Chapter 18: Student versus Teacher
"SHIELD!" Sakura called out as the wind blades came closer. When the shield was put up however, it was immediately cut open, making light slices in Sakura's arms and cheek. Sakura kneeled down and winced as the pain was stinging in her arms and face. "Clow-sifu, why?" Clow looked mercilessly at Sakura. "Clow-sifu, stop this now please!" Clow didn't answer her, instead, he pointed his staff at her. "FLAME TIGER!" As Clow called out, a tiger made of fire emerged and rushed toward Sakura at an alarming rate.
"WATER!" Sakura tried to douse the flame tiger, but Clow's magic immediately vaporized the water from the water card. Seeing the fire card was closing in on her, Sakura quickly crossed her arms together to stop the fire from burning her whole body. With devastating force, the flame tiger hit Sakura's arms, making her fall back and turning her arms into a red burn mark. "Owwww…" Sakura moaned, "…Clow, stop I don't want to hurt you!"
Clow gave a smirk looking at the beaten up Sakura. Her arms had burn marks everywhere, she could feel the burn still ripping her skin. Clow, without any mercy or thought, pointed his staff up in the air. "THUNDER BOLT!" Sakura, reacting quickly, pulled out a card and hit it with her staff, "EARTH!" Sakura was protected by rocks and gravel rising above her and absorbing the electricity. Sakura called back her card, "I need to restrain Clow, I can't hurt him." Taking out another card, Clow soon took out his staff and tried to get Sakura before she could do anything to him. "ICE SPEARS!" Clow shot out many pillars of icicles toward Sakura. "DASH!" Sakura ran and dodged every single spear. Getting closer to Clow, she immediately called out another card.
"WOOD!" Beneath Clow's feet, there were vines and leaves growing, trying to restrain him from moving. Soon, the vines got up to Clow's neck as they began to tie him up. Sakura gave a breath of relief. "Clow-sifu," she said, "I'm going to try to help you, just let me get into your mind." Sakura clutched onto Clow's head, trying to see if she could read his mind. She closed her eyes trying to read his mind, no use, she then tried to concentrate, still she couldn't do anything, and finally, she tried to hear what Clow had to say through her, nothing was good. Clow was getting anxious and angry. "Arrrrrggghhh!!!" Clow screamed trying to break free of the vines. "Clow-sifu please calm down, I need to try just one more time!"
Clow couldn't take it, his mind was erupting with anger and hatred, reflected the moment he burst into a huge explosion, tossing Sakura away from the blast. Sakura flew as far as the south wall, where she hit her head and immediately lost her senses and got dizzy. As Clow ripped off each vine off his body, he collapsed on his knees and put his hands on his head. "ARRRRRRGGGHHH!!!!" Clow screamed remembering some words he heard before.
Flashback
Sakura was 6 years old, her cheerful smile and her short auburn hair shone in the sun, giving light sparkles. Happily skipping along the way in her short little pink robe with a sash around her waist, she carried books to her favorite time of the day. Working as Clow Reed's little assistant. Turning the door handle, she went inside Clow's workshop. "Clow-sifu," she said with her cute child voice, "Clow? Where are you?" Sakura entered the workshop and looked around for Clow Reed. Seeing as where he was nowhere to be found, she went to the back room.
There he was, Clow Reed, his long black raven hair falling off past his shoulder as he fell asleep on his magic book. "Oh Clow-sifu is sleeping," she said quietly, "Well when Clow wakes up, he will have a great surprise for him." Sakura dropped off her present wrapped in a tiny bag on Clow's desk as she took her leave and quietly tiptoed out the front door. Looking behind her one last time, Sakura slammed the front door rather hard, waking Clow up.
"Who's that?" Clow asked as he looked around. Turning to his desk, Clow saw the small package on his desk "From Sakura?" he asked, "What possibly could this be?" Clow opened up the package carefully. First, untying the bow she had made to tie the wrapping together, and finally removing the wrapping sheet by sheet. "Oh Sakura!" Clow was filled with joyful tears. "How did she remember?"
