*Just because I'm not waiting for a certain amount of reviews before
posting, doesn't mean don't review. Sorry it I scared anyone off. Also,
if anyone can give me some info regarding the Japanese Defense Force and
what they can/ can't do, I'd really appreciate it…*
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Remember to put in a thought for those lost on September 11th and all those who still fight. And pray that nothing more will happen… United we Stand- God Bless the USA
DISCLAIMER: I don't own CCS
Skys Fall Down
Chapter Two
A thin ray of sunlight hit her eyes, irritating the girl enough to bring her out of the confines of sleep. It must be the weekend, she reasoned, which was why Kero wasn't screaming at her to wake-up so she wouldn't be late for school. But was strange that he hadn't waken her up yet for food. Sakura decided to forget about it, sighing as she snuggled further into her pillows.
Only to realize with a start that it was moving softly, up and down, and the bed below her was hard and ruff. Her eyes opened in shock. She found herself looking up at sunlight streaming through the green leaves of a tree. Tree?
Whatever it was that was supporting her from behind shifted and some of the warmth left her. Sakura glanced behind and was surprised to see Syaoran.
"Your awake." He observed, stretching and barely covering a yawn. His eyes were baggy and blood-shot, it looked as though he hadn't slept all night.
"Li-kun, what are…"
He signaled for her to be quiet. "Just wait a few seconds, it will come back to you…"
Curiously, she fell silent. But he was right. Only seconds later, the memories of the previous day's events hit her.
The sky, lit up like it was New Year's Eve. People screaming in panic and pain, chaos, running everywhere. She recalled running towards her home, determined to find her Onii-chan, but instead…
Her house had been destroyed, by a bomb. And Li-kun was right; no one could have survived that attack, her brother Touya was undoubtedly dead. It was so hard to accept the fact, it was impossible for her to live without waking up to his insults and jokes. Impossible…
And then there had been the bodies. That encounter seemed surreal too, but it wasn't. At least… no, she couldn't say the number. People she had carried deeply about were now gone from her life forever… Her thoughts strayed to other people. Where was Tomoyo-chan and her mother? Were they alright? Her father? Kero-chan? Was he killed in the bombing too? She wanted to cry, for all things lost already and for those in her future, but she stopped herself when she thought of Li-kun sitting next to her. The Chinese boy already thought she was weak, she wasn't going to further his assumptions by crying.
Syaoran noticed Sakura was watching him and blushed slightly, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, not trusting her voice.
"The bombing stopped late last night and I'm nearly positive the ground troops moved onto the next town shortly after. We should be safe here, for now."
"What now?" She wondered, trying desperately to keep the forlorn tone from her voice.
"We should probably head back into town to see how… well, just to see. Plus, I'm hungry and we need to find enough food and such to sustain us until help comes."
Sakura agreed, though a bit reluctantly, and they climbed from the tree. The pair walked silently through the park, following a path they had taken many times as children. When the edge of the town came into view, they were both shocked. It wasn't a town, only a pile of smother ruins. No person, alive at least, could be seen. The streets were all but deserted and anything that hadn't been bombed was destroyed from the ground.
"Li-kun, I want… I want to see my house."
He could have asked why, but he didn't ask the question and only nodded his head. They walked the streets, seeing only more destruction and nothing that even slightly resembled the town they used to know. Her neighborhood then came into view.
Sakura walked over to the rubble that was her home and looked it over, her face all but emotionless. Suddenly, a ray of hope passed over her features. She had felt a very familiar, yet very, very weak aura. "Kero-chan!!" She exclaimed, turning to face Syaoran. He only shook his head sadly, there was no way anything could have survived that and it was heart breaking to see her hoping so deeply for something impossible.
"No Li-kun, I can feel him, his aura!!" She exclaimed, running into the rubble. "He's here, he's alive!"
Now that was dangerous. What if the stones were to shift under her? She could fall and be hurt, killed even. The last thing this town needed was more death… "Sakura, stop!" He exclaimed, running after her and grabbing her around the waist to keep her from moving further when he caught up. Turning her around so she was looking directly at him, he said very seriously, "Sakura, I know you want to believe that the stuffed animal is still alive, but it's impossible. You're causing yourself more pain, and the wreckage isn't safe."
"I'm not fooling myself, I can feel his aura! Just try, Li-kun, try to find it."
