Hello again! I'm trying my best to get the chapters out in an acceptable amount of time. Oh, and I apologize for the way Meilin is acting, but I need her that way for my plot. Gomen nasai! Anyway, here's chapter two of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Thanks for the reviews!
Oh, yeah, I forgot. The disclaimer:
I don't own CCS, I don't own any songs I put up here (even if I twist them the way I want them), and I'm NOT going to put another disclaimer up. They're too…depressing!
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
by Zenin
Chapter Two: "Hoe?"
We come back to Syaoran as he is packing his bags in the car to go to the summer camp. Yamazaki is over, packing his own suitcases into the car. Meilin is talking with Chiharu, and holding a huge duffel bag.
"Six weeks away from being bashed by lie-mallets…This is gonna be great!" Yamazaki said with a grin.
Syaoran shrugged. "Perhaps."
Yamazaki got a mischievous gleam in his eyes. After pushing a suitcase into the already-overflowing trunk, Yamazaki turned and grinned knowingly at him.
"Soooo…What happened with Sakura-chan yesterday, hmmm?"
"What do you mean?"
Yamazaki's grin broadened. "A beautiful damsel in distress is swept into the arms of a dashing young man…"
Syaoran flushed and glared at him. "I couldn't just watch her fall! I did what any sensible person would…saved my friend."
"Just friend?" Yamazaki asked innocently.
Syaoran quickly looked away, hiding his burning face from his friend.
"What else could she be?"
"Oh, I could come up with a few—"
Just then, Meilin came up to them, hefting a "lie mallet".
"Chiharu gave me this and said to keep an eye on you, Yamazaki. And I won't hesitate to use it during the trip, sooooo—" she flashed a smile and was gone. Syaoran, glad for the interruption, smirked at Yamazaki's discomfort. Yamazaki sighed.
"Even when I'm 150 miles away, I still am going to be bashed for telling nice, educational facts to my friends…Sometimes I wonder why Chiharu likes me so much if she keeps hitting me with that mallet. I'm going to go brain-dead… Then she'll have a stupid boyfriend!"
Syaoran hid a smile and changed the subject. "Do you have your bags in the car?"
"Yeah, I'm already packed and ready to go!" Yamazaki replied enthusiastically.
"I don't see why you're so excited. It's just a camp."
"Well, yeah, but this trip is gonna be so much fun! Do you know how Camp Skittles got its name? The story says that one day, about 950 years ago, a huge rainbow appeared in the sky. This rainbow was so huge, that all the towns for two hundred miles around could see it clearly. Well, since it was such a big rainbow, some people began wondering if there was some special reason for it to appear, so they journeyed to see where it ended. When they found the end of the rainbow, they found the most beautiful place they'd ever seen. A tiny valley, with a tall ridge of mountains hiding it from view. In the very center of the valley there was a multi-colored pond. This valley was so unusual, so unlike anything they'd ever seen, they decided to camp there for several weeks to explore the valley and learn more about the mysterious pool. Then, one man decided to swim to the bottom of the pond to see if anything was there. When he came up, he said that there had been some writing on a large stone at the bottom. They tried to get it, but it wouldn't budge. Then they tried to decipher the writing, but no one could, because it was written in a very ancient form of writing. Eventually, they gave up and someone came up with the idea that the place had been a very nice campground, and named it 'Camp Skittles'; nicknamed 'Rainbow Valley'…"
"Interesting…" Syaoran said.
"That sounds like a lie!" said Chiharu, who had come in the middle of Yamazaki's story. She began to reach for her mallet, then remembered. Darn, I gave it to Meilin. Oh well…
"You got off easy this time. Well, have fun, Yamazaki. I have to go now. I'll see you in six weeks." she said, reaching up to kiss him.
Yamazaki flushed and returned the embrace. Syaoran sweat-dropped and got in the car, thinking as he waited for Yamazaki and Meilin.
~Syaoran's POV~
Sakura's going to be lonely.
