Hello everyone! I don't know if the last chapter was good or not, so I'll
try extra hard this chapter. ^-^ Thank you EVERYONE that reviewed! I am
ACTUALLY going to thank EACH AND EVERY one of you that reviewed my last
chapter! I might not be able to thank you all individually though. *tear*
How sad! But I am VERY HAPPY that you like this so much. You have NO IDEA
how much your reviews mean to me! You are all too kind! ^-^
Sooooooooo….. I would like to thank each of the following! =P If you have read my story but are not on here then I would like to also thank you, and if I missed your name, (Which I will try my hardest not to because if I do I will feel terrible,) then feel free to flame me or write me an e-mail to complain. *sweat drop* I am apologizing now just to be on the safe side. Remember, these are the people that reviewed my last chapter, so if you forgot, then thank you anyway! ^-^
Sakura
Wild Mage
OpalDragon
SeXy ChiCk
tomomi
green lightning heart
xiaoying
silverfang (darkduo_li_wolf@hotmail.com)
SpringbloomOpal
Cutie Blossom
Cherry Wolf
Sakura Kinomoto
Little Angel
Chelsea McKay
Jessica
Final Fantasy Princess
SakumaRyuichi
Confused_Magenta
Joey
Little Blossom
cherryblossomsakura2111
Tomoyo-chan
Kittyangel
Glarie
Thank you so very much, all of you! E-mail me whenever you feel like it. I'll e-mail you back too. ^-^ If you want me to that is! I like to make new friends, but I can't give out too much info about myself. I have a very… unique last name let's just say. Well, on with the chapter, shall we? Hope you all enjoy it! You can always give me ideas or tell me your opinion on anything! I'm very open-minded! ^-^
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS
For CLAMP is the BEST
And they invented it before me
So all I can say is KAWAII!
`-_- In case you didn't get that, I do NOT own CCS, CLAMP does. *tear*
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
*****Syaoran*****
I woke up as if I had a bad dream, and found that I was not in my bed. The sun was shining brightly and I had to shield my eyes to get a good look around me. I was at the little island, and everyone else was sleeping soundly on the sand. I gave a confused look and then I remembered everything that happened. I gasped and looked for a certain emerald-eyed beauty, and saw her lying peacefully on the sand a few feet away. She was lying on her side with one arm over her face. I grinned, she looked like a magical creature that happened to be here of all places, instead of in a perfect land with perfect things and perfect people. She was unique, and anyone who didn't know that had to be blind.
I shook my head, realizing what had just gone through my mind, and I slowly and carefully made my way over to Sakura. I gently prodded her arm but she didn't show any sign of waking up. I suddenly had a blood-curdling feeling that something might be wrong so I flipped her over and listened for her breathing. It was there, slow but steady. I side with relief and looked at her. 'She's so kind, and angelic yet strong. There isn't another girl like her… anywhere as far as I know. She has been through so much, yet so little. She hardly ever left her home. She had been trapped, never to see the outside world. Never to…'
"No. Don't say it. Don't you DARE say it Syaoran Li!' My sensible half lectured.
I ignored it. 'love.' I finished.
'So? You have never loved! You have never cared about anyone but yourself! What's the matter with you these days? Always daydreaming and never thinking clearly… it's as if you're… no! Anything but that! You can't be! You are the all-mighty Prince Syaoran who decided never to marry or fall in love because girls were always pretending! They were never truly being themselves! You can't! I won't let you!'
'You and what army?'
'Admit it! Tell me your aren't falling for her!'
'I'm not falling for her.'
'Whew! You scared me for a minute there!'
'I already fell.'
In one smooth movement, I lightly kissed her on the lips. No one was watching, so I didn't have to worry. Her lips were warm and sweet, and I wished that I would have the courage to kiss her again some day… while she was awake. And maybe… just maybe… she would kiss back. She would return the feeling I hold dear. She will realize just how much I care for her.
[AN: KAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^___^]
*****Sakura*****
I was having a strange dream. I was in a Ballroom, but for some reason I was alone. I wasn't happy at all. Something was wrong but I couldn't tell what it was. Then Yukito asked me to dance. It was as if all of my problems melted away! He was always so kind! I accepted his hand and then we were of. We were talking… but there was no sound. Then we stopped. He leaned down and I went on tip-toe… and we… kissed. Then there was a beam of light, and everything faded away.
I took a deep breath and sighed. It was almost as if Yukito and I DID kiss. I knew where I was, but I wanted to think about this dream a little longer. It was very confusing. I have had three dreams very similar to these, yet all of them were different in some way. I thought back to my other two dreams. Did this mean anything?
~ Dream ~
I was standing alone, feeling as though my world had fallen apart. Tomoyo was with me, and then she walked away to go and get drinks. That's when Yukito came over. He asked me to dance, and we did. I was finally having fun at the Ball. All of my doubts edged aside, but somehow I knew something wasn't right. I told him, a deep dark secret that I would never have told him if anyone else was listening. We stopped, and he looked kind of sad. He shook his head, and told me exactly what I didn't want to hear. He turned to walk away, and I stood there, watching through blurry eyes. Then he turned back around, but it wasn't his face. It was an evil and twisted face that I had never seen before. I screamed, and then woke up.
~End of memory~
~Dream~
I was once again at the Ballroom, and I was trying to mend a shattered heart for some odd reason. Syaoran kept glaring at me, but when I looked at him through teary eyes his gaze softened. He walked over to me and turned into Yukito. Then we were dancing. When Yukito bent down to kiss me, I was kissing Syaoran instead. He pulled away and smiled, and then he turned into this freaky guy! I screamed and fell to the ground as a loud blast echoed throughout the palace walls. I saw him pointing something in my direction, but Syaoran stepped in front of me and then fell to the ground as a second blast fired. I watched in horror as Syaoran didn't get back up. Now the man was furious! He pointed his staff at Syaoran and before I realized what I was doing I found myself protecting him. Trying to keep him safe. A red beam came from the opposite direction at the very same time, and I fell to the ground. I woke up panting; very confused.
