Until I Love
By: Yukimi Takiro
Chapter 2: Satoshi's Ghost
"Sakura!" Sakura turned around and smiled.
"Tomoyo," she said. Tomoyo ran up to her.
"Your acting weird. What's wrong?" asked Tomoyo.
"Nothing," she replied. Sakura turned back around and walked into the building with a puzzled Tomoyo right behind her.
"Good Morning!" greeted Sakura. Everyone who knew her greeted her back and she took her seat at her desk in homeroom. Tomoyo sat down, confused.
During class, Sakura gazed out at the backyard of the school. She could hear nothing but the soft rustle of the leaves and her world around her froze. She gazed at her favorite cherry blossom tree which was withered with age but continued to grow. A young man with pitch black hair walked up to the cherry blossom tree and touched the bark. He wore an old style uniform. Sakura watched this mysterious young man; He gazed up at her with wide transparent hazel colored eyes and Sakura stared back with her wide emerald green colored eyes.
The mysterious young man vanished and Sakura just stared at the same spot.
In over a week, Sakura had seen this wondering young man with the transparent hazel gold colored eyes around her where ever she went. It freaked her out more than anything to see a ghost around.
It was already a bit after school as Sakura walked the empty hallway of the school. She heard voices and then just as Sakura was passing by a slightly open classroom door with the lights on inside, someone slid open that door and bumped into her.
"I'm sorry," said Syaoran.
"It's alright," replied Sakura. Syaoran looked down at her, realizing that it was Sakura, he turned around and quickly walked down the hall. "Wait! Li!"
Sakura started at a jog but was immediately stopped by someone from behind. Sakura turned and widened her eyes. The same young man with the sorrow-filled hazel gold colored eyes had a good grip on Sakura's wrist.
"But...how can you touch me when you're a ghost? I don't understand..." whispered Sakura. " Who are you?"
"Why is it that you look exactly like her?" he whispered. " The girl who was taken by my best friend years ago."
"Please let me go!" shouted Sakura, struggling against his grip. His eyes narrowed.
" I won't let you go and I'll keep you here with me to suffer the pain I felt! You left me years ago!" exclaimed the man. He threw Sakura aside. The inside of the school was covered with fog and darkness; Sakura slowly stood up but the man grabbed her by the wrist again.
"I never did anything to you!" exclaimed Sakura. He forced her to hit the glass windows; The windows broke and Sakura dangled from the edge on the third floor.
" I've been trapped here, waiting for you and only you," he said. Sakura stared at him with wide eyes as he slowly released her wrist. Sakura screamed as she fell towards the ground; Just as Sakura was about to hit the ground someone saved her and they vanished. The man turned and walked down the hall.
"Sakura! Sakura!" Sakura opened her eyes and two dark violet colored eyes stared back.
"Aki..."
"Your wrist is a bit red and you have some bruises on you but your fine," he said.
"What's happening?" she asked.
"The young man you met is Satoshi. He is like a ghost but he is a shadow," he explained.
"Why is he after me?" asked Sakura.
"Because you resemble his love. His love, Lin, left him for his best friend because she sensed Satoshi was evil. Satoshi is evil of heart and mind. To get his revenge, Satoshi left a shadow of himself here to wait for Lin and kill her. Unfortunately, this dated back to maybe 44 years ago at least and Lin was killed in an accident," explained Aki.
"How do you know so much?" asked Sakura as she leaned against the wall of a classroom.
"Because... Satoshi is...my master, the one who gave me and many other people the curse of the Black Star," replied Aki. Sakura gasped.
Kerberos, Yue and Syaoran landed inside the school gates and gazed up at the school building.
"I don't feel her anymore. Her aura is shielded," said Kerberos.
"Do you feel that? It's the aura of evil emitting from inside," said Yue. Syaoran narrowed his eyes.
Aki held out his hand to Sakura.
"We have to leave here, Satoshi is coming," he said. Sakura grabbed his hand and he pulled her. They ran down the hallway and up the stairs.
"Where are we going?" asked Sakura.
"Everything in this building is sealed off and the only way out or in is the broken window you hit against! We're just going to the third floor," he explained. Sakura screamed and pointed on ahead of them. Aki had to stop immediately. Satoshi smiled.
"Aki, I knew it was you who saved her, the one I sent to inflict the Black Star upon Sakura Kinomoto. Out of my way, I must kill Lin now!" Sakura looked up at Aki with slight surprise upon her face. Satoshi held his hand out and Sakura could see it clearly now. A black star upon his right palm was visible; It glowed with dark power. Suddenly, Aki was pushed back into the wall and he fell to the ground.
"Aki!" screamed Sakura. She tried to help him but Satoshi grabbed her by her neck; She struggled.
"So many long years I have waited and I won't let you live Lin," he hissed. Sakura dangled in his grip. Aki saw this and tried to stand, wiping the blood that trickled down his mouth. Satoshi saw him and held out his left hand. Aki collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. Sakura felt herself losing consciousness.