Another voice began to argue. She can deal with it. She's the Card Mistress.
She's never been alone before.
You've been alone; lot's of times!
That's different. She's always had someone, her dad or brother, or Tomoyo. This time, everyone's going somewhere, except her.
You feel something for her?
Nani?! Where did you get that?
Hellooo! Wake up and smell the burnt toast! I'm you!
Okay, this was getting reeeaaaaalllly weird. I ran my hand through my hair in exasperation at myself. I don't know why the thought of Sakura being alone bothered me, but it did.
C'mon, Syoaran, admit it. You've got a crush on the Kinomoto girl, eh?
What's with this voice in my head? That's the last time I'm going to have a conversation with myself. Now I was even more shaken. Then another thought came to me.
Come to think of it, what was with the glowing rope in gym? We've captured all the cards, so what could it be? Another warped magician trying to hurt Sakura?
Eriol's face materialized in my mind. I swear, nothing had made me angrier than the time Eriol came and "helped" Sakura transform the cards. His form of helping happened to be a bit dangerous to all our healths. If he dares come back, I will strangle him. I mean it.
I sighed, and laid back my head.
I think I'll just take a nap… Thoughts drifted away into dream-filled sleep.
~Dream~
= I was in total darkness, except for a bright shaft of white, blinding light focused ahead of me. As I slowly walked forward, the light grew into seven vague figures. They spoke together, as one voice, and said:
"Where nothing breathes, yet they're alive;
Where all men fail, though they strive;
Lies the secret of our past.
Only those without malice and strife
Will survive and keep their life.
Beyond the gates of stony keep,
Lies our secret, hidden deep.
Lest ye not find what is there…
Beware--"
"SYAORAN!!! Wake up! We're almost there! Oh, this is gonna be the best trip ever! Look at those pretty flowers…!"
That's it. Meilin's going to have a silencing spell put on her.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Sakura gasped when she got out of Tomoyo's limo. "It's beautiful! Look's like it has everything you mentioned."
"I'm so upset that I won't be able to video tape you, Sakura! Here, take this with you…and use it, 'kay?" Tomoyo said as she stuffed a video camera into Sakura's overflowing arms.
"Um…'kay…Tomoyo…could you heeeeellll-!" She slipped in a patch of mud and began to fall. A strong pair of arms quickly caught her before she landed.
"Hoe?" Sakura looked up into the warm eyes of—
(A/N: Guess who…)
A handsome boy with reddish brown hair and calm, gray eyes that twinkled mischievously.
"Had a bit too much to handle, hm?" he said, gently placing her upright and taking two suitcases and a sleeping bag from her.
Sakura flushed and straitened.
"I think I was doing fine, thank you. You didn't need to help me."
"Oh, but I wanted to," he replied, his smile growing as she took her suitcases and bedding back and prepared to stagger away. "Nice to meet you too, I'm sure."
Sakura's blush deepened. I've acted like such a jerk. He was only trying to help. Turning, she smiled with embarrassment, freed a hand, and held it out to him.
"I'm sorry. You meant to help. I was very rude; will you forgive me?"
"Only if you tell me your name." He said boldly as he shook her hand.
"I'm Sakura Kinomoto. This is my best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji," she said, gesturing to a starry-eyed Tomoyo. "She came to drop me off. She isn't able to stay because she'll be going to England this summer to visit a friend. What is your name?"
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Daidouji," he said, kissing Tomoyo's hand charmingly. "My name is Akashi Saito. Now, which cabin are you in?"
"Cabin…four, I think." Sakura said, shuffling to read the brochure.
Akashi took the suitcases and bedding from Sakura once again and led the way to the girls' cabin, with Tomoyo trailing behind, videotaping.
"Ohohohohoho! I think I'll call this tape, 'Sakura is Saved From a Muddy Disaster by a Dashing Young Man Named Akashi'! Kawaii!"
Akashi helped Sakura situate her things, then bowed in the traditional greeting.