Flashback
Clow was praying at an altar he had set up in the corner of the room. "Mother, may you rest in peace." Sakura, right behind him, looked curiously at the altar. "Clow, is your mother in a beautiful place in the sky just like mine?" Clow looked down at Sakura, "I think so Sakura, I think so." "Well," Sakura said, "At least you knew your mother, I never knew my mother, I don't even know what she looks like, I don't even have a remnant of her." Clow knelt down eye level with Sakura.
"Whoever your mother is Sakura," Clow said comforting Sakura, "I am sure she is beautiful, because she bore an extremely beautiful daughter," Clow wiped his eyes from the tears of grieving for his mother, "I too don't have any remnant of my mother, except for the pocket watch she used to keep in her jewelry box. I always remembered I would try to take it from mother. It always had this huge ying and yang sign in front of it, the yang always shined with gold, while the yang had silver on it. The edge of the pocket watch had a ring of jade. She gave it to me, but soon afterward, I lost it. I don't know where I lost it ever since." Sakura gave pout and then clenched her fists.
She cutely puffed out her cheeks and courageously yelled out, "I'm going to find that pocket watch for you Clow-sifu!" Clow laughed at her bravery. "I'm sure you would try Sakura, but it's impossible, I've lost it many years ago when I was being kicked out of the Forbidden City, and even to this time, I cannot find that watch." "I will!" Sakura shouted, "Just trust me Clow, I will!" Clow nodded his head, "Sure Sakura," he said trying to not disappoint her, "Even if you don't find it, I'm proud that you have tried and offered to help me."
End Flashback
"Sakura," Clow said choking back his tears, "She remembered…" Clow looked at his present, a pocket watch, with a ying half in silver, and the yang half in gold. The outside was lined with jade. Sakura made her own chain out of her father's chains from his old weapons. Inside the present, Clow found a note. "Clow-sifu, I told you I would find it!" Clow put the watch and note aside, looking out to the window, "…and you did."
End Flashback
Clow approached Sakura slowly towards the wall, with merciless bloodshot eyes. He stared at her, backing off slowly, "Clow-sifu," Sakura cried out hanging her head down crying, "I don't want to hurt you, but I'm sorry!" Clow rose his hand in the air and shouted, "CRUSHING EARTH!" Clow putting all his weight into driving the hand down into Sakura's skull, to finally finish her off. Sakura began to cry uncontrollably, not moving an inch from Clow anymore. "I'm sorry, Clow-sifu, I tried to not hurt you but…" In a matter of seconds, Clow's hand would utterly kill Sakura, coming down faster, Sakura lifted her heads up tears streaming down her face as she took her rod and drove it into Clow's gut. "SWORD!!!"
Instantly, her rod changed into a sword into Clow's gut. The sword driven through his stomach came out through the back. Clow collapsed weakly on top of Sakura as she caught him and hugged him. Sakura cried and cried, hugging the dead Clow in her arms, "Clow-sifu…." she cried, "I'm…so….sorry…Clow…please forgive me!" Sakura cried so hard, that her light sob became loud wails and screams of agony. Sakura had lost her beloved teacher, master, friend, and role model.
Syaoran running as fast as he could after hearing Sakura's screams, came to the scene, upon seeing the image before him, he was speechless. "Sakura…" he called out, worriedly looking at her. Syaoran slowly walked toward her, reaching out his hand and placing it on her head, which was buried deep into Clow's shoulder. "Sakura…" Syaoran picked her head up with both his hands, "I'm sorry…" Syaoran used his thumb to wipe off her tears, "…I'm so sorry…" Syaoran got on his knees and tried to pry Clow out of Sakura's arms. Sakura, stubborn and angry at Syaoran, tried to pull him back to her. "No!" Sakura cried out, "Clow…don't make him leave me!" Syaoran reassured her by trying to hold her back. "Sakura…listen to me, Clow, I saw him die, I saw him, how could he be here?"