"A-Aki..." Just when Sakura was about to pass out, Sakura vanished from Satoshi's grip and appeared in Yue's arms. Aki smiled and vanished in an instant as Kerberous attacked Satoshi with his fire power. Satoshi narrowed his eyes. The fire attack hit an invisible force field around Satoshi and he attacked back. The attack barely missed the two guardians. Then, Satoshi gasped when Syaoran came in and slashed at him. Satoshi covered his wound where blood began to spill.
"You..." Before Satoshi could say anymore, Syaoran attacked.
"Fire!" Satoshi vanished within Syaoran's fire attack. Syaoran walked away, into the dark hallway.
"Sakura." Sakura Kinomoto walked an empty corridor toward two wooden doors at the end. She seemed to be in a trance-like state.
"Sakura!" The voices Sakura heard were growing fainter as she grew closer to the large wooden doors at the other end. Sakura began to take up speed and she ran toward it, her long amber-brown colored hair flowing behind her.
"I want...I want..." Sakura began to whisper this over and over and then when she finally made it to the doors, she pushed them open and walked into the bright light. "you."
"Sakura!!!" She gazed ahead, into the fog, trying to make out the figure. The figure turned around to face her, his eyes covered by the thick fog. Snow began to fall and Sakura collapsed to her knees. A single tear fell and the figure looked surprise. Sakura looked up at the figure with such sorrow within her emerald green eyes.
"I... I want... to..." The figure walked up to Sakura and held out a hand. Suddenly, Sakura's widened her eyes and she began to see a flashback where in the rain, Aki held out his hand. "I WANT TO REMEMBER!"
The seal around Sakura broke and the figure spoke.
"I didn't mean to hurt you Sakura. I'm sorry." He vanished and Sakura vanished as well.
"Sakura! Wake up!" shouted Kero.
"Why do you keep on trying Kerberous?" asked Yue.
"You should let her sleep," said Syaoran. Syaoran looked out the window of Sakura's room while sitting on her desk chair.
"There's something wrong with her!" shouted Kero.
"It's the Black Star curse." Everyone looked to see Aki, who stood by Sakura's closet.
"Who are you?" asked Yue.
"My name is Aki Shiro. I was the one who inflicted her with the Black Star, I was ordered and also I was under his control." Aki walked past Kero and Yue and over to Sakura. Syaoran was standing up at this time. Aki narrowed his eyes. "My spell..."
"What is the Black Star?" asked Syaoran. Kero thought for a second.
"Black Star, why is that so familiar?"
"It should be. The Black Star is a deadly curse created 44 years ago by Satoshi. People with hate, sorrow, jealousy and other negative feelings are shot with dark arrows. It only works on those sort of people. A Black Star will appear on the person's right palm. The Black Star feeds off on negative feelings and once the star is all black, the person becomes a Black Star," explained Aki. "Once you have the curse, there is no way to break it. You can't see the black outline of a star upon Sakura's palm but it's there."
"Sakura?!" gasped Kero.
"What happened?" asked Yue calmly yet surprised.
"Her heart was filled with sorrow, deep sorrow." Syaoran didn't say anything and just held his head low. Aki grasped Sakura's hand and turned it over to look at a half black star. "No... now that she is remembering, she is reliving it in her dreams and soon, her star will turn all black!"
"What?!" gasped Kero. Aki began to glow and suddenly, Sakura began to glow as well. "What are you doing?"
"I can't erase her memories again but we can save her." Aki turned around to look at Syaoran. "Come here! You need to help her!"
"Me? What can I do?" asked Syaoran.
"Hurry!" Syaoran hesitated but he walked over to Aki. "Grab her hand, go ahead."
Aki held Sakura's hand out to Syaoran and he slowly grasped on firmly. In a flash of light, Syaoran's eyes went blank and he just stood there. Aki held onto Sakura, still glowing but he seemed to be in pain.
Syaoran opened his amber-brown colored eyes and looked around. It snowed all around him and the background was Penguin Park.
"Sakura!" shouted Syaoran. He heard crying and ran toward the sound. Sakura's small form appeared before his eyes and he ran to her aid. "Sakura!"
Sakura looked up at Syaoran with tear-filled emerald green colored eyes.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
" I'd ask the same. What is going on here?"
"HURRY!" Aki's voice echoed throughout the place. Syaoran helped Sakura up but he bumped into someone. Sakura widened her eyes. Syaoran turned around and gasped.
"It...It can't be..."
Yukimi: Ohohohohoho! Cliffhanger!
Everyone: WHAT?!
Kero: It was getting to the good part!
Tomoyo: Poor Sakura-chan. (sigh)
Sakura: That was very mean Takiro-sama.
Syaoran: No kidding.
Yue: What happened to the summary?
Yukimi: There is no summary.
Everyone: WHAT!?
Yukimi: See you in the next chapter!
Everyone: NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Back to Until I Love page