"I think my sister will be one of your cabin-mates. Anyway, I guess I'll see you around, Sakura." He turned to Tomoyo. "And nice meeting you, Tomoyo." With that, he bowed once more and left. Tomoyo's eyes were still starry as she watched Akashi leave.
"He's charming!"
"I suppose…" Sakura replied, as she made her bed on one of the carved top bunks. Cabin number four, though small, was beautiful. Set at the edge of a forest, it was made out of solid oak; and carved with intricate designs, inside and out. On the inside, mahogany paneling smoothed the walls, with matching sliding doors leading to the other half of the cabin. A small bathroom containing two shower stalls, a sink, and a curtained-off corner to change clothes was situated in between the two halves of the cabin. For furniture, there were mahogany bunk beds, two dressers for each side, and a desk. Sakura finished putting away her things and gave her full attention to Tomoyo. Why should I care if Akashi was charming? she wondered. Eriol was charming too, when I first met him. In fact, Eriol still is charming, but you don't see me drooling.
"Thank you for doing this for me, Tomoyo! I hope you have fun in England with Eriol. I kind of wish you could stay here with me, though."
"Don't worry about me, Sakura! I'm sure I'll have fun. And I'm sure you'll have fun, too!" Tomoyo smiled secretly to herself. She snapped one last picture of Sakura as she got into her limo. She rolled down her window and stuck her head out. "Hey, Sakura-chan!"
"Yeah?"
Tomoyo opened her mouth to say something, then stopped. She giggled mysteriously and said, "You're going to have a great time! Bye!"
Sakura smiled and waved as Tomoyo drove out of sight, heading for the airport. She sighed, dropped her hand, and walked back inside the cabin to finish her unpacking. When she was done, she stretched herself out on her bunk to rest.
A rustle at the window brought Sakura back to reality. She got up quickly and opened the window. An old woman popped her head through, saying in a raspy, truck-driver voice,
"Ketchup? Ketchup, mustard?? Ketchup???" She smiled a dirty, gap-toothed grin, cackled gleefully, and shuffled away before Sakura had a chance to speak.
"Okaaaay…" Sakura murmured confusedly.
Just then, a girl about seventeen years old burst inside the cabin, threw her things on the bunk below Sakura's, and said with a smile:
"Hello, cabin-mate!"
Sakura grinned. I like this place's spontaneity!
"Hi! I'm Sakura Kinomoto, who are you?"
"Konichiwa, I'm—Did you say Sakura Kinomoto!?"
"Um, hai…"
With a joyous cry, the girl launched herself upon Sakura and hugged her. Sakura looked puzzled.
"Um, who are you?"
The girl gained control over herself. Black eyes snapping, she looked at Sakura with a smile. "I'm Xiefa! You're the Card Mistress, aren't you?"
"Hai, demo, how did you know?"
"I'm Syaoran Li's youngest sister," the girl said, flipping back her long, dark brown hair. "I've been looking forward to seeing the girl who managed to capture the cards. I wish I could've helped, but I have very little magic, mostly the ability to move things and communicate without speaking. However, I have to see the other person to send them 'thought messages'. Anyway, have you met our other cabin-mates yet?"
"No, I arrived a few minutes ago and didn't really have much time. Did you see the weird old lady by the window?"
"'Weird old lady'? The one who kept laughing and muttering something about ketchup and mustard? Yeah…who was she?"
"I have no idea!" Sakura said, beginning to laugh as Xiefa scuffed her feet on the carpet, doubled over, and said with a twisted smirk, "Ketchup? KetchupketchupketchupketchupMUSTARD???"
They both began laughed harder, not noticing two girls enter the cabin. A small, slender, blond-haired girl smiled shyly as she placed her luggage on a bunk. Her hazel eyes shone secretly, as if she knew something no one else knew. The other girl had brilliant red hair, braided into a thick rope that hung down her back with a few tendrils curling around her face. She dropped her luggage on the floor with a thud, and looked at the giggling pair. Her gray eyes began to sparkle.
