Okay, so this is the last of my pre-written chapters. But fear not, I plan
to have a new chapter up every three days or less, especially with Spring
Break soon! But a lot of you were wondering about the gashes in Sakura's
stomach, well, they're not that deep, and the sea water helped clean the
wounds… but I'll address it more this chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 28
They still sat there through the night staring at the stars, with Sakura's head on Syaoran's shoulder, and Syaoran's arm wrapped around Sakura. They noticed a shooting star streaking across the sky. They leaned closer to each other and turned and looked in each other's eyes. They saw the light of the Heaven's shining in them. They moved their heads slowly together and their lips were about to touch…
"HEY! OVER HERE YOU TWO LOVE BIRDS!"
Sakura and Syaoran were startled and fell backwards into the sand. They looked up and saw Gene standing over them laughing. "Aw, I'm sorry, did I ruin you two love birds little romantic moment?" He said laughing while laughing loudly. Syaoran took his arm off Sakura's shoulders. "How long have you been there?" He asked with his face turning red, as did Sakura's. Gene gave a somewhat cynical smile. "Since your first kiss, about an hour or two ago… I think it's so sweet…" Syaoran stood up and blushed even worse. "Hey, I wasn't kissing her, I was giving her CPR. Sakura almost drowned. We were attacked and Sakura's suit was ripped off. I needed to try and save her!" Gene laughed. "Well, you did give her CPR. I saw that. I was looking for you, since you had been gone for too long. I arrived just in time to see her wake up." Syaoran nodded. "See? I told you I was just giving CPR." Sakura added in, "Yeah, that's true. He revived me. I thought I was going to die, and I almost did. I felt my heart stop before I passed out."
Gene suddenly frowned. "I see. It looks like your stomach is torn up a little bit, too." Sakura looked down and rubbed her exposed stomach. It was covered in blood, though not that heavily. "Oh… that's just where the demon guarding the shrine cut me. It's nothing. I don't even feel any pain." She said Gene added, "Well, when we get to the village later, we'll have the doctor decide how serious it is. But Syaoran, I have a question." Syaoran turned towards him. "Huh?" Gene smiled like a fox. "Tell me, I don't know CPR, but is it customary to hold the victim's lips to yours and hug them for five minutes AFTER he or she wakes up, and then spend two hours hugging each other while watching the stars?" Syaoran and Sakura stared at each other and blushed. "Ummm… heh… you see…" Syaoran stuttered. "Can't a guy just be happy to know his best friend didn't die right in front of him, and show it?" He said, with his face redder than ever. Gene laughed. "Uh-huh. Right. And what were you doing right when I interrupted just now?" He asked arrogantly. Sakura jumped in. "You know, my stomach really is starting to hurt. Do you think we can go see the doctor right now?" Syaoran quickly replied, as if to prevent Gene from replying. "You know, that's a really good idea! But, you know, you shouldn't walk in your condition! I'll carry you… really fast!" He scooped up Sakura in his arms and ran as fast as he could away from Gene.
Gene just stood there smiling as Syaoran rushed towards the village. "Heh. They are easily the cutest couple I've ever seen. But they'll be even better when they finally admit they love each other! Maybe I'll just have to play matchmaker! This is better than the soap operas I used to watch!" He laughed out loud and walked off slowly behind Syaoran who was still sprinting.
When Gene returned to the village, he saw a torch was still lit in the doctor's office. He knew Syaoran and Sakura must be inside. He peeked through the door, only to have Syaoran walk out moments later, inadvertently knocking him down. A sweat drop hung on Syaoran's head as he helped Gene to his feet. "Oh, sorry about that, Gene. But what do you mean by spying on us like that? Isn't it bad enough you accused us of… ummm…" "Being an adorable couple before? Heh. Sorry about that. It's just that there isn't much to do in this village. It's usually so peaceful and quiet, so I gotta get my entertainment SOMEWHERE. And I was only seeing how Sakura was doing." Syaoran turned away from him. "Sakura will be fine. The doctor is putting some bandages on her stomach now. The wounds aren't serious. They should be fully healed in less than a week." Gene rubbed his chin. "Say, if she's still in there, why'd you come out here? Don't you wanna be by her side? You know, like her real boyfriend?" A vein popped on Syaoran's face as he raised a fist. "SHE IS NOT MY GIRL FRIEND!" Then his anger quickly turned to embarrassment and he blushed. "And, well… I would like to be by her side… it's just that the demon fish that attacked her kinda tore open her shirt and… well, she needs a new one and--" "I get it. I get it." Gene interrupted. "But demon fish? What exactly happened down there?" Syaoran sat down in the dirt and told him the story of what had happened.