~End Of Memory~
I opened my eyes, one at a time, and blinked, trying to not go blind. I quickly sat up and looked around. "What happened?!?" I nearly yelled.
I made eye contact with Syaoran and he winced as I yelled. "That's what I would like to know. What DID happen?"
I waved my hand impatiently in the air. That didn't matter at the moment. "Our friends! Are they-"
I was cut off by Syaoran. "Don't worry, they're all here. Safe and sound." He motioned to the sleeping forms that were all scattered about the sand like wind scattered leaves in the fall. I sighed, a long release. "So? Are you going to tell me what happened?" He inquired.
I looked around once more to be sure that they were really asleep and then I nodded my head. I tried to relay the details as best as I could. "Well, you know about the part when we…er…found each other right?" He nodded his head. "Well, right after we figured out where everyone was and after you got captured also I used Windy to swim down there so I could breathe. I changed her to a Sakura Card!"
"That's Great!"
I froze. That wasn't Syaoran's voice! Were the others getting up now too?!? I turned and saw that Tomoyo was the one who said that, and Meiling was up too. The others, thankfully, were sound asleep.
"Don't DO that!" Syaoran and I exclaimed at the same time. "You scared me half to DEATH Tomoyo!" I added.
She sweat-dropped. "Sorry."
"It's okay," I finished. "Well, I guess you two can hear what happened also. I saw all of you in this red bubble. You were all really far underwater too. I had to change the staff into a wand though, otherwise the cards didn't work! The all seem so distant… except for the two I changed."
"Which card did you transform besides Windy?" Meiling asked.
"The Sword Card. I had to get all of you out of the bubble. But when I did that, water started to seep into the bubble…"
"YOU COULD HAVE DROWNED ALL OF US!!!" Meiling wailed.
I winced and looked at the ground sheepishly. "I know. I'm sorry. I also know that sorry isn't good enough. I tried."
"We're all safe right now, and that is all that matters," Tomoyo stated. "What happened after that, Sakura?" She asked in a gentle voice.
"I realized my mistake and sent Windy with you guys so you could breathe and go up to the surface."
"WHAT?!?" Syaoran exclaimed. "What about yourself! YOU could have drowned! If we were as far down as I remember, I don't see how you could have survived!"
"How DID you survive?" Meiling asked.
"I…uh…um…well…"
"Yeeeeeeees?"
"I don't know."
They all fell over anime style. "How could you not know?" Syaoran asked.
Once again I found the sand VERY interesting at the moment. "I blacked out," I said quickly.
I looked up to see that all of my friends had serious faces on at the moment. Syaoran was in pensive thought with his brows knit together, Meiling looked puzzled, and Tomoyo looked worried. I waited for one of them to speak; for them to reassure me that everything was okay. When no one spoke I could hardly bare it. I felt like I was going to burst! What did they think was going on? I needed answers!
"Well… I think…" Tomoyo started.
"Yes?" I asked slowly, hanging in suspense.
"That we have a new enemy… and friend."
"How can we have both?" Meiling asked incredulously.
"Well, if it was an enemy, they would have let Sakura drown," Syaoran said plainly. "If it was a friend, they wouldn't have done this in the first place."
"How do you know it's only one person?" Meiling asked. "Maybe one person is doing these bad things, and another saved her."
"We'll have to wait and find out," I put in. "But the question is… how long will this wait last?"
"Ungh…"
We all turned to the person that made that sound. It was Chiharu. She was slowly waking up, and so were the others. We all looked at each other and silently agreed that we should stop talking about this subject. I was still trying to sort out everything that happened. It was kind of giving me a headache.
"What happened?" she asked as she started to brush the sand off of her body. "Why aren't we playing anymore?"
"Yeah," Naoko asked. "Who's 'it'?"
Syaoran gave a little grin and pointed at me. "Sakura is 'it.' I tagged her last, but I guess we all decided to take a little mid-afternoon nap."
"Guess so," Tomoyo said with a grin and crescent-moon eyes that were oh-so convincing.
"Oh," Rika said to herself, still not looking sure. We gave each other knowing glances and decided to change the topic.
"Well, we should probably head back. We've been gone for a pretty long time." I got up and tried to get the sand that was stuck to me off of my arms and legs.
"Okay." Everyone said in unison, following pursuit. We all rinsed off in the water and then swam back to the shore at the palace. No one even noticed we were gone. Well… almost no one.
"Prince Syaoran! THERE you are! I have been looking EVERYWHERE for you!" Came an overly sweet voice. I looked over my shoulder just as we emerged from the water and glared. I did not like that girl! Not one bit! I looked at Syaoran and saw that he went rigid. I couldn't tell if he liked her or not.
'Why do I care if he likes her?' I asked myself with disbelief. 'Because! She is a snob and a witch and a brat and a… well… and female dog! That's what!' I screamed in my head. 'Is that all though? Is that the only reason?' Asked a NON-sensible part of my head. Okay, maybe it was the sensible part, but I didn't have to admit it! 'No!' I answered almost automatically. 'Are you SURE though?' 'No! I mean- Yes! Of course I'm sure! It's not like I'm…' 'Jealous?' 'Of course I'm not jealous!'
Before I could pursue this little conversation in my head any longer I was snapped back to reality when Kizutsu said her next sentence.
"Syaoran, will you meet me in the Royal Gardens tonight?" I glared at her, but her concentration was on Syaoran… and him alone. "Please? It'll be fun."
"No!" He growled.
Her brows knit together in a frown and then she seemed to collect herself. "Aren't you worried about my condition? I WAS hurt you know."
"You picked the fight, it was YOUR mistake."
She pouted. "Syaoran…"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!"
She stuck her nose up in the air as if to ignore it, but she didn't call him by his first name again. "But tonight…"
"We have classes tomorrow anyway. My answer is no, and no matter how much you pester me, it will stay that way. Got it?"
She glared at him. "You are going to wish you didn't just say that!" Syaoran just 'humph'ed in response.