"Let me guess, your Sakura Kinomoto," she said, pointing to Sakura. "And you must be…Meilin?"
Sakura was still laughing at the "Condiment Woman" impression that Xiefa had done, not hearing the name. Xiefa made a face at hearing Meilin's name and said:
"Nope!"
"I know… you're Xiefa!"
"Yup!"
The girls laughed, then Sakura sat up from her position on the floor and asked:
"How did you know who I was?"
"My brother, Akashi, described you to me." The red headed girl responded cheerfully.
The slender blonde-haired girl smiled slyly. "He seemed quite enthralled."
"What are your names?" Xiefa asked, pointing to both of the girls.
The blonde-haired girl spoke first. "My name is Emiko Sakashi. This is my first time here. I just met her," she said, pointing to the redhead, "at the Main Hall."
The redhead grinned. "My name is Akemi Saito. You've already met my brother, I believe. My brother and I are twins, but I'm the oldest. We've been coming to this camp since I was ten years old. It has a pretty cool legend about it…"
"Hey, could you take us on a tour? We've never been here before and I think I should figure out where everything is so I don't get lost," Sakura said.
"That's a great idea!" Xiefa said happily.
"Sure, let me get my stuff put away and then I'll take you all on a tour." Akemi said, pulling clothes from a huge suitcase. The girls worked in silence for a while, putting their things away neatly. Emiko quietly slipped out of the room, unnoticed by the other three girls as she disappeared into the forest.
So far this place seems nice… I still wish some of my friends were here though, Sakura thought as she hung some dresses in a closet built into the wall.
She was about to have her wish granted…in a left-handed way.
She was reaching to shove her suitcase under the bunk bed when the suitcase pocket unzipped, and out flew…
"Kero!" Xiefa cried excitedly, grabbing the golden "stuffed animal" and hugging him tightly. Kero struggled to get out of her grasp as Sakura covered her face with her hands. Great…
Akemi looked freaked. Jumping to her feet, she backed against the wall, her gray eyes wide with shock.
"What is that?!?"
Sakura smiled weakly. She finished shoving the suitcase under the bed, then faced Akemi nervously.
"Um, Akemi…heh…do you believe in magic?"
Akemi stared at Kero, trembling. Kero managed to wriggle from Xiefa's tight embrace and flew over to Sakura.
"Gomen, Sakura—I just couldn't stay in there any longer. I'd suffocate!"
"It's okay, Kero." Sakura said, then looked hard at Akemi.
"Akemi, are you alright?"
Akemi glanced at Kero one more time, then exclaimed:
"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?!?!?" She paused and controlled herself with an effort. "I guess I believe in magic now. Will someone PLEASE explain, though?"
Sakura sighed with relief, then proceeded to tell Akemi the story of the Clow cards and their capture.
"Okay, one day, when I was ten years old, I found a book in my dad's library. I broke the seal and released a bunch of magical cards called Clow Cards. Kero is the guardian beast of the Cards and he made me a cardcaptor so I could capture the cards. When I began capturing the cards, Xiefa's brother, Syaoran Li, came and helped me capture them. He had been training practically his whole life to capture the cards. At first he was my rival, but gradually he became an ally. Anyway, when we captured all fifty-two cards, we had to face the Final Judgement to decide who would become the Cards' master or mistress. I won, and became the mistress, and Syaoran decided to stay in Japan so he could help if anyone tried to mess with the cards. Then Eriol came. Eriol was the half-reincarnation of Clow Reed, the creator of the cards. He anonymously gave me tests to help me transform the cards from Clow cards to Sakura cards. Then he went back to England, and Kero stays with me to protect me and the cards. And that's about it."
Akemi was silent. For a moment.
"You competed against a boy who had more training than you and became mistress of the cards!? SUGOI!!!!!"
Sakura sweat-dropped, as Akemi continued.
"I think that boys should stop being so chauvinistic! Times are changing, girls! And I believe—"
"Um, shouldn't you show us around before it gets dark?" Xiefa interrupted.
