Hey again! Well I posted it up so u ppl should b happy. Arghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! I hate school! Well, actually I don't hate school but I HATE my schedule! Stupid schedule. Waaaaaaaaa. Y me? I found out that they don't allow me 2 put in italics. Yea, I no, what took me so long. So ill just put '' for thinking. Does that make it less confusing? Somehow when I upload it t format always change n gets ruined. Arghhhh. I just noticed that. So it's a lil hard 2 read my shoutouts. -_-. Some1 plz HELP!!! Cherry Tenshi, HELP ME!!! O, n I no I said u ppl say im cruel n mean in t last chap. But I don't mean it. I was jk. Lol. Sorry if I made any of u feel bad. I actually don't mind, really. I find it rather funny. So u can call me evil or mean or cruel as much as u want. (but not 2 much! ^-^ then it gets boring.)

SilverAngel- ur very welcome. Sunnie Anderson- I don't mind if u leave long reviews. I actually enjoy reading them. ^-^ so ur reviews can b as long as u want it. Actually, t longer t better! Lol. Cherry Tenshi- im not gonna stop riting. That would b mean 2 t ppl who DO leave a review. Im me k? SakuraAngel0320- thanx 4 ur review. It really encourages me 2 rite. Sweetcherry- u don't hafta apologize. I no it's a figure of speech. Im not offened, really, I was just kidding. Don't take me so serious. Black Tiger- thanx 4 t review. Final Fantasy Princess- thanx n ur welcome. Yes, there will b s+s soon. A lil at 1st n as t story goes on there will b alotta s+s.

Chapter 5

"Guilt"

Syaoran looked down at the unconscious figure in his arms. Sakura had a ragged breathing. "I didn't think she'd be so scared of ants that she'd freak out and faint like that," he smirked. "And she didn't even have any ants on her. I wonder how she'd react if I told her there was a ghost behind her." A slight breeze blew by, ruffling their hair. He noticed how beautiful and innocent she looked with her hair combed around her face, her eyes closed with their long thick lashes, her cherry-red lips slightly parted, her cheeks pink. He shook himself to get rid of the weird feeling that was coming over him. He wondered why she had such difficulty breathing and felt her forehead. She was burning up. "So," he observed, "she's having a fever. No wonder she fainted. What a weakling, she can't even stand the coldness of the water." He settled her down on the ground, her leaning against a tree. (A/N: not next to the anthill. ^-^) Then he turned around and started to walk away. 'Well, I guess there's no reason for me to stay with her anymore. She's not awake to make me feel sorry for her whenever I'm about to leave.' When he got about a hundred feet away, he hesitated and then stopped. 'But. it's kind of sad to just leave her here. (A/N: hey, he's cold and distant, not cruel, like some of u ppl say I m. lol. Jk.) Something might happen to her and she won't be able to defend herself unconscious. Besides, that guy is still roaming around here. Not that I care if anything happened to her, of course, but that would be mean and I'd have to carry all that guilt around for the rest of my life should something happen to her. Curse her!' He sighed angrily and turned around, looking at the sleeping Sakura. 'Dammit! (A/N: sorry for t profanity.) How does she always do that?! How is she always able to make me feel guilty?! She's even able to do it when she's out cold!' He began walking sulkily back towards her. He jerked her up roughly and swung her onto his back, her arms resting atop his shoulders. (A/N: like a piggyback ride! ^- ^) *~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*-*~*

By nightfall Fujitaka and the rest reached Nadeshiko's (A/N: is that how u spell it???) grave. Fujitaka was grumpy and snapped at everyone who tried to talk to him because they had taken so long. So the group was really quiet, no one wanted him to bite their head off. And they were angry that Fujitaka was angry with them when they didn't do anything. So they took it out on the criminals since they had to slow the horses down to a slow trot or else drag the criminals along because they couldn't walk alongside the horses at the pace they were going anymore. They were too exhausted. (A/N: does that make any sense at all???)

