Trials of Love
Chapter 4
'Eyes that were older than time itself…'



"Sy…Syao…ran? Syaor…an open…eyes…Pleas…your …eyes…"

The jumbled mass of words tore through his pounding headache, repeating over and over again like a mantra.

"Eyes…open…please…"

As his mind registered the plea, he slowly lifted his eyelids up, willingly surrendering to the sweet, anguished,
disembodied voice. Bright light blinded him, and he recoiled as it hit his chocolate eyes painfully.

The owner of the voice, which his dazed mind could not connect to, gasped, and suddenly, the harsh light dimmed to a
bearable amount.

"Syaoran? Syaoran, honey, open your eyes again. Please?"

Syaoran carefully hid a wince as the voice boomed in his ears.

"Please?" She whispered, turning down the level of her voice.

…Or perhaps not as carefully as he had imagined.

Syaoran decided to comply, and slowly blinked, each passing second allowing him to become more aware of his
surroundings.

White.

Harsh white.

White walls, white sheets, white skin-his brow furrowed. White walls with nothing on them-not too unusual. White sheets-
that meant he was in a bed that wasn't his own. He frowned in annoyance as the hard metal poked his back-definitely not
his bed. White skin…well, perhaps he had lost his natural tan in the winter. Who knows? His foggy brain continued to
search the room.

TV, sink, brown wooden dresser, Sakura, window-SAKURA!?

His eyes snapped back to the worried face of his beloved.

"Wha-?" He croaked, his voice grating his throat painfully. Sakura quickly jumped up and fetched a glass of
water. He drank gratefully and greedily, disappointed when it was empty.

He cleared his throat and tried again; his normally hoarse voice weak and thin.

"Where?"

The teen brushed back a strand of his silk brown hair, carefully avoiding his questioning gaze. Slowly, she
stated, "You're in the hospital, Syaoran. You passed out when you got to the steps of your apartment complex."

Syaoran felt a red flush go flying to his face. 'Oh, Ancestors!' He cried to himself, 'I feel like such a weakling!
I should be able to handle a cold!'

After he berated himself, he studied his girlfriend. She was playing with his hair, a habit that she had when she
was distracted.

"Sakura?" Syaoran questioned hesitantly. "There's more, isn't there?"

Sakura smiled bravely, tears filling her eyes that she carefully suppressed. "I guess that I should know better
than to try and hide something from you, shouldn't I?" A half-laugh, half sob tore its way out of her throat.

"Sakura?" Syaoran prompted her to go on.

"Well," Sakura began shakily, "We went with you to the hospital, and we waited a long time, and I was
wondering- I was wondering why it took so long to tell us that you had a simple cold or the flu, and when they finally
called, me and Tomoyo,- I mean, Tomoyo and I, well we went to your room. And then, and then…"

A water crystal made its way down her round, flushed cheek. Syaoran lifted a shaky hand to brush it from her
lovely, though worried, emerald depths.

Sakura flung herself into Syaoran's arms, weeping. "I thought- I thought," She cried into Syaoran's hair,
allowing herself to relax as she felt Syaoran's strong, lithe arms wrap around her, reminding herself that he was real, he was
*alive*.

Syaoran rubbed soothing circles on Sakura's back. "What happened, Sakura?"

"Oh, Syaoran! They tried to *kill* you!"

Syaoran blinked. Once. Twice. Out of all the things he had been expecting to hear, that was one of the least.
Quickly, he swallowed, and nervously wet his suddenly dry mouth.

He tilted Sakura's bowed chin up, and amber and emerald met.

"Sakura… I'm a sorcerer. Last time I checked, I was the second most powerful in the world. My beautiful,
wonderful girlfriend- that's you, silly, happens to be the most powerful sorceress on the globe. I highly doubt," Dryness
colored his words as he grinned at her. "-That I'll be dying anytime soon because some snotty, runny-nosed kid wanted
to pull a prank."

Sakura felt a small twitch of lips coming on. "I guess you're right," she sighed, and then pouted. "But really, I
think that with all that worrying, I might have aged ten years!"

Syaoran laughed, a soft music that was strictly for Sakura's ears only. However, a few seconds into it, it turned
to a violent coughing fit.

"Syaoran?" The sorceress questioned softly, anxiety coloring her words as her trembling hands struggled to get
a glass of water to her beloved.

"Thank you." Syaoran rasped as he drained the glass, rubbing the weariness out of his eyes with the back of
his hand. Slowly, he sank back, exhaustion threatening to overtake him.