"Oh, yes! I forgot. I can introduce you to some of the people who come here every year, too! Let's go!"
Kero looked crestfallen. "Hey, what about me?"
"I'll bring you some desert."
"'I'll bring you some dessert'… Do you know how tiresome that gets after a while? I mean…I like dessert and all, but… I want to see the action! Sakura? Sakura??"
They ignored Kero and headed outside, Akemi acting as tour guide.
"To your left, we see the Training Building. This building is used for martial arts training, fencing and other exercises. Behind it is the Archery Field. You should always be careful when you're near that place, because some archers aren't very good at aiming." Here, she paused and waved to a few counselors passing by. "Our counselor is Reina Matsu. She's really cool. The boys' counselor is Shikimo Hara. Basically, the counselors are there to make sure we don't end up killing each other… Anyway, this is the Food Court/Cafeteria. Breakfast is at 8:00, lunch is at 12:00, and dinner is at 6:00. We can take our meals wherever we want to eat them. Sometimes the entire camp has a picnic together in the Square. Okay, this is the Dance Court. Yes, we have a dance sometime while we're here. This is the Main Hall, the place where we plan contests and play games. We meet there every morning after breakfast when our counselor will give us the day's schedule. Okay, that's the swimming pool and over there is the competition field. There are showers by the pool so you can rinse off after you swim. Oh, and over there, beside the Main Hall, is the Theater. Sometimes we have a skit. I think that's about it. Any questions?"
Sakura and Xiefa shook their heads speechlessly as the three girls headed around the corner of the Main Hall.
*CRASH! *
"Oh, great. It's the 'Demon Chick'." A boy with tousled blonde hair rolled his eyes at Akemi, while standing and dusting himself off.
"Well, well, well…if it isn't Chen Youko." Akemi remarked dryly.
"Why can't you find someplace else to go for the summer?" Chen asked.
"After you!" she threw back at him, flipping back her braid contemptuously.
Sakura and Xiefa sweat-dropped as Chen and Akemi continued their verbal battle; not noticing the tall tree, glowing crimson, and about to fall on them.
~Syaoran~
"Meilin, you're in Cabin Four, and Yamazaki and I are in Cabin Eight. We'll see you at dinner." Syaoran said quickly. And if we're lucky, there will be separate tables for boys and girls, he thought.
"But Syaoraaaaan, I want to be in the same cabin as you!" Meilin whined.
"No! I mean…no, you can't because girls are in cabins One through Four, and boys are in cabins Five through Eight." he said firmly.
"Oh, okay. At least I'll be able to be with you the rest of the time!"
Sorry, Meilin. I'll probably be training the entire time. Syaoran thought smugly as he watched her drag her duffel bag toward the girls' cabins.
"This is a nice place…Good thing there's a training building," he said. *The camp is beautiful; even I have to admit that, * he thought as he looked around. All eight cabins encircled the Square, where all the buildings were. In the center of the camp was the famous multi-colored Rainbow pond. Trees were all throughout the area, and several trails threaded their way into the forest beyond.
Cabin Eight was comfortable. Syaoran stored his luggage away, choosing a bunk near the door. Yamazaki chose the bunk above his, chattering gleefully as he arranged his things.
"Trust me, Syaoran, you're gonna love this camp. You won't be sorry that I dragged you into all of this!"
"Whatever. I'm going to go look around, want to join me?"
"Sure, let's go!"
"Yamazaki sure is happy…" Syaoran muttered to himself.
They walked outside, bumping into two boys carrying luggage. The first boy was tall, with dark blue eyes and jet-black hair. He brushed hair from his eyes and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry. I didn't see you guys there."
The other boy narrowed his light blue eyes, glaring at them. Shoving past Syaoran, he placed his things on Syaoran's bunk and threw Syaoran's stuff on the floor. Syaoran felt his temper flare up as he clenched his fists at his sides.
"Pick them up, please."
"What?"
"I said, pick them up." Syaoran said, his voice dangerously low.