I didn't want this to get any worse than it already was. Syaoran looked ready to kill. I walked up to him and put a hand on his arm, feeling his tensed muscles. They immediately relaxed to my touch. He looked at me, startled. "Let's just go inside now, okay Syaoran?" I asked pleadingly.
His eyes softened and he nodded his head. "Yeah, okay."
I looked back at Kizutsu and blinked. Why was she glaring at me that way? Syaoran followed my direction and glowered. "Don't worry about HER," He spat. "Come on." He took me by the arm and led me away, the others trailing behind. I stared back at her blankly.
"Hooeee."
We split up once we got inside and decided to meet each other later. Tomoyo and I headed upstairs to our bedchamber and changed into some dry clothing. Kero asked us millions of questions when we told him what happened. He wasn't too happy. He was starting to get more and more protective of me every day. More and more like… Touya.
"Hey! I haven't really seen Touya!" I looked over at Tomoyo. "Do you want to go and find them? I mean- him?"
Tomoyo grinned all-knowingly. "Touya and… Yukito you mean?" I blushed and she giggled. "Honestly, you have got to get your priorities in order."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
She just grinned. "Oh, nothing." [AN: I think we are all little Tomoyo's at this moment. ^-^ If you don't know what she means, *sweatdrop* It's okay. We are all also little Sakura's some time in our lives too!]
We went over to Touya's bedchamber, after a LOT of searching and asking around, and knocked on the door. It opened almost automatically and I saw a young man with grayish hair wearing glassed opened the door and bend down to my height. "Well, it's very nice to see you Sakura, Tomoyo." He said.
I gave a little smile and blushed. "Hi Yuki!"
"Hello Yukito."
"Hey squirt, is that you?" Came a voice from somewhere in the depths of the room. Yukito opened the door and let us in. Touya was sitting on the couch, eating lunch. "So, it's the Kaijuu after all!" He said.
"I am NOT a KAIJUU!!!" I yelled defensively.
He just gave a half grin. "Want to join us for lunch?" Yukito asked as he joined my brother.
I looked at Tomoyo and then back at Yuki. "Okay!"
We all sat down and talked, catching up on everything. We laughed and joked, yet we were also serious at times. I didn't really know how much I missed them… until now. Being with them brought back memories of when all of us were together. I smiled, only half paying attention. I loved and cared about all of them so much! I had a brother that wasn't dead! A best friend that I know will always be there for me always, and… a crush. That's all I could really put into words, yet it seemed so much more!
"Sakura," Touya said seriously, "I know why mother got me to leave finally."
"What?" I asked, barely above a whisper.
"She knew, and you knew she knew after, and now I knew she knew too."
I tilted my head to the side. "Hoe?!?"
He sighed. "Never mind." He went back to eating and then stopped, his fork poised in mid-air. "I also know something else happened today. I don't know what it was, but I felt it." He wasn't looking at me. Then he looked up at Tomoyo, as if realizing he said too much. She smiled at him and I had the feeling that she knew something now, just by this little conversation.
"Don't worry Touya. You don't have to be on your guard around me. I'm Sakura's friend. I wouldn't harm her." Now she was serious. "Besides, I may even know more than you do, even though I don't have a… 'sixth sense,' as you call it."
He stared at her, shocked. "You know?" She nodded her head. "About… everything?"
"Yep."
I looked back from one to the other, EXTREMELY confused. "Wait a second, what's going on? What are you two getting at?"
Tomoyo looked at me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, yet she didn't mind to tell me the details. "He knows Sakura."
"About what?"
"About your magic. About the Clow Cards."
"Hooeeeee!"
Touya nodded. "I guessed, but I wasn't completely sure until I met Yue."
"You met Yue?!?" I gasped. I looked at Yukito who was smiling with crescent- moon eyes.
"Yep," Touya said, as if it were nothing. He shoved his face with food just as I wanted all of my questions answered.
"But… how? When? Why? Does Yukito know? What's going on? TOUYA! ANSWER ME!!!" I said, clenching my fist.
"I know now that the reason I'm hungry all the time is because I have to keep my energy up for my borrowed form," Yukito explained.
"Oh," I said, calming down a bit because of his gentle voice.
[AN: Okay, Yukito knows EVERYTHING now, because she captured the last card. I know I'm changing this a lot, but bare with me here, okay? It would take WAY too long if I didn't. `-_- Sorry.]
"So you know… everything?" I asked slowly, trying to take it all in.
"Yep."
We talked a little more, but I was only half paying attention. Now that he knew, things would be different. Touya and I were still trying to get over the fact that mother saved both of us, but not herself or even father. It was like a nightmare, or a dream. It didn't seem as if it were true. I was here with my friends, and my brother, and they… aren't alive any longer. It seems as if I would be going home shortly and they would be waiting at the front steps. But deep down, I knew that that would never happen again.
Tomoyo and I left and went to meet at our usual tree and sat down, talking with everyone once again. Yamazaki told his usual lies that I thought were true until proven otherwise, and we all giggled when Chiharu slapped him over the head to shut up. Naoko told ANOTHER spooky story that I REALLY wished she wouldn't have brought up. One ghost story was enough thank you very much! No, let me rephrase that. One scary story was MORE than enough! It gave me the creeps!
Before I knew it we had all already eaten dinner and I was in bed with lights out. Tomoyo and I talked about the day's events for a few minutes and then drifted off into a peaceful slumber. [AN: if you can tell, I'm having a HUGE writer's block at the moment so I'm trying to speed things up a bit. Sorry guys! `-_- ]
In the morning Tomoyo had to wake me up because I slept in and then we had to run to the dinning hall to get there on time. We barely made it in time, and we also received a LOT of glares for making everyone wait. *sweat drop* Also a glare from my not-so-favorite teacher, Ms. Ketsuji.
We said our thanks and finally the room was filled with it's normal, everyday chatter. I smiled and looked at my friends. "So, how are all of you today?"
They smiled back and a chorus of "I'm fine's" "good's" "okay's" and "great's" were murmured all around me. I smiled and took a bite of bread.
"Did you hear that we have some more new arrivals today?" Rika asked.
"Yeah. I hear there are four more people who came."