"Wow. That's pretty amazing she actually survived an attack like that. I certainly wouldn't." Syaoran blushed. "Well, Sakura is tough. She's already gone through so much, but she's still her old cheerful self. She's been cut across the face, heard of her father's death, seen the graves of so many of her friends, frozen, burnt, and she's still herself. She's amazing." Gene smiled and leaned over and whispered to Syaoran, "You really like her, don't you? C'mon, just admit it!" Syaoran blushed again and waved his hands. "No! Really, we're just friends! We're very close, I'll admit that, and I feel I can trust her and she can trust me, but…" "But what?" Gene asked. "…" Syaoran couldn't think of an excuse. Gene just smiled and put his hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "Look, you just think about it, okay? It'll dawn on you. Look, I gotta get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning. Just think about it." He stood up and walked off towards his cabin. At that moment, Sakura emerged from the doctor's office. Syaoran over heard the doctor talking to Sakura. "…And just try to take it easy for the next few days!" "Alright, I will, thank you doctor!" She turned her head and noticed Syaoran, and he stood up. "Thanks for being so patient, Syaoran." Sakura was wearing a very short blue top that ended just above her stomach, but a huge roll of bandages covered from the bottom of her shirt to her hips. The bandages were a little blood stained, but otherwise white as snow. "It figures…" She said with a sigh. "The day after I get that bandage off my head from being in prison, I need a new set of bandages." She sighed again. "Well, I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Why don't we go get changed out of these soaked clothes and go to bed? See you in the morning… oh… and thank you… for saving my life… again…" And Sakura walked off towards her cabin.
Syaoran started to walk off when the doctor called out from behind the door. "Um, excuse me, young man. May I see you for a minute?" "Ummm… okay." Syaoran walked into the cramped office. "Now, young man, Syaoran was it? I want to talk to you about your young friend, Sakura. While I examined her, I noticed she was breathing very heavily and couldn't seem to get a very good breath. Did anything happen today? You never told me exactly what had caused these injuries. I'm very curious. I've never seen marks like them before." Syaoran turned away. "Sakura… almost drowned today. She was attacked by a huge fish and nearly drowned after it attacked. I got her back to the surface and gave her CPR." The doctor thought to himself for a moment. "Well, it's in my opinion that you did it just in the right amount of time. Judging by her inability to take a deep breath, a minute or so more and she wouldn't live to see the sunrise. If you hadn't rescued her as quick as you did, I'm not sure she would even be able to move very far on her own two feet if at all." Syaoran bowed to the doctor. "Thank you. I had no idea." And he left for his room. He changed and slid into his bed. But he couldn't sleep.
He sat in bed, starring at the ceiling, thinking about what Gene had said to him. "You really like her! C'mon, just admit it! …Look, you just think about it, okay?" Syaoran thought about what he had done that day. He had almost lost Sakura, and finally realized he loved her. "Like her? I don't like Sakura… I… I love her…" He said aloud, with his face turning red. "I really do love her… but I can't tell her… What if she doesn't love me? No, how could she love me? It's not possible…" Syaoran heard a yawn from next door. "Syaoran? Is… yawn… that you talking in there?" It was Sakura. "Oh, sorry, I'm very sorry. I'll be quiet and let you get your rest. You've had a tough day. Just sleep." He answered back. "No, I should be thanking you…. You saved me… I owe you so much… I…" Sakura said, falling asleep before she could finish it. Syaoran just rested his head on his pillow again. He thought to himself, "Today, I almost lost her forever. But instead, I think I've gained something… something I could never have thought of… something…" He fell gently asleep before he could finish his thought.
The giant, shadowy figure once again stood before Sakura. She was all alone in front of this huge terror. But suddenly, a series of colors flew around her. Then a streak of darkness plunged into the shadowy figure, almost holding it back. Then a streak of light flung through the darkness into the heart of the figure.
