I'm back with the next chapter and I'll make this AN quick since it's late (not really, but I'm tired). Only new mater of buisness is the next update: I'm starting school this Monday so the next update might be a little delayed… Sorry for that but it can't be avoided.
I'd like to take a moment to say thank-you to both my betas, Eternal Fire (to whom goes the world's fastest editor award) and Mili (who pointed out a whole new aspect of Sakura's delema). You guys are great, for editing and ideas!!!
Oh, and there's something new at the end of this chapter, a reviewer response! I'm planning on making is a standard feature (more motivation to review, ne?)
Well,now that that's all over, read and enjoy!
Trials Will Tear Us Appart
Chapter Four: Turing Point
Meiling had never really been comfortable with airplanes. She never would have admitted this to anyone, of course, but it was true. The concept of soaring through the air thousands of feet above the ground in a metal contraption was anything but comforting. It always seemed like the things would lose their magical ability to fly and go crashing to the ground in a flaming fireball. That was one of the worst ways to die Meiling could image.
And she wished desperately for it to come true.
Sitting beside her cousin, the Chinese girl was more than a little unnerved. She had been praying the entire trip for some type of disaster to occur, natural or mechanical, that would send this airplane plunging into the ocean below them. If such an accident were to occur, it would mean certain death for them all. Meiling thought it was worth it, though, if only so Ping would be taken from this world.
The man seemed to know the direction of her thoughts and chuckled. "Aren't we lucky to have such a nice flight?" he wondered mockingly. "And look, we're almost there."
He pointed out the window to a series of tall building lining the horizon, Tokyo. Soon the plane was making a gentle downward spiral towards the airport and a flight attendant's voice came over the intercom:
"Good afternoon and thank-you for flying with us today. We are now approaching Tokyo international airport with the local time being 12:47pm and a temperature of 74 degrees. Please fasten your seatbelts and put your seats in the upright and locked position in preparation for landing. Thank you and have a pleasant day."
Those were the most horrible words Meiling had ever heard. She wished, again, for some kind of freak accident, but the plane touched down safely. As they walked through the baggage claim and customs, she knew she only had one option left. Ping was here in Japan and Syaoran wasn't aware of it. She had to warn him and give him at least a little time to prepare for Ping's attack…
The main floor of the airport was crowded with people coming and going; businessmen, foreigners, and families alike. She took the bustling crowd as her cover and made her move.
Meiling turned suddenly, kicking Ping square in the chest and sending him stumbling back into a rack piled high with luggage. The assorted suitcases came tumbling down around him, making her cousin curse loudly.
"Damn it!"
She took a few seconds to flash him a triumphant smirk before dashing off, using the crowd to hide her form. This airport was more than familiar; she'd be in Tomeda in no time. Outside she flagged a taxi and was off.
Meanwhile, Ping had extracted himself from the mess Meiling had created and gathered his own bag, ignoring the angry foreigners chattering behind him. A knowing smirk slid over his face as he calmly made his way towards the main street. As usual, dear cousin, you've played into my hand perfect…
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My cards… Oh God, my cards… Sakura felt herself grow pale as the blood rushed to pound in her ears with deafening force. The room was spinning as black ringed her vision, but she refused the weakness and pulled her mind away. She jerked away from the physical thing holding her, Syaoran, and got shakily to her feet with one hand held out; her request was obvious.
Eriol glanced down, again, at the papers he held. How something like this could have happened… it was incomprehensible. The cards looked completely normal from the back, no sign of burn or tear. The same could be said for the front… save the fact that they were blank. His eyes shifted to Sakura's damaged hand, now held carefully in front of her chest. Why was she the only person injured? One would have thought that the cards would have protected their mistress. Perhaps they had tried and disappeared in the process.
"Please, Eriol." Sakura stretched her hand towards him instantly. Obviously, she'd taken his silence and lack of action as refusal.
He hesitated for a second more before giving in to her request. Reluctantly handing the papers over, he watched as she cradled them in her palm with the utmost care.
She flipped through the stack, staring at each blankly card intently. "What happened?" Her tone was muttered, barely above a whisper. "They're blank, all of them. Oh God, what happened!"
