"Sakura's Peace"
A Card Captor Fanfiction
By: Bekah-chan
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captors or the characters therein.
Author's Notes: Hi guys, *sniff* Chapter 4 only got one review *sniff* (Thank You, LightBlossom, you're so nice!) I need more REVIEWS so I know you guys are reading the story. You don't have to say much, 'Hi' will do, but it's the only way I have of knowing if anyone is reading it at all. So please REVIEW *big puppy-dog eyes* Thank You :-)
Chapter 5, Revenge by Design:
Kero was worried, and not just about his Mistress. Other than Sakura, Madison was perhaps the only other friend Kero really had. He did not like the things that Sakura had reported about the 'Alise' situation. Madison was in danger, Sakura was very likely walking toward danger right now, and Kero could do nothing, at this point, to help them.
After Sakura and Syaoran left, the rest of them made a decision to follow if they were not back in twenty minutes. But they had only just left, and there were at least fifteen minutes to go. Touya paced in the living room, Yue looked on from the couch and tried to appear like he was not worried at all. Kent just stood moodily by the window, glaring at the darkness of the night. And Kero was trying not to panic. After all, Sakura was a very powerful sorceress. She could take care of herself, right? Right??
~Snap out of it~ Kero told himself. It just wouldn't do for him to go into one of his 'flying' panic attacks right now. He needed something to distract himself.
Let's see......... Ah! Yes, he could work on his diagram. Kero quietly left the living-room and floated up the stairs toward the drawer, in her desk, that Sakura had set aside for his use. There, hidden under his little bed, was a many-times folded piece of paper. This he carefully brought out and unfolded, before spreading flat on the desktop.
Written in big letters across the top of the paper were the words: "Kero's Plans For Revenge on Yue- Phase 2" Kero picked up a pencil and went to work.
Trellis Conversations:
Sakura and Syaoran stood, hand in hand, and glanced up through the darkness at Madison's third-story bedroom window.
"I won't do it." Sakura insisted.
"Sakura, there's no other way up. We can't use magic, not this close to the enemy, and it's three stories."
"It's just too cliche. I will not climb that." The object in question was a white trellis latticework, complete with the required climbing ivy, that stretched from the ground to just even with Madison's balcony.
"I won't," Sakura insisted again, but they both knew she would. It was the only way to get to her friend, "All right, Fine!" she sighed, and tried to look at the trellis strategically. It really wasn't very wide, maybe 2 feet across, so they definitely wouldn't be going up side-by-side. So, the only question was: If they fell, did Sakura want to be the one to land on, or the one landed on? Well, Syaoran was heavier and Sakura really didn't mind the thought of landing on top of him so, "I'll go first."
"Be careful," Syaoran advised. It really wasn't necessary, but it was sweet all the same. Sakura gave his hand a final squeeze before releasing it and walking the few steps requisite to bring her to the bottom of the cliche incarnate. She sighed again and put her right foot through one of the four inch diamond shaped holes in the trellis. She leaned forward and tested some weight on her new foothold.
"It's not too bad," she reported to Syaoran over her shoulder, "For a trellis," she added, just to share her continued feelings of discontent.
"I'll be right behind you," he assured, while giving her a small smile of understanding.
"I know," she smiled in return, then faced the wall again and went about the business of climbing an ivy covered trellis to a balcony.
Things went okay at first. They were both in good shape, so the act of climbing was no problem, even accounting for the obnoxious shape of the holes. Since they were diamond shaped, one couldn't put a foot in straight, it would always tilt to the side. But this was relatively easy to get used too and Sakura had mastered the odd foot-tilting pace by the second story.
And this is where she got into trouble.
Don't Look Up:
For Syaoran the climb was frustrating for more reasons than the odd shape of their make-shift ladder. Picture this: A young man, who is very much in love, happens to be climbing directly under the object of his affection, who is wearing a skirt. Does the situation need more explaining?..... Didn't think so.
So, Syaoran, ever the gentleman, was studiously staring at the wall through the trellis and Not Looking Up. For this reason he did not notice when Sakura abruptly stopped climbing, instead resolutely keeping his eyes from the skies. Thus, it was quite a surprise to find himself staring at Sakura's ankle when it suddenly appeared in front of his nose.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" he whispered up to her, trying not to think of how her practical slip-on shoes showed her ankle to advantage.
His only answer was a whimper.
"Sakura, what is it?" he tried again, louder this time.
"A..... It's a.... B-Bug!!!"
Pause
"A bug?" he asked, not seeing this as a reason for her to stop, "So?"
"It's a Big Ugly Bug, and it's staring at me," she clarified.
"Oh, I see," but he didn't. What was the big deal?
"Come kill it." she ordered.
"What?"
"It's ugly, and deserves to die."
"So, kill it."
"I can't"
"I thought it 'deserved to die'?" Did he miss part of this conversation somewhere?
"It does, but *I* can't kill it."