Sakura woke up to see a bright light in her eyes. "Ugh… not another one of those dreams… what do they all mean? What are they trying to warn me of?" There was a knock on the door. "Sakura, are you awake? I thought I heard you talking." Sakura ran her hands through her hair to fix all of the knots in it. "Yeah, I'm awake. I just woke up, actually." She climbed out of bed and slipped on her leather boots. She headed down to the main hall where breakfast was always served to the families of the village. She grabbed some fruit and sat next to Syaoran and Gene who were talking already, while eating their breakfast. "Syaoran, do you know where we are going next?" She asked as she sat down. Syaoran said, "That's what I've been talking to Gene about. Remember what Mia told us? She said the last shrine was located in the sky above the Mage Village. How are we going to get there? Especially in your condition…" "In my condition? I'm fine! My stomach doesn't hurt. I'll be fine. But… I know how we'll make it to the shrine! We'll use the Fly Card!" Syaoran thought to himself. "We'll that's true. I thought of that, but one thing still puzzles me. Every place we've gone to has been hidden, in a place we normally couldn't survive on out own or something like that. Why would he make the last shrine so easy to get into?" Sakura smiled. "I don't know, maybe he's run out of good ideas for traps. Let's just go!" Gene smiled as he pulled out a map. "According to this map, the Mage Village is directly south of here. If you traveled by foot, it would take about two days to get there. But by air, it would just be a matter of hours." Sakura smiled. "Alright! This whole journey will be over very soon, then! Let's go!" Sakura grabbed her backpack and Syaoran's and ran outside. She reached into a backpack to get the Cards. "Hoe?" She pulled out something out. "What's this?" She held up a crystal clear diamond-like stone. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I found one of those stones that the demon leaders drop after they die. It was inside that giant fish." Syaoran said walking outside. "Oh, good! I wonder what these are for… but anyways, let's go! We can finally see Tomoyo, Mia, Kero, and Yue again!"
She pulled out the Key of Clow and held it in her hands. "RELEASE!" A brilliant light flashed and the staff grew to full size. She tossed a card in front of her and hit it with the staff. "FLY CARD!" The staff grew it's wings and Sakura hopped on. Syaoran got on right behind her and held on. Sakura took off as Gene ran out waving. "GOOD BYE! COME BACK ONE DAY! AND SYAORAN, JUST KEEP THINKING ABOUT WHAT I TOLD YOU!" Sakura looked confused. "Syaoran, what did Gene mean by that?" She asked. Syaoran blushed. "Umm, err… I don't know. Let's just go."
And together they flew off to the fifth, and final shrine in the sky.
To be continued…
Chapter 28
They still sat there through the night staring at the stars, with Sakura's head on Syaoran's shoulder, and Syaoran's arm wrapped around Sakura. They noticed a shooting star streaking across the sky. They leaned closer to each other and turned and looked in each other's eyes. They saw the light of the Heaven's shining in them. They moved their heads slowly together and their lips were about to touch…
"HEY! OVER HERE YOU TWO LOVE BIRDS!"
Sakura and Syaoran were startled and fell backwards into the sand. They looked up and saw Gene standing over them laughing. "Aw, I'm sorry, did I ruin you two love birds little romantic moment?" He said laughing while laughing loudly. Syaoran took his arm off Sakura's shoulders. "How long have you been there?" He asked with his face turning red, as did Sakura's. Gene gave a somewhat cynical smile. "Since your first kiss, about an hour or two ago… I think it's so sweet…" Syaoran stood up and blushed even worse. "Hey, I wasn't kissing her, I was giving her CPR. Sakura almost drowned. We were attacked and Sakura's suit was ripped off. I needed to try and save her!" Gene laughed. "Well, you did give her CPR. I saw that. I was looking for you, since you had been gone for too long. I arrived just in time to see her wake up." Syaoran nodded. "See? I told you I was just giving CPR." Sakura added in, "Yeah, that's true. He revived me. I thought I was going to die, and I almost did. I felt my heart stop before I passed out."
Gene suddenly frowned. "I see. It looks like your stomach is torn up a little bit, too." Sakura looked down and rubbed her exposed stomach. It was covered in blood, though not that heavily. "Oh… that's just where the demon guarding the shrine cut me. It's nothing. I don't even feel any pain." She said Gene added, "Well, when we get to the village later, we'll have the doctor decide how serious it is. But Syaoran, I have a question." Syaoran turned towards him. "Huh?" Gene smiled like a fox. "Tell me, I don't know CPR, but is it customary to hold the victim's lips to yours and hug them for five minutes AFTER he or she wakes up, and then spend two hours hugging each other while watching the stars?" Syaoran and Sakura stared at each other and blushed. "Ummm… heh… you see…" Syaoran stuttered. "Can't a guy just be happy to know his best friend didn't die right in front of him, and show it?" He said, with his face redder than ever. Gene laughed. "Uh-huh. Right. And what were you doing right when I interrupted just now?" He asked arrogantly. Sakura jumped in. "You know, my stomach really is starting to hurt. Do you think we can go see the doctor right now?" Syaoran quickly replied, as if to prevent Gene from replying. "You know, that's a really good idea! But, you know, you shouldn't walk in your condition! I'll carry you… really fast!" He scooped up Sakura in his arms and ran as fast as he could away from Gene.