Syaoran gaped too, unconsciously tightening his fists into tighter balls. How? His mind demanded, numb from shock. What could make this happen to the cards? Is this temporary, or are they gone for good? He hoped not, for Sakura's sake.
"I can't feel their presence anymore…" she whispered sadly. Suddenly, her eyes snapped from the cards in her hands. "My book!"
It was laying on the floor, half hidden under the couch. She dove for it and the others watched in tense silence. Sakura opened the cover, biting her lip, and turned the top card over. The light caught off the picture printed there and everyone expelled a breath. Clutching her chest, the Card Mistress closed her eyes. "It was only the ones I used in the reading, all the other spirits are where they should be."
"Thank goodness," Tomoyo exclaimed, forcing a grin in an attempt to lighten the mood. Extreme emotions could aggravate her condition… But how were they supposed to prevent extreme emotions when traumatic things kept happening? First Kero and now her cards… Getting to her feet, Tomoyo pulled the yellow guardian from his nest safe in her sleeve. "I bet they're just hibernating like Kero-chan is!"
Eriol spared her a brief glance of thanks before fixing Sakura with his eyes-closed smile. "How observant of you, Tomoyo-san. I can't believe I didn't see that!"
A glimmer of hope shot through her green eyes. "So they're… hibernating, that's all? They'll wake up in time?"
"Hai Sakura."
Syaoran was on his feet now, glaring daggers at the back of the pair's head. They were straight out lying to her and Sakura was obviously in no attempt to protest, seeing as how she desperately needed reassurance. He didn't agree with this, not in the least.
Meanwhile, the previously mentioned girl gave a slight sigh of relief. "I thought they might be gone forever." Quietly, she rubbed her eyes to rid them of tears that hadn't yet fallen. "And Kero-chan too, I'm glad he'll be alright."
And if he's not? Syaoran cursed the damn reincarnation. Giving her something to hope for now will only hurt her more in the long run, he thought as the raven-haired girl handed over Kero's prone from. Then he blinked, wondering when he'd become so cynical. He wanted Sakura's happiness, not her tears, so why did this bother him so much?
Eriol was talking again. "Sakura, could I look at your hand again?"
"Oh? Sure." She handed over the limb and the English sorcerer held his hand over it, eyes closed. Syaoran walked up beside her and she managed a small smile in his direction. Leaning to rest her head on his shoulder, she looked up at him, hope again shimmering in her eyes. "I'm fine, Syaoran. Eriol says everything will be okay and I believe him."
He couldn't meet her eyes, not when he knew the truth behind the other's lie. So he buried his face in her hair, taking comfort in the strong pink magic floating from her body. It had been a while since he'd thought to just feel her magically. The feeling of it was different from how he remembered it; older, more experience in the ways of the world, and without the innocence he'd come to associate with her. Damn you, Ping. Despite that, though, she was pure, lacking the taint of fear and pain. That was a relief, he still recalled how chillingly similar the shadow felt to his Sakura.
"…as I expected." Eriol was talking again and Syaoran lifted his head to gauge whether or not he was worth listening to. "There's an aura around your arm, it feels like what I'd imagine this shadow should feel like; a tainted version of your aura mixed with other things. But I can't be certain. You've felt it, Li. Hold your hand over hers and tell me if it's similar."
He did as he was asked, not seeing the harm in it, and concentrated on the energy radiating from the spot. It was difficult, at first, to distinguish between Sakura's aura and the other. But as he concentrated, he felt more of Ping there than he should have' and it was malicious.
Jerking his hand back, Syaoran sucked in a strangled breath. "Yes, that's it," he replied. "But it's changed."
"How?" The other demanded immediately.
"More… negative feelings were coming off it, it felt like more of a threat…"
Sakura tensed and Eriol's brow creased in concentration. "So it starts… Sakura, how do you feel?"
"Fine, I guess." She gave him a curious look. "Why do you ask?"
"This shadow… obviously it's begun to grow and to do that it needs to pull power from you. Are you sure you feel alright?"