Fujitaka's eyes lit up when he saw their old house, now in shambles. The doors were loose and barely hanging on and there were cracks and hole everywhere due to termites. The house was covered in cobwebs and thick layers of dust from long years of neglect and abandonment. The dry brown grass and weeds was a mile high (A/N: ok so I exaggerate). It looked kind of like a meadow. The thick vines covering the house looked like it was about to break it, and it eventually would too. (A/N: if ur having a hard time picturing it w/ all t details im giving u - though I can hardly imagine y- then just imagine a haunted house. Like t 1 in t movie Rose Red, by Steven King, but make t house smaller. Btw, that was a great movie, really scary.) He hoped to find Sakura there, perhaps curled up, fast asleep. Everyone hoped so too, so he would stop being so uptight and be his old cheerful self again, especially the criminals. They were beginning to regret capturing them in the first place.

"Touya," said Fujitaka, "let them rest in front of the house. Just take two guards with us to visit her grave."

"Yes, Father," he nodded and rode off to give the command. Touya saw the hopefulness in his eyes, the same hopefulness in everyone's eyes. They rode towards the back of the house. About fifty feet away, there was an old tombstone covered in dust and cobwebs. Underneath all that dust and cobwebs said:

Here lies Nadeshiko Kinomoto, Loving mother and caring wife. May she rest in peace.

The tombstone was decorated with intricate carvings of all her favorite flowers and vines. And there was her beautiful face in the middle. The talented artist was sure to include every little detail - from her strands of beautiful curly hair to the glimmer in her eyes.

When they didn't see Sakura, their hope shattered. Their eyes searched worriedly for any signs of her - footprints, a ripped piece of clothing, anything. When they knew she wasn't here, their face seemed to age twenty years. They slowly descended from their horse, their face stressed and haggard. Fujitaka and Touya made their way to the grave glumly and kneeled down on the hard flowerless dirt.

"Sakura." he whispered, his voice trembling, when he saw the bouquet of dried cherry blossoms she'd left a year ago. He closed his eyes to hold in the tears rising up.

Touya swallowed, his hard eyes soft and glistening with liquid.

"I'm sorry, Nadeshiko, I failed to keep my promise. I failed to protect our Sakura, our lovely Cherry Blossom. our only daughter." said Fujitaka sadly, a tear escaping and sliding down his cheek.

"No, Father," Touya disagreed, his jaw quivering. "It's not your fault. It's mine. I was supposed to protect her. It's my duty as a good big brother. How can she depend on me if I can't even keep her safe?"

"Neither of you is at fault," a guard that accompanied them said. "It's all his fault. How would we know that we were going to be ambushed?" His voice and eyes were filled with pity and anger.

"I suppose you're right," Fujitaka agreed, sighing. "But I won't give up hope. Let's wait a couple of days for Sakura. Hopefully she'll find this place later. And when she does, we'll be here waiting for her. Touya, go on ahead and tell them to unpack and set up camp. Let them know we'll be here for awhile."

Touya nodded, jumped into his saddle, and rode off. A guard followed him.

Fujitaka stood there awhile, looking sorrowfully at the grave. 'Please, Nadeshiko, please protect her since we're not able to. Please don't let anything happen to her. I've already lost you; don't let me lose her too. She didn't do anything wrong, she doesn't deserve to die like this. You know, she's looking and acting more like you everyday - cheerful, innocent, carefree, kind. beautiful. She's the only thing left besides Touya that I have left to remind me of you, my beloved Nadeshiko. Keep our daughter from harm. please. I love her as much as I love you.'

A bright star above in the black night twinkled, as if sympathizing him. Fujitaka walked away from the grave and got on his horse. Then he and the guard rode towards the front of the house. The sight of what they saw rendered them speechless.

Done! Hehe, u have 2 wait til next time when I post up t next chap 2 see what it is that they saw. I no, im cruel. Yes, I realize that its very short. But I have other things 2 do now, like my hw n this seemed like a good place 2 stop it. Sorry. But t sooner u review t sooner ill post it up. I no u heard it from others b4 well now ur hearing it from me. So click t u- no-what now. Im waitng.