"Sakura's Peace"

A Card Captor Fanfiction

By: Bekah-chan

Rated: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captors or the characters therein.

Author's Notes:

Lightblossom (In response to a review you left a long time ago); I just decided to call her 'Helen' (like I decided to call Sakura's father 'Kent'). I read the English translated Card Captor Sakura manga; and in one edition (the one with the Flower Card) Madison's mother struck me as a not very happy, not very nice person. She was also kinda freaky obsessed with Sakura's mother, but never mind. Anyway, if you have anymore questions, go back and check my 'Author's Notes' on previous chapters... Most of the questions you asked this time have answers there :)

Oh, and you guys do know that Touya and Yue/Yukito are... Umm *cough*FRIENDS*cough* right? *whispers* They like each other in that way. Don't worry though, there won't be anything icky in any of my fics, I just make fluffy couple jokes about the Touya/Yukito thing ^_~

THANKS for the Reviews!! Sorry it took so long :)

Chapter 17, Watch:

            Finally, around midnight, Kent decided that everyone should get some sleep. Syaoran cut off Sakura's objection, by suggesting that they take turns standing watch, in case something happened, like Madison and/or Kero coming out of their trance. Sakura fell asleep herself, while everyone decided who would take 'first watch', and the only other person who had magic defenses (and offences) at their disposal (who was not still emotionally distraught from the, tragic, involuntary, cutting off of their hair) was Syaoran.

            The Li Clan Warrior was the natural choice for the first shift, and he would waken Yue, now Yukito again, to take over, about an hour before dawn.

            Kent gently lifted Sakura, who had fallen asleep with her head on Syaoran's lap and her injured ankle propped on the opposite arm of the love-seat, and carried her up the stairs to tuck her into her own bed. Touya, yawning, soon followed, retiring to his own room. Kent, after softly closing Sakura's door, was making a return trip down the stairs, when he caught Yukito (who, in his human form, did not have the victimized hairstyle) trying to sneak up to Touya's room.

            Kent turned him around, and sternly marched him back down the stairs, directing him to the downstairs guestroom. But, from there, Sakura's father did not return to his own room for the night. Instead Kent made a slight detour to collect a First-Aid kit, before returning to the livingroom, and a surprised Syaoran.

            "Don't you need to sleep too?" the younger man asked.

            "Yes, but I thought we should take care of your leg first."

            It took Syaoran a moment to realize what he meant. The Warrior had been so concerned about his Cherry Blossom, and everyone else, that he had forgotten his own injury. The nefarious fowl, and subsequent bite, seemed weeks ago, not hours; And he had been subconsciously suppressing the pain in order to concentrate on other things. He remembered it now, however, and the knowledge brought the physical sensation back as well.

            "Oh, yeah," he winced, "I'd forgotten about that."

            "I thought so." Kent smiled a little. He was pretty sure he knew why the injury had been 'forgotten', and he respected to younger man for it. But they had a moment of peace now, and this was the time for such things to be taken care of, "Let's take a look."

            Twenty minutes later, Syaoran, with his leg cleaned and bandaged, was alone in the livingroom. Well, not *exactly* alone, if you counted the two still sitting on the sofa, which Syaoran wasn't sure that he did. They hadn't moved since Kero had opened his eyes to give Sakura that brief message. Not that they weren't physically there, after all he could see them (sitting side-by-side on the sofa, holding hands) but they weren't there mentally and... Wait...

            Holding *hands*!?! When had *that* happened?

            Syaoran tried, as he gazed at their linked hands resting on the cushions between them, to remember if Kero hand been holding Madison's hand back when he'd first gone into the trance (or even after he'd awoken briefly) ... but he really didn't think there had been any hand-holding on either occasion.

            Syaoran was tired, he was injured, and (even discounting the general horror and suspense) this had *not* been the best day of his life... But Syaoran was a warrior, had been trained as such for nearly a decade before he even came to Japan -not to mention his battle experience since then- and he rarely missed anything. His subconscious automatically took note of everything in his surroundings; like where the exits were (if he was inside, where he, or anyone with him, could escape if things got ugly); where any people in a room, or vicinity, were; and the location of everything that could be used as a weapon (either for him or against him) as well as any obstacles in his way.

            So he had, naturally, been cataloging everything that had happened in that room for the last six hours, or so. And Kero has not been holding hands with Mad, as little as ten minutes ago. It was a new development, meaning that the situation had changed... Did this mean they were waking up?

            If it did, it was not going to happen quickly, Syaoran decided after watching them for 40 minutes without any additional change.

            Ten minutes after that, Kero's eyelids twitched, and blinked open. An action which Madison copied with uncanny synchronization. Then they both turned their heads toward one another, smiled identical smiles, and moved their double stare to Syaoran.

            It was kinda freaky, actually.

            When their gazes focused on him, however, the first independent action occurred... Madison's eyebrows drew together and she frowned in confusion, glancing a question at Kero.

            "This is Li Syaoran," Kero told her in response, "He is a friend, also a competent sorcerer and warrior."

            Syaoran blinked. Had Kero just given him a complement?

            Mad nodded in reply to Kero and turned her purple eyes back to Syaoran, a shy smile of greeting on her face.

            Syaoran said the first thing that came to his mind;

            "Umm... Hi?"

To Be Continued ^_^