"Yes, perfectly normal." A thoughtful look passed over her face, soon darkening as something unpleasant came to mind. She reached her uninjured hand behind her and caught Syaoran's. "Um… Eriol… The shadow, when it came to me today, didn't seem threatening at all, more lonely than anything else. It sounded betrayed, sad that I had created it only to leave it all alone. My response… I can't help thinking that things might have been different had I acknowledged it"
Syaoran frowned, giving her a reassuring squeeze as Eriol clucked dismissively. "The past is past, dwelling on something that can't be fixed is no good, is it?"
"Sakura! Sakura, are you…" Fujitaka poked his head into the living room, smiling pleasantly when he noticed the two additional guests. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you have company. Hello Tomoyo, Hiiragizawa-san."
They nodded politely in greeting.
"Was there something wrong, dad?" Sakura wondered.
"I heard some banging outside, just wanted to make sure everything was okay."
She hid her bandaged hand guiltily behind her back and grinned, replying without meeting her father's eyes. "Everything's fine, dad, don't worry!"
He didn't look convinced, but dismissed his suspicion with a similar smile. "Alright, just checking." He turned in the doorway, calling back over his shoulder as he walked towards the back door. "If Touya wakes up, would you ask him to come help me outside?"
Sakura opened her mouth, preparing to give a cheerful reply, but stopped before a single sound left her mouth. The backdoor opened and then slammed close, but even that didn't raise her from her stupor. A pained expression gradually crept over her face, followed almost immediately by a look of pure horror.
"Touya." Her brother's name fell from her lips as her body burst into action. She scrambled again for the book that held her cards and dumped them onto the ground as she began to rustle through them frantically.
The reaming three people in the room watched her, dumbstruck. Tomoyo was the first to catch on, kneeling next to her friend and giving her a quick hug before helping her shuffle through the deck.
Second later, Sakura still hadn't found what she had been looking for and was on the verge of tears. "It's not here!" She all but sobbed, "I can't find it anywhere! It was one of the cards from the reading, it must have been!"
Tomoyo
comforted her friend by stringing a hand around her shoulders while the boys
looked on dumbly. "How can you tell,
Sakura-chan? They're all shuffled
everywhere. I'm sure we'll find it if
we look through them in an organized fashion, ne?"
"Sakura, what…" Syaoran knelt next to her with a concerned expression. The raven-haired girl answered his question without looking up from the neat pile she was creating.
"We're looking for The Sleep, Li-kun, to wake-up Touya." She spared the Card Mistress a sympathetic look. "Don't worry Sakura-chan, we'll find it."
His mind drifted from the blank cards strewn across the couch, forgotten, to the man upstairs lost in an enchanted sleep. He was certain Sakura had never dreamed something so horrible could come from such an innocent action, no one did. Please let the card be there… he prayed silently. It was his first full day back with Sakura and already so many horrible things had happened. What next? Let them find the card…
The two girls had successfully assembled the cards into a stack and were ready to go through them. They held their breaths A Sakura began to flip through the deck.
Windy. Flower. Wood. Arrow.
Eriol watched carefully, a sad smiled crossed his face. Things were not boding well, he got a very bad feeling from this situation. Already, his mind was running through possible ways to keep Sakura calm when she realized her brother was trapped in a charmed slumber much like her guardian's.
Only three cards were left unidentified and The Sleep still remained elusive. Sakura's hands trembled and she prayed, as she had every time before, that each card she turned over would be the one that would awaken her brother.
Fly.
The next card, please…
Glow.
She clutched the last card, nearly crumpling it in her fist. What if this wasn't The Sleep? What would she do if she couldn't wake Touya? She was so stupid and petty, if she hadn't been so careless with her magic she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place…
It was the moment of truth. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut as she turned the last card over and set it, picture up, atop the pile. Let this be it. Please let this be The Sleep. But somehow she knew, without looking, that her request wasn't answered.
Sakura opened her eyes. She blinked.
Erase.
No… It was ironic in a way that this card was the last of the deck. She wanted to use it to release the pain and emptiness inside her, to erase herself from existence.
