting to dance in pairs together. Mihoshi started to push them towards the center of the field where the dancing was beginning. "Alright, it's time to celebrate! It's tradition that the entire village must dance after a victory like this! Come on, all the couples must dance!" They just blushed, though it didn't really show in the setting sun. "But we're really not a couple! We're just friends!" Sakura said. "Uh-huh. I've seen the way you two look at each other." Syaoran looked angry. "What do you mean by that?!" Mihoshi smiled. "Oh, nothing, really. But you have to dance anyways." They stood in front of each other, blushing as Mihoshi walked away. "So… umm… should we really… ummm I mean would you like to…" "Of course! I mean, I guess we could…" Sakura interrupted. They walked close to one another, ready to put their arms around the other to dance, when…
RUMBLE! The entire ground shook, and everyone fell over. They looked up and saw in horror a bright orange liquid spurting from the top of a mountain. "A VOLCANO!" Sakura gasped. "That must be where the next shrine is!" Meilin walked up to them as they stood up. "Are you two okay? That happens a lot. It means that the volcano will probably erupt in a few days. Don't worry about the village, though. There is a small lake at the base of it that the lava flows into that prevents it from reaching here." Syaoran said, "But we can't let that happen! The next shrine is in that volcano! We need to get there soon!" Meilin looked worryingly at the volcano. "You're kidding! Oh damn… then the only time you can go would be tomorrow morning. It's too dangerous right now, and if you leave too late, it will boil you alive. You'll have to leave as soon as you wake up. But if you are going, then you'll need a few extra things. I'll put them in your backpacks. You should get to sleep. You'll need all the energy you can for tomorrow." Syaoran sighed. "Well, I guess we gotta put a rain check on our dance." Syaoran said half relieved, half disappointed. "I can't dance anyways…" Then he whispered. "Though I was sorta looking forward to… Wait! What am I saying? I must be too tired…" "Come on, Syaoran… let's get some rest." Sakura said yawning. They took one last look at the fiery mountain. They walked off to their rooms right next to one another and jumped right into their soft beds and fell asleep.
The next morning, Sakura woke when she heard a knocking on her wooden door. She walked out to see, after adjusting to the bright sunlight, Meilin standing in the doorway holding Sakura's backpack. "I gave you some fresh supplies for you, and some fresh clothes in here. It's time for you to go." Sakura sighed. "…That was barely enough sleep…" She ran her hands through her long her, trying to straighten it out. She noticed Syaoran leaning on the wall. "Come on, Sakura. I'm still tired too, but it's either being tired, or be burned alive when the volcano erupts. And if we don't go, it might be months before we can attempt to go, if we ever can." "Hoe… Alright." She grabbed her backpack from Meilin and began to walk north. But before she could catch up with Syaoran already waiting for her on the trail to the volcano, Meilin whispered in her ear, "And just remember, you better take good care of Syaoran, or I'll come looking for you!" Sakura gulped and walked to Syaoran. "What did Meilin say to you, Sakura?" "Oh, nothing…" She said with a sweat drop rolling down her head. She turned to see Meilin waving them goodbye.
"I wonder if I'm doing the right thing…" Meilin thought. "I love him, but I know they love each other… they just are too slow to realize it… I could join them and maybe become Syaoran's girlfriend before Sakura! …No… Syaoran will be happier with Sakura… Good-bye Syaoran… AND YOU BETTER TAKE GOOD CARE OF EACH OTHER!" She screamed out loud with tears forming in her eyes. She walked to her room and thought to herself…
Sakura and Syaoran walked in silence through the woods, until they came to the end, and what they saw amazed them. In front of them stood a gigantic lake at the base of the volcano. Steam was rising from the water, creating a dense fog. Sakura walked to the shore of the foggy lake and put her hand in the water. "So warm… it's like a giant hot tub!" "The ground must be heated by the lava. It really is a giant hot tub. Hey, what are you doing?" Syaoran asked as he saw Sakura pulling out her staff and a Clow Card.
"CREATE CARD! BUILD A WALL AROUND THE HOT SPRINGS!" Suddenly, a giant screen of white paper walls similar to the religious shrines Syaoran had seen in pictures of the Buddhist temples in China. "Umm, Sakura? What's with the paper walls?" Sakura grabbed her backpack and walked over to one half of the walls and stepped behind them. "I haven't had a bath in days. I really need one. I feel so dirty. And I bet I smell pretty bad, too. I never go this long without bathing." Syaoran just blushed. "B-b-but we don't have any swimsuits or anything! We're just going to—" "Well, that's what the walls are here for, silly! And I can't stand another minute in these hot and itchy tuxedos. Come on, we can try on those special clothes Meilin said she packed for us." She giggled. Syaoran was still blushing, but he needed one too. So he just took the top off his tuxedo and walked to his side silently. A few minutes later, they were both submerged in the hot water. Syaoran heard Sakura talking on the other side to herself. "Ahh… it feels so good to get all those itchy clothes off…" Syaoran's face turned bright crimson red. "Don't think about her like that… don't think about that… don't think about that…" He repeated to himself over and over. Eventually, Syaoran managed to relax. He slowly let himself sink from top to bottom underwater. Sakura did the same. She felt her long hair floating in the water, when suddenly she felt a burning sensation. She rose to the surface and stood on the side of the shore, but still hiding behind the shade of the walls. "Syaoran, did something just burn you too?" She said peering her head around the corner. Syaoran did the same. "Yeah… what happened? A few more seconds and I would have been boiled!" Sakura turned her head towards the other end of the lake. She noticed something glowing a dark orange. "I see it! Some lava has flowed into the lake." "Dammit." Syaoran said. "What are we going to do now? We'd be boiled on the inside if we tried to swim across now." Sakura held out her backpack. Well, first let's change into something. I don't think going into a volcano completely nude is the brightest thing to do."
A minute later, Sakura walked out from her side. She had on the new suit Meilin had given her. She wore a pair of brown boots that went half way up to her knees. She had on a fire red mini-skirt made of some kind of leather and a loose-fitting red sleeveless leather top. A long red pointy sock-like red cap sat on her head that was as long as her hair. "Are you ready Syaoran?" Syaoran walked out. He had the same boots and hat as Sakura, but he had a sleeveless red tunic that ended halfway between his knees and hip with a brown ammo belt around his waist and around his shoulder. He put his sword in a special sheath specifically designed for it over his shoulder. They stared at each other and blushed for a second, noticing the others lack of many layers of clothes. But they were going into a volcano, so they needed to keep cool, so many layers wouldn't be too smart. "Yeah, but now what?" Sakura pointed at a brown piece of paper hanging on his shoulders. "What's that?" Syaoran grabbed it and read it.
"Dear Syaoran,
The tunic for you and the mini-skirt and top for Sakura are made of a special fabric. They are heat-absorbing suits that will protect you from the heat of the volcano. A spell has been placed on the volcano that keeps the inside of the volcano at a constant. 1,000° F. But as long as you wear these, you should be fine, but I wouldn't recommend staying too long. And falling in lava will still most likely be an instant death. So watch your step.
Love, Meilin"
"Well, at least we know we won't fry just being in there. Come on, I have an idea." She grabbed her staff and threw a card in the air.
"FLY" The end of her staff sprouted a pair of wings and Sakura sat on it. "Come on. We need to get there fast!" Syaoran hopped on and held onto Sakura's side. They took off and flew above the fog. Sakura zoomed in and flew at high speeds, dive-bombing towards the fiery pit of molten rock.
To be continued…