The boy lifted an eyebrow. Reaching over, he pulled Syaoran's sleeping bag from the bed and left it in a heap.
"Pick them up yourself," he said.
Yamazaki covered his eyes with a hand as Syaoran stepped in front of the boy. *Not again…* he thought ruefully as Syaoran's amber eyes blazed.
"Pick. Them. Up. Now."
They glared at each other for what seemed like hours. Finally, the boy tore his eyes from Syaoran's steady gaze and slowly began picking up Syaoran's luggage, placing it on the bed. Syaoran got the boy's things together and handed them back to him. The boy threw his things on a different bunk and stormed out.
The other boy looked admiringly at Syaoran and shook hands with him.
"Who are you?" Syaoran asked.
"My name's Hakaru Takemoto," The black-haired boy said. "That was Yukio Tsukishima. He is a troublemaker from my hometown. Who are you guys?
"My name is Syaoran Li."
"I'm Takeshi Yamazaki, but since I don't like the name Takeshi, most people call me Yamazaki. Did you know that the first person that was named Hakaru was said to have had one eye? His last name was Cyclops, so whenever people call a one-eyed person a cyclops, they're pretty much calling them a 'Hakaru'!"
A sweat-drop rolled down Syaoran's face as Hakaru stared at Yamazaki, then burst out laughing. Suddenly, Yamazaki said,
"Do you know that boys with slanted eyes are said to have no eyes at all?"
Now, Yamazaki looked shocked. He put a hand to his mouth, then stared hard a Hakaru.
"I didn't say that…"
"Wait! Yes, I did…" Yamazaki contradicted himself.
"No, I didn't!"
"I did!"
Yamazaki stopped arguing with "himself" and looked knowingly at Hakaru.
"You're a ventriloquist!"
Hakaru nodded and began laughing again.
"I love doing that! It's so much fun to see people's expressions, especially when they argue with themselves.
"How did you learn?" Syaoran asked curiously.
"I don't remember, I guess I've always been able to imitate people's voices and put words in their mouths."
This is going to be fun… Syaoran thought dryly.
"Syaoran and I were about to have a look around, want to join us?"
Hakaru dumped his stuff on a bunk opposite from Syaoran's and nodded.
~Syaoran's POV~
We walked around for a while, when suddenly I felt some strange magic. Breaking into a run, I dashed around the corner of the Main Hall, only to see a boy and a girl arguing and two other girls watching. Sensing a familiar presence, I paused. Yamazaki and Hakaru caught up with me, panting.
"Syaoran, why did you start running?"
"Why did you come here?"
It feels like Sakura is here…
The tree beside the four people suddenly began to glow a furious red color and with a crack, it began to fall, right on the ginger-haired girl. I sprinted forward, threw my arms around the girl's waist and lifted and rolled with her to the side. It fell with a crash on the spot where she had been standing a moment ago.
I opened my eyes and found myself staring into the emerald depths of…Sakura's? She blinked dreamily, then realized who I was.
"Syaoran? Hoe…"
With that said, she fainted. People soon surrounded me as I tried to wake Sakura. Someone knelt beside me. I looked up, only to see my sister. I doubt if anything could surprise me now…
"How are you, little brother?"
I groaned. "Xiefa, what are you doing here?"
"Mother allowed me to come, after hearing that you were coming here for the summer. So, this is the Card Mistress. She's very pretty…" Xiefa said slyly, her black eyes shining deviously.
No, not now…I had a conversation with myself a little while ago about Sakura and I don't need another! I gritted my teeth. "Xiefa—"
Meilin, who had seen the commotion, came tearing out of her cabin and interrupted me. Her hands balled into fists when she saw Sakura.
"I knew it! I knew that Kinomoto girl would—"
I sighed.
"Meilin, give it a rest."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So there's the edited second chapter. I hope it's better than the first edition. I edit a LOT! PLEASE review. I need moral support! Also, please inform me of any changes that you think might be good for this fanfic.