Touya. She wanted to cry, to scream, to beat something into a bloody pulp. Better yet, beat herself to a bloody pulp for causing this. She was so afraid; the fear she felt was nearly overwhelming and balanced only but the intense self-loathing welling up in her. Only one thought rose clear of the panic in her mind; she had to see her brother if only to make sure he hadn't disappeared along with her card…
Sakura was on her feet and running from the room in a matter of seconds, taking everyone by surprise. Everyone save Eriol.
Moments after she'd left the room he was up and giving chase, vaguely aware of Syaoran and Tomoyo struggling to do the same. She was halfway up the stairs when he finally caught her, the change in terrain doing little to slow her rapid pace. It was amazing, and extremely dangerous, the emotions rolling off her aura.
He made a split second decision; his first priority was stopping her from running. They could calm her down from there. Eriol jumped at her lithe from, tackling her to the ground. A painful cry escaped Sakura's lips, probably the result of her body being pressed into the stairs, but he didn't budge. Instead, Eriol held his position kneeling on the back of her thighs and pinning her hands to the step above. It couldn't have been a comfortable position, especially since she continued to struggle.
An angry cry voiced his concerns, signaling the arrival of the remaining teenagers. "Damn it, Hiiragizawa, you're hurting her! Get off!" Syaoran demanded.
Eriol didn't even spare the boy a glance; he wasn't the least bit worried about him. The brown haired boy looked angry enough to kill, face vivid and eyes pinched. He charged towards the stairs and still the other appeared unconcerned.
The reason for this assurance was discovered as a heavy thud echoed through the room. Syaoran was stopped in mid-run by a solid, yet clearly invisible, barrier surrounding Sakura and Clow's incarnate. Eriol had anticipated the attack and erected the bubble only seconds before.
The invisible wall let out a magical shock, flinging poor Syaoran backwards into the unforgiving ground. His head cracked against the doorway and he struggled into a sitting position as he blinked the white dots from his vision. "Damn." Looking at his hands he could see them crackling with magic from Eriol's shield. The magic tingled his skin and sensations, smarting slightly in reminder of where he wasn't supposed to go. "God Damn you Hii…"
A small hand settled over his mouth, cutting off the curse. Tomoyo kneeled in front of him, her long hair brushing against his skin as her face moved unnaturally close. Her lips parted and she spoke in a surprisingly clam whisper. "Li-kun, don't. Eriol knows what he's doing, please trust him."
"He's going to break her arm!" With the way Sakura was struggling under Eriol's hold it looked like that might happen. Despite how she thrashed or screamed, he refused to move from his position atop her and responded to her fighting by pushing her limbs deeper into the carpet. And he was yelling at her. Tomoyo blinked. She never seen Eriol raise his voice to anyone, especailly not Sakura, but he was red in the face as his mouth moved none-stop and his brow creased in agitation. Despite how desperately she wanted to know what was being said, she couldn't. The barrier blocked not only all people, but all sound as well.
"I know it looks that way, Li-kun, but…" She sighed, letting her sentence trail off when he turned an angry scowl in her direction. "Think of Sakura."
Her sentence had the desired effect. The glare was all but erased from Syaoran's face, replaced by an expression of concern and question.
Tomoyo continued softly. "We can only image the thoughts going through her mind right now, but all of us know they are dangerous thoughts. Remember what Eriol said regarding extreme emotions? That's why he blocked you, to keep you from upsetting her anymore. He understands this situation more than we do, so let him deal with Sakura how he thinks she should be dealt with. And try to calm down yourself, so you can help too."
The Chinese youth didn't look happy. Far from it, in fact, but he crossed his arms in a resigned fashion and nodded once. Tomoyo smiled in acceptance of his decision, sitting back onto the floor. Both teens turned their worried eyes to the scene unfolding.
Inside his little bubble, Eriol was almost at his wit's end with the young Card Mistress. "Stop that Sakura! You're letting your emotions get the better of you… ouch, damn it! Sakura, listen, ow! I'm not going to let you keep acting like this…damn!" She was surprisingly strong for someone as thin as she appeared… Eriol was beginning to suspect he'd have a new collection of bruises thanks to this encounter.