"Four, that's a lot," I commented. I looked at Tomoyo and saw that she just gave a little smile.
"Yep! Two are twins, I don't know if they are boys or girls though. Then there is a guy named Prince Tokuo, and a Princess Sumiki. They all arrived some time yesterday."
"Wow. Why so late though?"
"Who knows. We might have some classes with them." That got a groan from me. "What's wrong, Sakura?" Chiharu asked.
"We have all of our classes today. That means I have to go to… History Of The Kingdoms," I moaned.
Everyone else groaned as well. We all had that class together, and no one believed a word she said. No one liked her anyway.
"Well, come on," Meiling said as she started to get up. "We better get to class so we don't have to 'feel her wrath,'"
We all laughed at that.
"You know, someone should teach her a lesson. A lesson she'll never forget." It took me a moment to realize I said that out loud. 'whoops.'
Tomoyo gave an all-knowing smile and Meiling had an evil smirk on her face. "At the end of the year everyone always pulls pranks. That will be the perfect payback time."
We all exchanged glances.
"We better make it good. This needs to be something she will NEVER forget!" Syaoran added. We all nodded in agreement right as we entered the classroom. It startled all of us, yet we left the subject at that. No one overheard, thankfully.
"Class, we have two new students that will be joining us today. One is a very special young girl, Princess Sumiki." A girl with teal hair entered the room. She had gray eyes that seemed vacant almost. She looked kind of shy, but I learned not to judge anyone on first appearance. "Sumiki, you may sit…" Ms. Ketsuji sent me a glare and I was forced to look into her steely eyes. I gulped. "Behind Rokishi." She placed The girl farthest away from me. Probably because she thought I was a bad influence. I shrugged it off. Why was the teacher being so nice to this girl though? Because she was new? That wasn't fair!
"And our other new student is Prince Hinruku. He has a twin brother that is also staying with us, but will not be in this class. Please give him a warm welcome." She looked around the classroom and saw that there was only one open seat left. [AN: Remember, the seats are just like they are in the show, okay?!? ^-^] It was behind Eriol, which was still close enough to me. Once again her metallic gray eyes were on mine. I shrunk down into my seat. "Hinruku, you may be seated behind Prince Eriol. If there are any problems, please tell me and I will fix them immediately." She said all this without taking her eyes off of me. I glared back. Now she deserved what ever we had in store for her. We should dye her skin black to match her hair. Permanently of course. We could dump a huge tub of pudding on her; that would be VERY amusing. But then I would get yelled at from Kero saying that it was a waste of preciously edible food, and now it was spoiled when it could have been in his stomach. I giggled at the thought and the teacher finally jerked her gaze away from me and to the black board, explaining today's lesson.
I quickly looked past Syaoran and Meiling to see who she was sitting next to. Prince Hinruku looked like he would become a good friend, but that was all I could tell. He had dark green hair and dark purple eyes. He was paying attention to the teacher with keen attention, yet when he noticed I was looking at him he gave a little smile. I turned back around in my chair. I had a weird confusing feeling, and I couldn't tell what it was about.
After History Of The Kingdoms I went to embroidery. I was actually pretty good at it now with Tomoyo and Rika's help. It was still incredibly boring though. Then I went to dance and manners and found that Princess Sumiki and Prince Hinruku were also in this class. When we had to dance with partners, I was Syaoran's partner again, and I noticed all the girls were glaring at me. Even the new girl! Then I noticed that the guys were all glaring at Syaoran worse than they used to because their partner's attention was on him. Something told me that things were going to start to get nasty if this kept up. I looked over to see that Eriol was also in this class and he happened to be dancing with Tomoyo! He looked down at her with a little smile, and I could tell that he was a great dancer. Tomoyo wouldn't meet his eyes though. Wonder why.
I looked up at Syaoran and into his honey brown eyes and I was mesmerized. I gave a trembling smile and knew right away why Tomoyo wouldn't meet his eyes. Just in case she… well, never mind. It's not like I do. Is it?
Syaoran and I seemed to be dancing on the clouds. I could hardly feel the ground beneath my feet. It was so wonderful, so magical! It was so…
"KAWAII!" I sweat dropped and looked over at Tomoyo. She was looking at us with stars in her eyes and she just happened to say that when the music stopped. I blushed a deep shade of magenta and looked away from Syaoran, not noticing that he did the same. Now everyone was glaring at us except Tomoyo and Eriol. No, except Tomoyo, Eriol, Meiling, and her dance partner, Hinruku. I pulled away from Syaoran, not noticing that we had been dancing that close together, and I saw that Mrs. Katomi was beaming at us.
"You two are the perfect pair!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Hoe?!?" I asked, wide-eyed, now as bright as a tomato.
"There is going to be a dancing contest coming up. People from far-off kingdoms will attend, and they will try to see if their dancers are better than our. Then we will hold a grand finale and it's every partner for themselves. We will give out prizes, passes, and days off of school so you can go to the market place and shop or just hang around outside. I have to choose five couples to represent this school, and you two are one of them."
"Wha? But… I…" I couldn't believe my ears. Represent this school? The Li Kingdom, and now the Kinomoto Kingdom at this thing?!?
"Wait a second…" Syaoran started.
"No. You are in and that's final. This is a great privilege! And don't you guys worry either," she said, looking at all the others. "I will pick more couples, so you will all have a chance to shine!"
I turned to Syaoran. "Dance? In front of tons of people? Me?" I asked incredulously.
He gave a little smile to reassure me. "Us. Don't worry Sakura, we'll do fine."
"We?" I asked. "You don't mind?"
"Of course not! I mean…er…of course not."
I smiled, "Thank you Syaoran."
"KAWAII!!!!!" Tomoyo shouted again. Now Prince Eriol was looking at us also.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Mrs. Ketsuji said, clapping her hands together. "I want you two," she pointed to Tomoyo and Eriol, "to also be one of the couples."
Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool! I like it again, again! Does that even make sense?!? Oh, well. I need sleep and I have a HUGE project to work on that's due tomorrow and I need to eat my spagetti-O's! Hee hee hee! Well, I better go. REVIEW PLEASE! Review, review, review, review, review!!! I *LOVE* it when you review, so please please please do! Thank you all SO much! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! ^-^
Sooooooooo….. I would like to thank each of the following! =P If you have read my story but are not on here then I would like to also thank you, and if I missed your name, (Which I will try my hardest not to because if I do I will feel terrible,) then feel free to flame me or write me an e-mail to complain. *sweat drop* I am apologizing now just to be on the safe side. Remember, these are the people that reviewed my last chapter, so if you forgot, then thank you anyway! ^-^
Sakura
Wild Mage
OpalDragon
SeXy ChiCk
tomomi
green lightning heart
xiaoying
silverfang (darkduo_li_wolf@hotmail.com)
SpringbloomOpal
Cutie Blossom
Cherry Wolf
Sakura Kinomoto
Little Angel
Chelsea McKay
Jessica
Final Fantasy Princess
SakumaRyuichi
Confused_Magenta
Joey
Little Blossom
cherryblossomsakura2111
Tomoyo-chan
Kittyangel
Glarie
Thank you so very much, all of you! E-mail me whenever you feel like it. I'll e-mail you back too. ^-^ If you want me to that is! I like to make new friends, but I can't give out too much info about myself. I have a very… unique last name let's just say. Well, on with the chapter, shall we? Hope you all enjoy it! You can always give me ideas or tell me your opinion on anything! I'm very open-minded! ^-^
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS
For CLAMP is the BEST
And they invented it before me
So all I can say is KAWAII!
`-_- In case you didn't get that, I do NOT own CCS, CLAMP does. *tear*
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
*****Syaoran*****
I woke up as if I had a bad dream, and found that I was not in my bed. The sun was shining brightly and I had to shield my eyes to get a good look around me. I was at the little island, and everyone else was sleeping soundly on the sand. I gave a confused look and then I remembered everything that happened. I gasped and looked for a certain emerald-eyed beauty, and saw her lying peacefully on the sand a few feet away. She was lying on her side with one arm over her face. I grinned, she looked like a magical creature that happened to be here of all places, instead of in a perfect land with perfect things and perfect people. She was unique, and anyone who didn't know that had to be blind.
I shook my head, realizing what had just gone through my mind, and I slowly and carefully made my way over to Sakura. I gently prodded her arm but she didn't show any sign of waking up. I suddenly had a blood-curdling feeling that something might be wrong so I flipped her over and listened for her breathing. It was there, slow but steady. I side with relief and looked at her. 'She's so kind, and angelic yet strong. There isn't another girl like her… anywhere as far as I know. She has been through so much, yet so little. She hardly ever left her home. She had been trapped, never to see the outside world. Never to…'
"No. Don't say it. Don't you DARE say it Syaoran Li!' My sensible half lectured.
I ignored it. 'love.' I finished.
'So? You have never loved! You have never cared about anyone but yourself! What's the matter with you these days? Always daydreaming and never thinking clearly… it's as if you're… no! Anything but that! You can't be! You are the all-mighty Prince Syaoran who decided never to marry or fall in love because girls were always pretending! They were never truly being themselves! You can't! I won't let you!'
'You and what army?'
'Admit it! Tell me your aren't falling for her!'
'I'm not falling for her.'
'Whew! You scared me for a minute there!'
'I already fell.'
In one smooth movement, I lightly kissed her on the lips. No one was watching, so I didn't have to worry. Her lips were warm and sweet, and I wished that I would have the courage to kiss her again some day… while she was awake. And maybe… just maybe… she would kiss back. She would return the feeling I hold dear. She will realize just how much I care for her.
[AN: KAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^___^]
*****Sakura*****
I was having a strange dream. I was in a Ballroom, but for some reason I was alone. I wasn't happy at all. Something was wrong but I couldn't tell what it was. Then Yukito asked me to dance. It was as if all of my problems melted away! He was always so kind! I accepted his hand and then we were of. We were talking… but there was no sound. Then we stopped. He leaned down and I went on tip-toe… and we… kissed. Then there was a beam of light, and everything faded away.
I took a deep breath and sighed. It was almost as if Yukito and I DID kiss. I knew where I was, but I wanted to think about this dream a little longer. It was very confusing. I have had three dreams very similar to these, yet all of them were different in some way. I thought back to my other two dreams. Did this mean anything?
~ Dream ~
I was standing alone, feeling as though my world had fallen apart. Tomoyo was with me, and then she walked away to go and get drinks. That's when Yukito came over. He asked me to dance, and we did. I was finally having fun at the Ball. All of my doubts edged aside, but somehow I knew something wasn't right. I told him, a deep dark secret that I would never have told him if anyone else was listening. We stopped, and he looked kind of sad. He shook his head, and told me exactly what I didn't want to hear. He turned to walk away, and I stood there, watching through blurry eyes. Then he turned back around, but it wasn't his face. It was an evil and twisted face that I had never seen before. I screamed, and then woke up.
~End of memory~
~Dream~
I was once again at the Ballroom, and I was trying to mend a shattered heart for some odd reason. Syaoran kept glaring at me, but when I looked at him through teary eyes his gaze softened. He walked over to me and turned into Yukito. Then we were dancing. When Yukito bent down to kiss me, I was kissing Syaoran instead. He pulled away and smiled, and then he turned into this freaky guy! I screamed and fell to the ground as a loud blast echoed throughout the palace walls. I saw him pointing something in my direction, but Syaoran stepped in front of me and then fell to the ground as a second blast fired. I watched in horror as Syaoran didn't get back up. Now the man was furious! He pointed his staff at Syaoran and before I realized what I was doing I found myself protecting him. Trying to keep him safe. A red beam came from the opposite direction at the very same time, and I fell to the ground. I woke up panting; very confused.
~End Of Memory~
I opened my eyes, one at a time, and blinked, trying to not go blind. I quickly sat up and looked around. "What happened?!?" I nearly yelled.
I made eye contact with Syaoran and he winced as I yelled. "That's what I would like to know. What DID happen?"