"Why?"
"Because, it's a Big Ugly Bug that's Staring at ME!!" she was starting to sound angry.
"Umm," he searched his mind for options, "Can you flick it away?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because that would require *touching* it," she shuddered.
"So, we're just going to hang here and let it 'stare' at you all night?" he asked.
Angry Pause.
"Syaoran, if you weren't the love of my life, I would kick you off this trellis!"
"Huh?"
"You....," She began enunciating each syllable, like she was talking to a 3 year-old, "Are Going To Come Kill It!!"
"I am?"
"Yes."
"How?" They were, after all, lined up on a skinny trellis, single file.
Silence.
"S-Syaoran," she sniffled, "It's coming closer."
Heavy Sigh. This was going to be difficult, if not impossible, to do while Not Looking Up. Hmmm, maybe he could look kinda sideways? Maybe not. Double-Heavy Sigh. Resigned to his fate, Syaoran began to, carefully, climb *over* his Cherry Blossom.
Syaoran the Bug-Slayer:
After all was said and climbed, Syaoran ended up with his arms and legs securing him to the trellis on either side of Sakura. If the circumstances were different Sakura might have even enjoyed it, it *was* kinda like a big warm-and-fuzzy hug. As it was, she just tried to stay small and out of his way.
"Okay," he said once he was level with her, "Where is this 'Big Ugly Bug'?"
"Over there," she gestured to the right with her head, trying not to notice how his breath was stirring the hair on the back of her neck.
"Sakura!"
"W-What?" He was so close she could smell him, it was very distracting.
"That's a Lady-Bug!!"
"What?" ~Oh yeah, the bug~ "So? Kill it, already."
"But Sakura, it's harmless."
"I don't care! It was staring at me. Kill it."
"Sakura, I can't kill something just because it was staring at you! How can you even tell? I can't see it's eyes!" Did Lady-Bugs *have* eyes, per say?
"I don't care, it's creepy! Just get rid of it!" She wondered how well he could hang on if she elbowed him in the gut.
"So, I don't have to kill it, as long as it's gone?"
"Sure, fine."sigh
Syaoran reached out and flicked the Lady-Bug into the night. Sakura relaxed a little.
"Thank you, Syaoran." (AN: Ding Dong the Bug is gone! :)**
"Sure, any--" he turned his head back to look at her and discovered their faces where only inches apart, "-time." Their eyes caught and Sakura started to get that tingly/dizzy feeling she experienced whenever Syaoran was close to her.
"Um, Sakura?"
"Yeah," she whispered.
"Shouldn't we continue?"
"Continue what?"
"Uh, Madison Rescuing, remember?"
"Oh!" Sakura could feel her face go bright red. What kind of a friend was she? Madison was in trouble and all she could think about was bugs and Syaoran! "Let's go"
Madison's Room:
Syaoran leaned against the wall to the right of the still open balcony window. He was careful not to show it to Sakura, but that climb had really been tough on his injured leg. To be honest, the leg was the only reason he wasn't still hanging from the trellis, kissing Sakura. The pain in his leg had distracted him enough so that he was able to pull out of the haze Sakura created in his mind. He could tell she was upset about forgetting Madison, even for a second. He would have to talk to her about it later.
"Madison...." Beside him Sakura whispered to try and locate her friend in the darkness, "Mad....... Mad-is-on!"
"Maybe she's not here," Syaoran suggested.
"Someone is." Sakura countered. She was right. With their magic senses they could both tell that something, someone besides them, was in that room. Something alive. But Syaoran was getting no sense of an aura at all, and that worried him. Every living being, anything that had a soul, gave off an aura. Obviously there were some soul-less things that had an aura, the possessed duck for example- But never the other way around. You had a soul, you had an aura, no exceptions.
So, whatever was in the room with them didn't have a soul.
Sakura couldn't sense auras instinctively, like Syaoran could, but she could still tell that something wasn't right. She carefully located the small night table that was by the window, and turned on the lamp she knew was there.
When the limited light of the lamp illuminated the room, they were both shocked to see Madison. She was sitting on her bed, still as a statue save for the slight motion of her breathing, and the subsequent blinking of lids over vacant eyes. A single tear track glistened wetly on one cheek.
"Madison!" Sakura gasped as she rushed to her friend. Syaoran followed at a more sedate pace, gaze warily checking the rest of the room.
"Madison!" Sakura tried again, but her friend had not moved. Not even when Sakura shook her. Something was very, very wrong here. And while Syaoran could tell that this *was* Madison, he still could not sense her aura.............. Her body was there. Her soul was not.
To Be Continued ^_^
Author's Notes #2: No, I do not hate Madison. And yes, the Soul-Box thing is going somewhere. Do you guys think I should up the rating to PG-13??
Friendly Warning: Chapter 6 might take awhile.
**Don't know if I need this, but: Ya know that movie, 'The Wizard of Oz'? Other people own that. Not me.