"You're not listening you to me, you stupid little girl!" He made a startling discovery, one that nearly took the breath from his throat. Looking down on Sakura, he could see, very clearly, waves of power floating off her. Except the power was tainted… tainted with emotions. It was impossible to tell which she was felling, but he had no doubt they were negative.
Sakura felt the hand collide with her face before she realized what was happening and it shocked her enough to make her cease struggling. Eriol looked as if he were fighting to keep his calm as he bore down on her with murder in his eyes. She's never seen him so angry… it sent an involuntary shiver through her spine and made her want to be far, far away. She attempted to escape once more, but his hands bit into her arms viciously. "Damn it, Sakura, you're going to stop this before you get us all killed!"
A look of shock registered in her eyes, he took it as a good sign. After a handful of calming breaths he felt his heartbeat return to normal. "Listen to me," he repeated. "You're playing right into the enemy's hand by acting like this. I told you the shadow feeds off rouge emotions and you're putting them off in waves."
So does that mean… Instead of calming, the pounding in her head increased. She wanted all the pain and fear she was feeling to go away, but how could she expel them when her emotions cause that horrible shadow to grow stronger? It wasn't fair… Sakura blinked twice, bidding the tears she felt well behind her eyes to disappear. At the bottom of the stairs she caught a glimpse of Syaoran and Tomoyo, the later holding back the first who seemed read to strangle the English boy pining her to the ground.
Eriol's words echoed in her mind: Damn it, Sakura, you're going to stop this before you get us all killed! Was that true? Could she really do that to her friends? It wouldn't surprise her, just look what she did to Touya… No! What was she thinking? She's never let anything hurt her friends, and she'd never dream of hurting them herself.
It was too much, she felt like she'd explode.
As he looked down on the many emotions flirting across her face, Eriol frowned in concern. She wasn't fighting him any more, but that didn't make everything alright. And she hadn't stopped radiating emotions. Gently he touched a hand to her face, hoping it would offer some type of physical support. "Sakura, I don't know what you're feeling, I won't know unless you tell me. I can help you… we can… we want to help you through this if you'll let us…"
Her eyes contracted, squeezing shut as tears oozed from under her closed lids. "No! Just get away from me!" Then she bolted.
Eriol was, again, surprised by her strength. He hadn't been ready for the attack, so a single kick of her legs put him off balance and sent him skidding down the stairs. Sakura was up and running, heading upstairs towards the opposite end of the barrier. Hitting it, she burst through the powerful shield as if it were nothing more than paper. He blinked in shock. Yes, she was powerful but he didn't realize how powerful until that moment…
"What were you thinking, Hiiragizawa?!" Eriol's back hit the wall with brutal force and he looked up, staring into a very angry pair of amber eyes. Apparently when Sakura charged through his barrier, the entire thing had fallen. "Don't you even think of touching her again, or I'll…"
"Li-kun, stop!" Tomoyo put herself between the boys, a restraining hand on each of their chests. She was panting slightly from the effort of sprinting towards them before any real damage had been done, wide eyes stealing a glance at the landing where Sakura had disappeared.
The English boy backed away from the wall, straightening his shirt with a grim expression lining his face. "We have a large problem. If Sakura doesn't relax, the emotions coming off her might attract the shadow. You said it felt more dangerous, Li. That only proves what I'm talking about and I'm not yet sure what it's capable of."
Syaoran's face was set in a deep scowl. He glanced from Eriol to the upstairs hallway and back. Without another word he turned and climbed the remaining stairs two at a time. His intention was clear.
**************************************************************************************
Sakura saw the door come into view and scrambled desperately for the handle. It swung open under her shaking fingers and she leapt inside, slamming it shut behind her. As she fumbled for the lock, she felt another wave of confusion and fear wash over her. It was too much to handle so she sunk to the floor in front of the secured door, resting her head atop her quivering knees.
"Now's not the time…" she muttered, trying to shake herself from this stupor. There was a reason she'd ran to her room, there was something she'd wanted to be sure of…
Her eyes scanned the premises, passing from her cluttered desk to the unmade pink bed in the middle without finding anything out of the ordinary. But resting on the floor beside the bed…
Gasping, Sakura flung herself towards her brother's prone form, relief and guilt battling in her mind. She reached out a hesitant hand to touch his face, assuring her brain that he really was there. The skin below her hand felt warm and Touya's entire composure seemed to suggest sleep.