Sakura stood, stricken, as she watched, helpless, as Syaoran stared at her through half lidded eyes. Abruptly,
she plopped into her chair, and grabbed his thin, pale hand.

"Go to sleep," She soothed, running small circles on his palm.

Syaoran sighed thankfully, and smiled weakly at her. Unn…he thought absently, …my eyelids are so heavy…
so…heavy…

Sakura watched as the fourteen-year-old boy's breaths deepened, and he fell into peaceful sleep once more.

Then the most powerful sorceress in all time sat back…and cried.

**************************************************************************

Tomoyo sighed, running her hand through her loose, dark hair. Troubled amethyst eyes roamed over the white
room.

Briefly, her gaze paused and rested upon the one bright spot in the room. Sakura was sleeping, slouched in the
uncomfortable chair that resided next to the bed. Her face was a winding map of dried tear trails, and Tomoyo was
relieved she had found solace in her dreams.

Tomoyo then noticed that in her best friend's grip was Syaoran's pale, almost fragile looking hand. Sakura
held onto it like a lifeline, and Tomoyo had to smile despite the situation.

Slowly, violet eyes made their way up the pale hand and to the boy's face. Though Syaoran would not admit it,
Tomoyo had grown quite fond of Syaoran. They had a close friendship, and Tomoyo felt frusterated taht she could do
nothing. Bleakly, she realized that this was how it felt to be an older, protective sister. If only she hadn't had to find this out
the painful way...

The small smile that had graced Tomoyo's face dropped and crashed onto the floor. His pallor was awful- a
sickly pale that contrasted deeply with his amber eyes and shocking brown hair.

"Oh Li-kun…" Tomoyo whispered to herself. "What's happening to you?"
**********************************************************************


It was dark. There was no light, no color, no nothing.

There was no feeling, no hope…only a void.

Sakura turned, searching…but for what? Sakura did not know.

Suddenly, as soon as if reading her thoughts, a booming voice bounced around in the darkness.

"Welcome…" It hissed, malice and hate dripping off every syllable.

Sakura's arms tingled as every hair stood straight up. She shivered uncontrollably, trembling with the single
word.

Finally, she found her voice. "Who are you?" Sakura demanded. "What do you want?"

The disembodied voice chuckled, if that is what it could be called. It was mocking, and sounded unnatural.

"Hmm…" It cooed, "And here I thought you were taught manners. Silly me. Ah, well, down to business…" It
hissed suddenly, startling her out of her wits.

Sakura got the impression of being watched, as the being, a lesser black upon black, swirled around her.

"Let me ask you…" It's voice suddenly seemed to be right next to her ear. "How," It continued,
mock-pondering, "Do you get rid of the most powerful sorceress of the world?"

Sakura froze, eyes widening marginally as her mouth opened and shut without a word.

Suddenly, It snapped its fingers. "Oh, I know!" It leaned closer, whispered now. "You just have to get rid of
the thing they love most…"

"What do you love the most, Card Mistress?" It questioned cruelly. Suddenly imaged appeared in front of
Sakura.

"Could it be- the cards?" It breathed as the Star Cards appeared in front of her, seemingly emitting from her
head.

"No. What about…your family?" Touya and Sakura's father appeared before her.

Sakura opened her mouth in a cry, but It moved on.

"No…" It reflected coldly. Figures of the Clow Guardians flashed over. "No…" Eriol, Tomoyo, and the rest
of her friends flickered past as well.

"Hmm…" It mused, mock interested. "What do we have here?"

A lone figure that sat under a blossoming cherry tree zoomed into view. He turned to face their direction, as
small smile gracing his face, amber eyes sparkling as he handed her one.

Sakura remembered that memory. It had been roughly a year ago, on her birthday. She had celebrated it with
the most important person in her life…Syaoran.

It chuckled coldly. "I think," It hissed. "We have found the winner."

Blood seeped into the void, thick droplets oozing over every surface. Sakura slipped and fell, and as she did,
the Syaoran in her memory suddenly crumbled to the ground. Amber eyes were dazed with pain and agony, accusing
stare penetrating her as he looked as his blood-slicked hands, then at his chest…

…at the gaping whole where his heart had been.

A scream ripped itself out of her lodged throat, and with a whisper of robes, It floated to her. The last thing
she saw was it's eyes, bottomless pits of steel the shade of tar, eyes that were older than time itself, and a thousand fold
more evil.

And then there was nothing.

Nothing but darkness.




-Hey, Shichan here. Sorry I haven't updated. But with Sept. 11th and all, I just couldn't. One thing, for all you readers out
there. Please pray for the victims of this tragedy, and whatever you do…

Never forget.

God Bless America.