He agreed slowly, closed his eyes and scanned the area, not expecting to find anything. His eyes shoot open in amazement. The aura was very faint, but it was there.
Sakura was watching him seriously, "You felt it, didn't you?" She wondered and he nodded.
Without another word, she pulled away from him and began searching for the feeling. Syaoran reluctantly followed.
He was examining an area a few feet away when an anguished scream made his head perk up. Looking over, he saw Sakura kneeling next to a patch of stone.
"Sakura! What…" His voice trailed off when he got closer and saw exactly what had caused her distress. A rock had been rolled away, exposing a pale white hand that could only belong too… Syaoran sucked in a breath and looked away. He gained his composure seconds later and his thoughts flew to Sakura. Ready to comfort her, he turned around but was shocked to see her not bent over in tears. In fact, she wasn't crying at all and she was slowly moving rocks and large pieces of rubble, uncovering the body.
Syaoran knelt beside her, silently helping her with gruesome task. The rocks soon gave way to pale flesh and dirty, tatter clothing. His eyes had been opened; Sakura closed them gently and drew a hand lovingly through her brother's hair.
It was then that Syaoran noticed something strange about the appearance of the corpse. Touya's left hand was clenched and curled towards his body, as if protection something. And from that area came a very slight aura…
The hand was cold and hard to open, but hope of finding something alive fueled the effort. Resting inside was the small, yellow form of Kero. "Sakura…"
Nothing had been said for nearly fifteen minutes and the sudden noise caused her head to jerk up from where it had been focused on her brother. Once he had her attention, Syaoran pointed to what he had discovered and Sakura was on her knees next to the small animal in seconds.
"Kero-chan, can you hear me?" She wondered, gently lifting the guardian to her face. He didn't reply, but the steady rise and fall of his chest assured the two that he was alive. Sakura then handed Kero carefully to Syaoran, reaching into her pocket and then freezing. "The cards!"
Sadly, he shook his head. "They were in your backpack. The soldiers found them and took them. They thought they would be worth something." Yet another blow to her…
"Not all of them." She replied, pulling a single card from her pocket, Float. "I was using this to clean my room the morning before all this happened. I guess it was a good thing…" Calling out the spirit, she ordered, "Float Card, move Touya's body onto the lawn over there."
Both Card Captors watched as the card solemnly obeyed, lifting the form off the ground, over their heads, and setting it onto the ground a few feet away. After finishing it's task, it returned to it's card form and slipped back into Sakura's pocket.
She, however, was immobile. Starring once again at the body as tears filled her eyes. Sakura ran three steps then fell to the ground, crying openly. "Touya…" She sobbed her brother's name, before turning her eyes skyward, "Please, God, send him back to me!" She pleaded, "Don't take him away, I need him… Onii-chan…Whatever I did to deserve this, I'm sorry… please, don't punish him, bring him back… I'm sorry…"
Syaoran could only stand so much. It was to painful to see her like that, too painful to see her want something so bad but to know it would never be granted. He set down Kero and jogged to her, wrapping his arms around her. She glanced up with him, her eyes hurt and pain filled, "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" He wondered, trying to keep his voice soothing.
"For all the horrible things I did." She replied, sobbing again, "Because of that, my Onii-chan is dead…"
"Sakura… it's not your fault."
But if she did hear his last comment, she did respond. Once again, she was fell into hopeless tears.
**************
"Li-kun, thank you for helping me." Sakura said softly, standing before the upturned dirt and the rugged cross the marked her brother's grave. After a while, her tears had quieted and they began digging a grave underneath a nearby tree. When the whole was deep enough, they used the float card once again to move the body and with a few words, Syaoran had filled the hole and made two boards into a make-shift grave marker. Two tears now made their way down her already raw cheeks and fell to the ground as she bowed her head.
Syaoran hesitated slightly before putting an arm gently around her shoulders, "Sakura, please call me Syaoran."
She smiled slightly through her grief and nodded, her eyes still fixed on the mound of dirt at her feet.
He released her shoulder and took a few steps back, "I'll leave you alone for a little while." He said softly, "I'm going to look for some food and fresh water. Syaoran hesitated before adding, "I'll be close-by if you need anything."
"Thank-you, Syaoran-kun."
Hearing his name from her mouth was defiantly strange, be he didn't have time to concentrate on that. He was worried for her, and he only hoped that things would turn out okay in the end. Although he didn't know how that could be possible.