I waved my hand impatiently in the air. That didn't matter at the moment. "Our friends! Are they-"
I was cut off by Syaoran. "Don't worry, they're all here. Safe and sound." He motioned to the sleeping forms that were all scattered about the sand like wind scattered leaves in the fall. I sighed, a long release. "So? Are you going to tell me what happened?" He inquired.
I looked around once more to be sure that they were really asleep and then I nodded my head. I tried to relay the details as best as I could. "Well, you know about the part when we…er…found each other right?" He nodded his head. "Well, right after we figured out where everyone was and after you got captured also I used Windy to swim down there so I could breathe. I changed her to a Sakura Card!"
"That's Great!"
I froze. That wasn't Syaoran's voice! Were the others getting up now too?!? I turned and saw that Tomoyo was the one who said that, and Meiling was up too. The others, thankfully, were sound asleep.
"Don't DO that!" Syaoran and I exclaimed at the same time. "You scared me half to DEATH Tomoyo!" I added.
She sweat-dropped. "Sorry."
"It's okay," I finished. "Well, I guess you two can hear what happened also. I saw all of you in this red bubble. You were all really far underwater too. I had to change the staff into a wand though, otherwise the cards didn't work! The all seem so distant… except for the two I changed."
"Which card did you transform besides Windy?" Meiling asked.
"The Sword Card. I had to get all of you out of the bubble. But when I did that, water started to seep into the bubble…"
"YOU COULD HAVE DROWNED ALL OF US!!!" Meiling wailed.
I winced and looked at the ground sheepishly. "I know. I'm sorry. I also know that sorry isn't good enough. I tried."
"We're all safe right now, and that is all that matters," Tomoyo stated. "What happened after that, Sakura?" She asked in a gentle voice.
"I realized my mistake and sent Windy with you guys so you could breathe and go up to the surface."
"WHAT?!?" Syaoran exclaimed. "What about yourself! YOU could have drowned! If we were as far down as I remember, I don't see how you could have survived!"
"How DID you survive?" Meiling asked.
"I…uh…um…well…"
"Yeeeeeeees?"
"I don't know."
They all fell over anime style. "How could you not know?" Syaoran asked.
Once again I found the sand VERY interesting at the moment. "I blacked out," I said quickly.
I looked up to see that all of my friends had serious faces on at the moment. Syaoran was in pensive thought with his brows knit together, Meiling looked puzzled, and Tomoyo looked worried. I waited for one of them to speak; for them to reassure me that everything was okay. When no one spoke I could hardly bare it. I felt like I was going to burst! What did they think was going on? I needed answers!
"Well… I think…" Tomoyo started.
"Yes?" I asked slowly, hanging in suspense.
"That we have a new enemy… and friend."
"How can we have both?" Meiling asked incredulously.
"Well, if it was an enemy, they would have let Sakura drown," Syaoran said plainly. "If it was a friend, they wouldn't have done this in the first place."
"How do you know it's only one person?" Meiling asked. "Maybe one person is doing these bad things, and another saved her."
"We'll have to wait and find out," I put in. "But the question is… how long will this wait last?"
"Ungh…"
We all turned to the person that made that sound. It was Chiharu. She was slowly waking up, and so were the others. We all looked at each other and silently agreed that we should stop talking about this subject. I was still trying to sort out everything that happened. It was kind of giving me a headache.
"What happened?" she asked as she started to brush the sand off of her body. "Why aren't we playing anymore?"
"Yeah," Naoko asked. "Who's 'it'?"
Syaoran gave a little grin and pointed at me. "Sakura is 'it.' I tagged her last, but I guess we all decided to take a little mid-afternoon nap."
"Guess so," Tomoyo said with a grin and crescent-moon eyes that were oh-so convincing.
"Oh," Rika said to herself, still not looking sure. We gave each other knowing glances and decided to change the topic.
"Well, we should probably head back. We've been gone for a pretty long time." I got up and tried to get the sand that was stuck to me off of my arms and legs.
"Okay." Everyone said in unison, following pursuit. We all rinsed off in the water and then swam back to the shore at the palace. No one even noticed we were gone. Well… almost no one.
"Prince Syaoran! THERE you are! I have been looking EVERYWHERE for you!" Came an overly sweet voice. I looked over my shoulder just as we emerged from the water and glared. I did not like that girl! Not one bit! I looked at Syaoran and saw that he went rigid. I couldn't tell if he liked her or not.
'Why do I care if he likes her?' I asked myself with disbelief. 'Because! She is a snob and a witch and a brat and a… well… and female dog! That's what!' I screamed in my head. 'Is that all though? Is that the only reason?' Asked a NON-sensible part of my head. Okay, maybe it was the sensible part, but I didn't have to admit it! 'No!' I answered almost automatically. 'Are you SURE though?' 'No! I mean- Yes! Of course I'm sure! It's not like I'm…' 'Jealous?' 'Of course I'm not jealous!'
Before I could pursue this little conversation in my head any longer I was snapped back to reality when Kizutsu said her next sentence.
"Syaoran, will you meet me in the Royal Gardens tonight?" I glared at her, but her concentration was on Syaoran… and him alone. "Please? It'll be fun."
"No!" He growled.
Her brows knit together in a frown and then she seemed to collect herself. "Aren't you worried about my condition? I WAS hurt you know."
"You picked the fight, it was YOUR mistake."
She pouted. "Syaoran…"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!"
She stuck her nose up in the air as if to ignore it, but she didn't call him by his first name again. "But tonight…"
"We have classes tomorrow anyway. My answer is no, and no matter how much you pester me, it will stay that way. Got it?"
She glared at him. "You are going to wish you didn't just say that!" Syaoran just 'humph'ed in response.
I didn't want this to get any worse than it already was. Syaoran looked ready to kill. I walked up to him and put a hand on his arm, feeling his tensed muscles. They immediately relaxed to my touch. He looked at me, startled. "Let's just go inside now, okay Syaoran?" I asked pleadingly.
His eyes softened and he nodded his head. "Yeah, okay."