Gene just stood there smiling as Syaoran rushed towards the village. "Heh. They are easily the cutest couple I've ever seen. But they'll be even better when they finally admit they love each other! Maybe I'll just have to play matchmaker! This is better than the soap operas I used to watch!" He laughed out loud and walked off slowly behind Syaoran who was still sprinting.
When Gene returned to the village, he saw a torch was still lit in the doctor's office. He knew Syaoran and Sakura must be inside. He peeked through the door, only to have Syaoran walk out moments later, inadvertently knocking him down. A sweat drop hung on Syaoran's head as he helped Gene to his feet. "Oh, sorry about that, Gene. But what do you mean by spying on us like that? Isn't it bad enough you accused us of… ummm…" "Being an adorable couple before? Heh. Sorry about that. It's just that there isn't much to do in this village. It's usually so peaceful and quiet, so I gotta get my entertainment SOMEWHERE. And I was only seeing how Sakura was doing." Syaoran turned away from him. "Sakura will be fine. The doctor is putting some bandages on her stomach now. The wounds aren't serious. They should be fully healed in less than a week." Gene rubbed his chin. "Say, if she's still in there, why'd you come out here? Don't you wanna be by her side? You know, like her real boyfriend?" A vein popped on Syaoran's face as he raised a fist. "SHE IS NOT MY GIRL FRIEND!" Then his anger quickly turned to embarrassment and he blushed. "And, well… I would like to be by her side… it's just that the demon fish that attacked her kinda tore open her shirt and… well, she needs a new one and--" "I get it. I get it." Gene interrupted. "But demon fish? What exactly happened down there?" Syaoran sat down in the dirt and told him the story of what had happened.
"Wow. That's pretty amazing she actually survived an attack like that. I certainly wouldn't." Syaoran blushed. "Well, Sakura is tough. She's already gone through so much, but she's still her old cheerful self. She's been cut across the face, heard of her father's death, seen the graves of so many of her friends, frozen, burnt, and she's still herself. She's amazing." Gene smiled and leaned over and whispered to Syaoran, "You really like her, don't you? C'mon, just admit it!" Syaoran blushed again and waved his hands. "No! Really, we're just friends! We're very close, I'll admit that, and I feel I can trust her and she can trust me, but…" "But what?" Gene asked. "…" Syaoran couldn't think of an excuse. Gene just smiled and put his hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "Look, you just think about it, okay? It'll dawn on you. Look, I gotta get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning. Just think about it." He stood up and walked off towards his cabin. At that moment, Sakura emerged from the doctor's office. Syaoran over heard the doctor talking to Sakura. "…And just try to take it easy for the next few days!" "Alright, I will, thank you doctor!" She turned her head and noticed Syaoran, and he stood up. "Thanks for being so patient, Syaoran." Sakura was wearing a very short blue top that ended just above her stomach, but a huge roll of bandages covered from the bottom of her shirt to her hips. The bandages were a little blood stained, but otherwise white as snow. "It figures…" She said with a sigh. "The day after I get that bandage off my head from being in prison, I need a new set of bandages." She sighed again. "Well, I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Why don't we go get changed out of these soaked clothes and go to bed? See you in the morning… oh… and thank you… for saving my life… again…" And Sakura walked off towards her cabin.