She sighed in relief, throwing her arms around his chest and resting her ear above his heart, taking comfort in the steady sound she heard. It seemed like weeks since her, her brother, and Syaoran had been engaged in a pointless fight over sleeping arrangements that ending with Syaoran sleeping in Touya's room and Touya sleeping on Sakura's floor to prevent her from leaving when really it had been less than a day. "Thank God, Touya…" she muttered. The fear of him not being here, of him disappearing without a trace like her missing cards was still too real. Upon entering her room, she half expected her older brother to be gone, but he wasn't… thank God he wasn't… And to think all this trouble steamed from something so pointless as sleeping places…
A loud pounding erupted from the door and she started. Sakura looked towards the structure distrustfully, clutching her brother's shirt tighter in her hands. The sound came again, this time followed by a voice.
"Sakura, open the door. I want to talk to you." It was Syaoran, trying to hide his urgency beneath a forced calm tone.
But no matter how much she wanted to do as he asked and fall into his strong embrace, she couldn't. Seeing Touya in a state of enchanted sleep had opened her eyes to a startling fact, being close to her hurt everyone she cared about
Syaoran knocked again, his tone becoming more urgent. "Sakura, please, open up!"
Still she refused, clenching the clothing under her hands until she thought it might rip. Her gaze drifted to those hands, tangled in the dark fabric, and she caught a ray of sunlight as it glinted off something on her left hand.
The promise ring Syaoran had given her. It had been less than a year ago, but it seemed like forever. She twirled the thin band of gold around her finger, taking comfort in its smooth, polished feel. It made her think of him, of course, and how much better things would be if she'd just give in and let herself be held in his arms. But it brought up other memories, darker ones.
Sakura shuddered and clenched her hands, feeling the gem bight into her palm. Ping. His face still haunted her dreams, but she'd ever admitted that to anyone. Thinking of him gave her the worst feeling in the world and suddenly her skin was on fire. How could her friends and family stand to be around her when they knew what had happened? How could Syaoran stand to touch her after that? She didn't deserve their love, not when this was all her fault. If only she hadn't been so naïve… if only she'd been stronger… Maybe then she could have prevented this.
She wasn't only one who'd been hurt by this. Her friends and family had suffered because of her weakness, Syaoran especially. He'd lost his family, been disowned from the clan that seemed to mean the world to him for her sake. And Touya… he might never wake-up since she'd let the shadow take her cards…
"Sakura! Please let me in, I want to help…"
Hearing his voice, she cringed. A part of her mind was disgusted by the way she was acting. It's been nearly a year since… and I'm still scared to death. What's wrong with me? Am I really that weak? She couldn't let Syaoran or her friends down, yet she couldn't move from her spot on the floor beside her brother. It was pitiful, really. Just pitiful.
"Sakura, won't you…"
There was a rustle of movement outside her door and the hushed sound of whispered voices. Moments later, a new voice came through the wooden structure. "Sakura-chan, we'll be downstairs if you need us, alright?" It was Tomoyo.
More movement. Then Sakura was certain, beyond a doubt, that they were gone.
Her friends cared for her so much; they were so incredibly kind and loving. And by letting them get hurt again she would be no better than Ping. A shudder raced down her spine at that thought, making her blood run cold. She wouldn't let that happen, Sakura vowed, she'd keep her loved ones safe, no matter what.
-end chpt.4-
-TBC-
Well, that's that. Things are getting interesting, ne? What can you look for next chapter? Among other things, a certain someone will be making his presence in Tomeda know… Please hit the review button below… it really helps motivate. Honestly, it does!!
****Reviewer Responses***
Madpostman: Thanks for the compliment, it's very flattering… I just hope I can keep living up to it…
Starquestor: Wow! Such enthusiams… sorry it took so long, hope you enjoyed the latest developments… things will bet getting much more tramatic (if you can believe it) very soon!
Cherry blossom2: My dear editor… he he… you already know what happens, don't you! Your comments were very much appreciated, as always!!!!