I looked back at Kizutsu and blinked. Why was she glaring at me that way? Syaoran followed my direction and glowered. "Don't worry about HER," He spat. "Come on." He took me by the arm and led me away, the others trailing behind. I stared back at her blankly.
"Hooeee."
We split up once we got inside and decided to meet each other later. Tomoyo and I headed upstairs to our bedchamber and changed into some dry clothing. Kero asked us millions of questions when we told him what happened. He wasn't too happy. He was starting to get more and more protective of me every day. More and more like… Touya.
"Hey! I haven't really seen Touya!" I looked over at Tomoyo. "Do you want to go and find them? I mean- him?"
Tomoyo grinned all-knowingly. "Touya and… Yukito you mean?" I blushed and she giggled. "Honestly, you have got to get your priorities in order."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
She just grinned. "Oh, nothing." [AN: I think we are all little Tomoyo's at this moment. ^-^ If you don't know what she means, *sweatdrop* It's okay. We are all also little Sakura's some time in our lives too!]
We went over to Touya's bedchamber, after a LOT of searching and asking around, and knocked on the door. It opened almost automatically and I saw a young man with grayish hair wearing glassed opened the door and bend down to my height. "Well, it's very nice to see you Sakura, Tomoyo." He said.
I gave a little smile and blushed. "Hi Yuki!"
"Hello Yukito."
"Hey squirt, is that you?" Came a voice from somewhere in the depths of the room. Yukito opened the door and let us in. Touya was sitting on the couch, eating lunch. "So, it's the Kaijuu after all!" He said.
"I am NOT a KAIJUU!!!" I yelled defensively.
He just gave a half grin. "Want to join us for lunch?" Yukito asked as he joined my brother.
I looked at Tomoyo and then back at Yuki. "Okay!"
We all sat down and talked, catching up on everything. We laughed and joked, yet we were also serious at times. I didn't really know how much I missed them… until now. Being with them brought back memories of when all of us were together. I smiled, only half paying attention. I loved and cared about all of them so much! I had a brother that wasn't dead! A best friend that I know will always be there for me always, and… a crush. That's all I could really put into words, yet it seemed so much more!
"Sakura," Touya said seriously, "I know why mother got me to leave finally."
"What?" I asked, barely above a whisper.
"She knew, and you knew she knew after, and now I knew she knew too."
I tilted my head to the side. "Hoe?!?"
He sighed. "Never mind." He went back to eating and then stopped, his fork poised in mid-air. "I also know something else happened today. I don't know what it was, but I felt it." He wasn't looking at me. Then he looked up at Tomoyo, as if realizing he said too much. She smiled at him and I had the feeling that she knew something now, just by this little conversation.
"Don't worry Touya. You don't have to be on your guard around me. I'm Sakura's friend. I wouldn't harm her." Now she was serious. "Besides, I may even know more than you do, even though I don't have a… 'sixth sense,' as you call it."
He stared at her, shocked. "You know?" She nodded her head. "About… everything?"
"Yep."
I looked back from one to the other, EXTREMELY confused. "Wait a second, what's going on? What are you two getting at?"
Tomoyo looked at me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, yet she didn't mind to tell me the details. "He knows Sakura."
"About what?"
"About your magic. About the Clow Cards."
"Hooeeeee!"
Touya nodded. "I guessed, but I wasn't completely sure until I met Yue."
"You met Yue?!?" I gasped. I looked at Yukito who was smiling with crescent- moon eyes.
"Yep," Touya said, as if it were nothing. He shoved his face with food just as I wanted all of my questions answered.
"But… how? When? Why? Does Yukito know? What's going on? TOUYA! ANSWER ME!!!" I said, clenching my fist.
"I know now that the reason I'm hungry all the time is because I have to keep my energy up for my borrowed form," Yukito explained.
"Oh," I said, calming down a bit because of his gentle voice.
[AN: Okay, Yukito knows EVERYTHING now, because she captured the last card. I know I'm changing this a lot, but bare with me here, okay? It would take WAY too long if I didn't. `-_- Sorry.]
"So you know… everything?" I asked slowly, trying to take it all in.
"Yep."
We talked a little more, but I was only half paying attention. Now that he knew, things would be different. Touya and I were still trying to get over the fact that mother saved both of us, but not herself or even father. It was like a nightmare, or a dream. It didn't seem as if it were true. I was here with my friends, and my brother, and they… aren't alive any longer. It seems as if I would be going home shortly and they would be waiting at the front steps. But deep down, I knew that that would never happen again.
Tomoyo and I left and went to meet at our usual tree and sat down, talking with everyone once again. Yamazaki told his usual lies that I thought were true until proven otherwise, and we all giggled when Chiharu slapped him over the head to shut up. Naoko told ANOTHER spooky story that I REALLY wished she wouldn't have brought up. One ghost story was enough thank you very much! No, let me rephrase that. One scary story was MORE than enough! It gave me the creeps!
Before I knew it we had all already eaten dinner and I was in bed with lights out. Tomoyo and I talked about the day's events for a few minutes and then drifted off into a peaceful slumber. [AN: if you can tell, I'm having a HUGE writer's block at the moment so I'm trying to speed things up a bit. Sorry guys! `-_- ]
In the morning Tomoyo had to wake me up because I slept in and then we had to run to the dinning hall to get there on time. We barely made it in time, and we also received a LOT of glares for making everyone wait. *sweat drop* Also a glare from my not-so-favorite teacher, Ms. Ketsuji.
We said our thanks and finally the room was filled with it's normal, everyday chatter. I smiled and looked at my friends. "So, how are all of you today?"
They smiled back and a chorus of "I'm fine's" "good's" "okay's" and "great's" were murmured all around me. I smiled and took a bite of bread.
"Did you hear that we have some more new arrivals today?" Rika asked.
"Yeah. I hear there are four more people who came."
"Four, that's a lot," I commented. I looked at Tomoyo and saw that she just gave a little smile.
"Yep! Two are twins, I don't know if they are boys or girls though. Then there is a guy named Prince Tokuo, and a Princess Sumiki. They all arrived some time yesterday."