With a last glance at the solemn figure of Sakura, Syaoran turned a corner in search of food.
-TBC- Comments appreciated: pikogio@yahoo.com
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Remember to put in a thought for those lost on September 11th and all those who still fight. And pray that nothing more will happen… United we Stand- God Bless the USA
DISCLAIMER: I don't own CCS
Skys Fall Down
Chapter Two
A thin ray of sunlight hit her eyes, irritating the girl enough to bring her out of the confines of sleep. It must be the weekend, she reasoned, which was why Kero wasn't screaming at her to wake-up so she wouldn't be late for school. But was strange that he hadn't waken her up yet for food. Sakura decided to forget about it, sighing as she snuggled further into her pillows.
Only to realize with a start that it was moving softly, up and down, and the bed below her was hard and ruff. Her eyes opened in shock. She found herself looking up at sunlight streaming through the green leaves of a tree. Tree?
Whatever it was that was supporting her from behind shifted and some of the warmth left her. Sakura glanced behind and was surprised to see Syaoran.
"Your awake." He observed, stretching and barely covering a yawn. His eyes were baggy and blood-shot, it looked as though he hadn't slept all night.
"Li-kun, what are…"
He signaled for her to be quiet. "Just wait a few seconds, it will come back to you…"
Curiously, she fell silent. But he was right. Only seconds later, the memories of the previous day's events hit her.
The sky, lit up like it was New Year's Eve. People screaming in panic and pain, chaos, running everywhere. She recalled running towards her home, determined to find her Onii-chan, but instead…
Her house had been destroyed, by a bomb. And Li-kun was right; no one could have survived that attack, her brother Touya was undoubtedly dead. It was so hard to accept the fact, it was impossible for her to live without waking up to his insults and jokes. Impossible…
And then there had been the bodies. That encounter seemed surreal too, but it wasn't. At least… no, she couldn't say the number. People she had carried deeply about were now gone from her life forever… Her thoughts strayed to other people. Where was Tomoyo-chan and her mother? Were they alright? Her father? Kero-chan? Was he killed in the bombing too? She wanted to cry, for all things lost already and for those in her future, but she stopped herself when she thought of Li-kun sitting next to her. The Chinese boy already thought she was weak, she wasn't going to further his assumptions by crying.
Syaoran noticed Sakura was watching him and blushed slightly, "Are you okay?"
She nodded, not trusting her voice.
"The bombing stopped late last night and I'm nearly positive the ground troops moved onto the next town shortly after. We should be safe here, for now."
"What now?" She wondered, trying desperately to keep the forlorn tone from her voice.
"We should probably head back into town to see how… well, just to see. Plus, I'm hungry and we need to find enough food and such to sustain us until help comes."
Sakura agreed, though a bit reluctantly, and they climbed from the tree. The pair walked silently through the park, following a path they had taken many times as children. When the edge of the town came into view, they were both shocked. It wasn't a town, only a pile of smother ruins. No person, alive at least, could be seen. The streets were all but deserted and anything that hadn't been bombed was destroyed from the ground.
"Li-kun, I want… I want to see my house."
He could have asked why, but he didn't ask the question and only nodded his head. They walked the streets, seeing only more destruction and nothing that even slightly resembled the town they used to know. Her neighborhood then came into view.
Sakura walked over to the rubble that was her home and looked it over, her face all but emotionless. Suddenly, a ray of hope passed over her features. She had felt a very familiar, yet very, very weak aura. "Kero-chan!!" She exclaimed, turning to face Syaoran. He only shook his head sadly, there was no way anything could have survived that and it was heart breaking to see her hoping so deeply for something impossible.
"No Li-kun, I can feel him, his aura!!" She exclaimed, running into the rubble. "He's here, he's alive!"
Now that was dangerous. What if the stones were to shift under her? She could fall and be hurt, killed even. The last thing this town needed was more death… "Sakura, stop!" He exclaimed, running after her and grabbing her around the waist to keep her from moving further when he caught up. Turning her around so she was looking directly at him, he said very seriously, "Sakura, I know you want to believe that the stuffed animal is still alive, but it's impossible. You're causing yourself more pain, and the wreckage isn't safe."
"I'm not fooling myself, I can feel his aura! Just try, Li-kun, try to find it."
He agreed slowly, closed his eyes and scanned the area, not expecting to find anything. His eyes shoot open in amazement. The aura was very faint, but it was there.