"Mopan…weed…" Clow mumbled with the last breath of life. Sakura pushed Syaoran aside and tended to Clow Reed, frantically trying to get him to talk again. "Clow-sifu are you still alive?" she asked desperately, "Please Clow, answer me!" Sakura shook Clow, "Clow-sifu!" she exclaimed. "Sakura," Clow's voice emanated in her head, "I will always live for you." Sakura looked around, trying to see if this was a trick, was Clow really alive somewhere else? Sakura looked around the room, trying to find where the voice came from, "Clow-sifu, where are you Clow-sifu!?" Sakura frantically turned her head left and right looking for him. "Sakura, if you can hear me, that means you are reading my mind," Sakura looked back down at Clow's still head. "Sakura, remember that I will always be there for you, and that I will always look after you, don't ever forget that." Sakura gave tears of joy. "Clow-sifu," she said, "I will always remember you, will you always remember me?"
Clow couldn't nod, he couldn't speak, he couldn't talk, he was dead. Sakura shook him, "Clow-sifu?" she shook him, "Clow?" she shook him again, "Sifu!!!!???" Sakura wailed out with a scream reverberating through the ballroom. Syaoran looked at this scene in sadness, fraught with anger and sadness. He knelt down and grabbed Clow's body. "Sakura, we have to let him rest now." Sakura continued to hold on, nobody was taking away Clow from her again, in a quick burst of anger, she yelled out and pushed the person trying to take Clow from her. Sakura opened her eyes, seeing she had pushed Syaoran, "Syaoran, I'm sorry!" she quickly rushed by his side and hugged him, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to…" Syaoran stroked the back of her head. "I understand," Syaoran said, "Come on Sakura, let Clow rest now." Syaoran took Clow's body and laid it down, putting his hands over his stomach. "Care to do the honors?" Syaoran took a white cloth out of his pocket and handed it to Sakura. Sakura looked at the cloth, then she looked at Clow's face, then she looked at Syaoran, giving her a reassuring nod. Sakura, kneeling down, put the white cloth on his face, soaking it with blood. Putting her hands together, she prayed three times while begging him to forgive her. Sakura went to his stomach and plucked out her rod.
The tears in her eyes, they began to dry up as she stopped crying, since she couldn't see his face. "How touching!" a voice called out from behind Syaoran. Syaoran turned around, it was him, the man who they had been searching for all this time. "Wuji!" Syaoran sneered, "You bastard!" he cried out, "Today I will make you pay for doing all you have done!" Syaoran rushed out lashing out his sword. "Haaaahhhh!" he screamed, "You're mine Wuji!" Wuji smiled, not moving a muscle, only letting Syaoran get closer. Syaoran was now in range, he took his sword and drove it with force. Syaoran, an excellent swordsman, knew where he was going to cut. Wuji had no chance to dodge this, and even with armor, Wuji's would be killed because Syaoran put all his strength into this one blow.
"Now you die Wuji!" Syaoran pushed with all his might, his swing, if connected, was going to cut diagonally across his chest, passing first through his left shoulder, cutting his heart, and finally tearing him in two pieces. Suddenly, Wuji's armor had a metallic ball grow from his shoulder, cushioning the sword from digging into his armor. Syaoran looked in astonishment. The big metallic ball caught the sword and wrapped around it, Syaoran tried to pull his sword out, but it was stuck. "Impossible," he yelled, "Wuji, why won't you just die!?" Syaoran then felt a sharp stab to his left gut. His eyes widened from the pain, feeling cold metal drive through his skin, Syaoran shut his eyes. "Why won't you die?" Wuji asked, laughing maniacally. "Syaoran!!!" Sakura yelled as she saw the sword of Wuji come through Syaoran and pass to his back. "So long, Syaoran!" Wuji pulled Syaoran's hair and threw him to the ground. "And so you die…"
Quote of the Chapter:
"And so you die…"
Meaning of the Quote: Something they say in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when Jade Fox is killed by Li Mu Bai's sword, but in reality, Li Mu Bai is killed by a poison needle Jade Fox put into him amidst all the other needles which missed him.