"Wow. Why so late though?"
"Who knows. We might have some classes with them." That got a groan from me. "What's wrong, Sakura?" Chiharu asked.
"We have all of our classes today. That means I have to go to… History Of The Kingdoms," I moaned.
Everyone else groaned as well. We all had that class together, and no one believed a word she said. No one liked her anyway.
"Well, come on," Meiling said as she started to get up. "We better get to class so we don't have to 'feel her wrath,'"
We all laughed at that.
"You know, someone should teach her a lesson. A lesson she'll never forget." It took me a moment to realize I said that out loud. 'whoops.'
Tomoyo gave an all-knowing smile and Meiling had an evil smirk on her face. "At the end of the year everyone always pulls pranks. That will be the perfect payback time."
We all exchanged glances.
"We better make it good. This needs to be something she will NEVER forget!" Syaoran added. We all nodded in agreement right as we entered the classroom. It startled all of us, yet we left the subject at that. No one overheard, thankfully.
"Class, we have two new students that will be joining us today. One is a very special young girl, Princess Sumiki." A girl with teal hair entered the room. She had gray eyes that seemed vacant almost. She looked kind of shy, but I learned not to judge anyone on first appearance. "Sumiki, you may sit…" Ms. Ketsuji sent me a glare and I was forced to look into her steely eyes. I gulped. "Behind Rokishi." She placed The girl farthest away from me. Probably because she thought I was a bad influence. I shrugged it off. Why was the teacher being so nice to this girl though? Because she was new? That wasn't fair!
"And our other new student is Prince Hinruku. He has a twin brother that is also staying with us, but will not be in this class. Please give him a warm welcome." She looked around the classroom and saw that there was only one open seat left. [AN: Remember, the seats are just like they are in the show, okay?!? ^-^] It was behind Eriol, which was still close enough to me. Once again her metallic gray eyes were on mine. I shrunk down into my seat. "Hinruku, you may be seated behind Prince Eriol. If there are any problems, please tell me and I will fix them immediately." She said all this without taking her eyes off of me. I glared back. Now she deserved what ever we had in store for her. We should dye her skin black to match her hair. Permanently of course. We could dump a huge tub of pudding on her; that would be VERY amusing. But then I would get yelled at from Kero saying that it was a waste of preciously edible food, and now it was spoiled when it could have been in his stomach. I giggled at the thought and the teacher finally jerked her gaze away from me and to the black board, explaining today's lesson.
I quickly looked past Syaoran and Meiling to see who she was sitting next to. Prince Hinruku looked like he would become a good friend, but that was all I could tell. He had dark green hair and dark purple eyes. He was paying attention to the teacher with keen attention, yet when he noticed I was looking at him he gave a little smile. I turned back around in my chair. I had a weird confusing feeling, and I couldn't tell what it was about.
After History Of The Kingdoms I went to embroidery. I was actually pretty good at it now with Tomoyo and Rika's help. It was still incredibly boring though. Then I went to dance and manners and found that Princess Sumiki and Prince Hinruku were also in this class. When we had to dance with partners, I was Syaoran's partner again, and I noticed all the girls were glaring at me. Even the new girl! Then I noticed that the guys were all glaring at Syaoran worse than they used to because their partner's attention was on him. Something told me that things were going to start to get nasty if this kept up. I looked over to see that Eriol was also in this class and he happened to be dancing with Tomoyo! He looked down at her with a little smile, and I could tell that he was a great dancer. Tomoyo wouldn't meet his eyes though. Wonder why.
I looked up at Syaoran and into his honey brown eyes and I was mesmerized. I gave a trembling smile and knew right away why Tomoyo wouldn't meet his eyes. Just in case she… well, never mind. It's not like I do. Is it?
Syaoran and I seemed to be dancing on the clouds. I could hardly feel the ground beneath my feet. It was so wonderful, so magical! It was so…
"KAWAII!" I sweat dropped and looked over at Tomoyo. She was looking at us with stars in her eyes and she just happened to say that when the music stopped. I blushed a deep shade of magenta and looked away from Syaoran, not noticing that he did the same. Now everyone was glaring at us except Tomoyo and Eriol. No, except Tomoyo, Eriol, Meiling, and her dance partner, Hinruku. I pulled away from Syaoran, not noticing that we had been dancing that close together, and I saw that Mrs. Katomi was beaming at us.
"You two are the perfect pair!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Hoe?!?" I asked, wide-eyed, now as bright as a tomato.
"There is going to be a dancing contest coming up. People from far-off kingdoms will attend, and they will try to see if their dancers are better than our. Then we will hold a grand finale and it's every partner for themselves. We will give out prizes, passes, and days off of school so you can go to the market place and shop or just hang around outside. I have to choose five couples to represent this school, and you two are one of them."
"Wha? But… I…" I couldn't believe my ears. Represent this school? The Li Kingdom, and now the Kinomoto Kingdom at this thing?!?
"Wait a second…" Syaoran started.
"No. You are in and that's final. This is a great privilege! And don't you guys worry either," she said, looking at all the others. "I will pick more couples, so you will all have a chance to shine!"
I turned to Syaoran. "Dance? In front of tons of people? Me?" I asked incredulously.
He gave a little smile to reassure me. "Us. Don't worry Sakura, we'll do fine."
"We?" I asked. "You don't mind?"
"Of course not! I mean…er…of course not."
I smiled, "Thank you Syaoran."
"KAWAII!!!!!" Tomoyo shouted again. Now Prince Eriol was looking at us also.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Mrs. Ketsuji said, clapping her hands together. "I want you two," she pointed to Tomoyo and Eriol, "to also be one of the couples."
Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool! I like it again, again! Does that even make sense?!? Oh, well. I need sleep and I have a HUGE project to work on that's due tomorrow and I need to eat my spagetti-O's! Hee hee hee! Well, I better go. REVIEW PLEASE! Review, review, review, review, review!!! I *LOVE* it when you review, so please please please do! Thank you all SO much! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! ^-^