Sakura was watching him seriously, "You felt it, didn't you?" She wondered and he nodded.
Without another word, she pulled away from him and began searching for the feeling. Syaoran reluctantly followed.
He was examining an area a few feet away when an anguished scream made his head perk up. Looking over, he saw Sakura kneeling next to a patch of stone.
"Sakura! What…" His voice trailed off when he got closer and saw exactly what had caused her distress. A rock had been rolled away, exposing a pale white hand that could only belong too… Syaoran sucked in a breath and looked away. He gained his composure seconds later and his thoughts flew to Sakura. Ready to comfort her, he turned around but was shocked to see her not bent over in tears. In fact, she wasn't crying at all and she was slowly moving rocks and large pieces of rubble, uncovering the body.
Syaoran knelt beside her, silently helping her with gruesome task. The rocks soon gave way to pale flesh and dirty, tatter clothing. His eyes had been opened; Sakura closed them gently and drew a hand lovingly through her brother's hair.
It was then that Syaoran noticed something strange about the appearance of the corpse. Touya's left hand was clenched and curled towards his body, as if protection something. And from that area came a very slight aura…
The hand was cold and hard to open, but hope of finding something alive fueled the effort. Resting inside was the small, yellow form of Kero. "Sakura…"
Nothing had been said for nearly fifteen minutes and the sudden noise caused her head to jerk up from where it had been focused on her brother. Once he had her attention, Syaoran pointed to what he had discovered and Sakura was on her knees next to the small animal in seconds.
"Kero-chan, can you hear me?" She wondered, gently lifting the guardian to her face. He didn't reply, but the steady rise and fall of his chest assured the two that he was alive. Sakura then handed Kero carefully to Syaoran, reaching into her pocket and then freezing. "The cards!"
Sadly, he shook his head. "They were in your backpack. The soldiers found them and took them. They thought they would be worth something." Yet another blow to her…
"Not all of them." She replied, pulling a single card from her pocket, Float. "I was using this to clean my room the morning before all this happened. I guess it was a good thing…" Calling out the spirit, she ordered, "Float Card, move Touya's body onto the lawn over there."
Both Card Captors watched as the card solemnly obeyed, lifting the form off the ground, over their heads, and setting it onto the ground a few feet away. After finishing it's task, it returned to it's card form and slipped back into Sakura's pocket.
She, however, was immobile. Starring once again at the body as tears filled her eyes. Sakura ran three steps then fell to the ground, crying openly. "Touya…" She sobbed her brother's name, before turning her eyes skyward, "Please, God, send him back to me!" She pleaded, "Don't take him away, I need him… Onii-chan…Whatever I did to deserve this, I'm sorry… please, don't punish him, bring him back… I'm sorry…"
Syaoran could only stand so much. It was to painful to see her like that, too painful to see her want something so bad but to know it would never be granted. He set down Kero and jogged to her, wrapping his arms around her. She glanced up with him, her eyes hurt and pain filled, "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" He wondered, trying to keep his voice soothing.
"For all the horrible things I did." She replied, sobbing again, "Because of that, my Onii-chan is dead…"
"Sakura… it's not your fault."
But if she did hear his last comment, she did respond. Once again, she was fell into hopeless tears.
**************
"Li-kun, thank you for helping me." Sakura said softly, standing before the upturned dirt and the rugged cross the marked her brother's grave. After a while, her tears had quieted and they began digging a grave underneath a nearby tree. When the whole was deep enough, they used the float card once again to move the body and with a few words, Syaoran had filled the hole and made two boards into a make-shift grave marker. Two tears now made their way down her already raw cheeks and fell to the ground as she bowed her head.
Syaoran hesitated slightly before putting an arm gently around her shoulders, "Sakura, please call me Syaoran."
She smiled slightly through her grief and nodded, her eyes still fixed on the mound of dirt at her feet.
He released her shoulder and took a few steps back, "I'll leave you alone for a little while." He said softly, "I'm going to look for some food and fresh water. Syaoran hesitated before adding, "I'll be close-by if you need anything."
"Thank-you, Syaoran-kun."
Hearing his name from her mouth was defiantly strange, be he didn't have time to concentrate on that. He was worried for her, and he only hoped that things would turn out okay in the end. Although he didn't know how that could be possible.
With a last glance at the solemn figure of Sakura, Syaoran turned a corner in search of food.
-TBC- Comments appreciated: pikogio@yahoo.com