Syaoran started to walk off when the doctor called out from behind the door. "Um, excuse me, young man. May I see you for a minute?" "Ummm… okay." Syaoran walked into the cramped office. "Now, young man, Syaoran was it? I want to talk to you about your young friend, Sakura. While I examined her, I noticed she was breathing very heavily and couldn't seem to get a very good breath. Did anything happen today? You never told me exactly what had caused these injuries. I'm very curious. I've never seen marks like them before." Syaoran turned away. "Sakura… almost drowned today. She was attacked by a huge fish and nearly drowned after it attacked. I got her back to the surface and gave her CPR." The doctor thought to himself for a moment. "Well, it's in my opinion that you did it just in the right amount of time. Judging by her inability to take a deep breath, a minute or so more and she wouldn't live to see the sunrise. If you hadn't rescued her as quick as you did, I'm not sure she would even be able to move very far on her own two feet if at all." Syaoran bowed to the doctor. "Thank you. I had no idea." And he left for his room. He changed and slid into his bed. But he couldn't sleep.
He sat in bed, starring at the ceiling, thinking about what Gene had said to him. "You really like her! C'mon, just admit it! …Look, you just think about it, okay?" Syaoran thought about what he had done that day. He had almost lost Sakura, and finally realized he loved her. "Like her? I don't like Sakura… I… I love her…" He said aloud, with his face turning red. "I really do love her… but I can't tell her… What if she doesn't love me? No, how could she love me? It's not possible…" Syaoran heard a yawn from next door. "Syaoran? Is… yawn… that you talking in there?" It was Sakura. "Oh, sorry, I'm very sorry. I'll be quiet and let you get your rest. You've had a tough day. Just sleep." He answered back. "No, I should be thanking you…. You saved me… I owe you so much… I…" Sakura said, falling asleep before she could finish it. Syaoran just rested his head on his pillow again. He thought to himself, "Today, I almost lost her forever. But instead, I think I've gained something… something I could never have thought of… something…" He fell gently asleep before he could finish his thought.
The giant, shadowy figure once again stood before Sakura. She was all alone in front of this huge terror. But suddenly, a series of colors flew around her. Then a streak of darkness plunged into the shadowy figure, almost holding it back. Then a streak of light flung through the darkness into the heart of the figure.
Sakura woke up to see a bright light in her eyes. "Ugh… not another one of those dreams… what do they all mean? What are they trying to warn me of?" There was a knock on the door. "Sakura, are you awake? I thought I heard you talking." Sakura ran her hands through her hair to fix all of the knots in it. "Yeah, I'm awake. I just woke up, actually." She climbed out of bed and slipped on her leather boots. She headed down to the main hall where breakfast was always served to the families of the village. She grabbed some fruit and sat next to Syaoran and Gene who were talking already, while eating their breakfast. "Syaoran, do you know where we are going next?" She asked as she sat down. Syaoran said, "That's what I've been talking to Gene about. Remember what Mia told us? She said the last shrine was located in the sky above the Mage Village. How are we going to get there? Especially in your condition…" "In my condition? I'm fine! My stomach doesn't hurt. I'll be fine. But… I know how we'll make it to the shrine! We'll use the Fly Card!" Syaoran thought to himself. "We'll that's true. I thought of that, but one thing still puzzles me. Every place we've gone to has been hidden, in a place we normally couldn't survive on out own or something like that. Why would he make the last shrine so easy to get into?" Sakura smiled. "I don't know, maybe he's run out of good ideas for traps. Let's just go!" Gene smiled as he pulled out a map. "According to this map, the Mage Village is directly south of here. If you traveled by foot, it would take about two days to get there. But by air, it would just be a matter of hours." Sakura smiled. "Alright! This whole journey will be over very soon, then! Let's go!" Sakura grabbed her backpack and Syaoran's and ran outside. She reached into a backpack to get the Cards. "Hoe?" She pulled out something out. "What's this?" She held up a crystal clear diamond-like stone. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I found one of those stones that the demon leaders drop after they die. It was inside that giant fish." Syaoran said walking outside. "Oh, good! I wonder what these are for… but anyways, let's go! We can finally see Tomoyo, Mia, Kero, and Yue again!"
She pulled out the Key of Clow and held it in her hands. "RELEASE!" A brilliant light flashed and the staff grew to full size. She tossed a card in front of her and hit it with the staff. "FLY CARD!" The staff grew it's wings and Sakura hopped on. Syaoran got on right behind her and held on. Sakura took off as Gene ran out waving. "GOOD BYE! COME BACK ONE DAY! AND SYAORAN, JUST KEEP THINKING ABOUT WHAT I TOLD YOU!" Sakura looked confused. "Syaoran, what did Gene mean by that?" She asked. Syaoran blushed. "Umm, err… I don't know. Let's just go."
And together they flew off to the fifth, and final shrine in the sky.
To be continued…