Disclaimer: The series Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me.
spy*chick08: I hate cliffies, too!! *readers glare b/c know that Drkdemon does a lot of them* Eh heh... ^^U Yeah...
Moon Smurf: *laughs* That was a looonnnnnggg sentence. D'ya know it was run-on, too?? *Grins* COME BACK NOW AND READ MY CHAPTER!! *drags Moon Smurf back from Bahamas and demands her to sit down in front of computer to read* After all, you wanted this to happen, ne? *glomps Moon Smurf* LOVES YOU!
Elle-poohbear: You'll find out. Chapter is now out!
RuByMoOn: Me love E/S... I'll put more up, yesh!
Starlight Princess: It's out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out... my hand is tired. :-P
Aore: One month is short time! *sticks tongue out* Hehe. Compared to all my fav. authors who update once a year... *weeps* Well, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Vondooby: Actually, I never heard of that. I had this idea about the Name in my head ever since I first started this fanfic, which was a year ago, yesh. It happened in a movie??? Everything that happens in this fanfic, the story plot and going to another world and all that stuff, I made up myself. Me so proud of my imagination!! *grins* No... well, what is the movie???
Kimmy and Elizabeth: Yay!! I continued it. ^^
*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter Thirteen: To Face the Impossible
Day 26 - Shadow World
Syaoran sat in Eurena and Natir's room, impatient just as he was five days ago when they told him to stay there.
"Why can't you use your magic like before?" Syaoran had asked her, remembering that painful moment.
"That was a loan from the master. I have none of my own. She will come and try to find you. We can hide you for as long as we can. I will keep you and Eurena informed of how the search is running. If needed, I will find that man you were with before and have him take you to another place to hide. You might have to keep running until she has decided to give up."
And how long would that take? By the sounds of it, Syaoran might have to keep running until he can run back to Earth, and away from the Shadow World. And then where would he go? Sakura... Sakura... Sakura... he whispered in his mind. And what about her, too? She was never going to forgive him. But she's come searching for me. Why, Sakura? Why not send somebody else? Why come by yourself, when I've hurt you like how I did...
He gently reached for the necklace once more, and stared at it with sad eyes of grief. "She doesn't remember, but if she could, she would have known that it was... it was an image of Tomoyo kissing me. I don't even remember doing that. I don't remember ever even dreaming of kissing Tomoyo. She's just too..." Nice and sweet, I suppose. She had always been a good friend.
But I guess that I can understand why back in the Solitary, why the person took the image of Tomoyo. It was a way to mock the freak out of me. Then, his thoughts moved back to his current situation. Mushi--I mean, Natir--told us that their search is bringing them closer and closer to this household. That means... That means that I will be meeting up with Tgaeh soon, and he's going to help me make a run for it.
I could try to defeat them, but even I know that it's a foolish move to try to defeat so many soldiers at once. I won't have a chance at all. And just as that thought ended, Eurena burst in through the door.
"They are coming!" she informed him. "Get up! I will take you to your friend since he could not come here. Then, we will figure out the next step from there." Syaoran stared at her, dumfounded. "Yes," she continued. "In other words, we still have no plan."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 29 - Shadow World
"... Yes. Yes, thank you..." Sakura vaguely heard. She groaned as she turned over, uncomfortable. "Oh! Oh, she is regaining her consciousness." Then a shuffle of feet and a second voice, protesting.
She couldn't really remember much, or hear much. But she did take notice of a cool hand on her forehead, and that calmed her down slightly. Though it showed nothing with its gesture, she could feel the power of protection emitting clearly. That sort of emotion flowed into her, and Sakura felt herself warm up to the feeling. "Shh... Hush, Sakura," the voice said, soothing her. "Shh... Just go back to sleep, dear friend." He was about to take his hand away, when Sakura gave a small cry of protest, wanting to reach up and hold onto that comforting hand. Its gentleness was taken away from her, its refreshing touch departed. She needed it again, and she demanded for that hand to come back. Finally, her whimpering was heard, and the hand returned to hold onto her own.
Sighing, Sakura smiled softly, and stopped shifting around once more. "I'm here, Sakura... I'm here..." she heard, and the voice appeased her as well. This kind of well-being she had never had before; she welcomed and cherished it.
Sakura went back to sleep. But woke up probably a few hours later. She slowly opened her eyes, and moved a hand to touch her forehead. But she found it still clenched in another's. Finally, Sakura moved her head and her eyes widened at the person sitting in a chair next to her, his eyes closed.
There he was, hair a bit disheveled, but that mattered not. He was also wearing his glasses. Sakura almost wondered if he were dead or not, but then realized that he must be sleeping. She didn't give a damn. He was here. Giving a short weep of happiness, Sakura quickly let go of his hand and moved forward to give him a hug. "ERIOL!!!" she cried.
His eyes shot open, wondering what kind of danger he was in. "W-w-what?!" he asked in a breathless voice. Then, he saw the arms around his waist and the head on his chest. "Oh..." he whispered, smiling softly as he gently stroked her hair. "It seems that you have awaken, Sakura."
"You're alive..." she laughed, voice a bit hoarse. "I can't believe it. I looked... I tried so hard... I was so scared. But you're here. You're here. You're here. You're here..."
"Okay. Okay. I'm here, Sakura. I'm here. Now loosen that tight hug on me or I really will die!"
Frowning, she backed up, shaking violently. "How... how..." she whispered in a deadly quiet voice. "How... DARE YOU EVEN JOKE ABOUT THAT! Do you think that I was happy believing that you were really gone?! I went back that stupid place in the desert and searched for you, only to find that you were gone! The shock I went through was... was... Oh!!" She then drew her knees up and curled into a ball, her face buried into her arms as she felt the waterworks start.
Eriol quickly tried to pat her back, stroke her hair, flabbergasted. He obviously had never been put in such a position before, especially when it came to one where the situation was that the person was crying because of him. "Umm... Oh, Sakura! Please stop crying! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I-"
"I'm just so happy that you're alive!" she sobbed, still not looking at him. But then, two hands forced her face up, red-eyed and everything. She sniffed as she stared at her friend, believing it had been an eternity the last time she did see him. Eriol had a pair of regular clothes on, probably from the pack that he still had with him, for they had no holes or anything from where he had been struck and wounded.
"But are you well, too?" he whispered, his eyes filled with concern. "When... When I heard you, I rushed as quickly as I could to you. I found that... that... bastard trying to... I attacked him as soon my head had cleared and carried you away from that horrible place. You slept for four days, worrying the hell out of me as well, you know that?"
"But..." she whispered, gazing at him. "But... how are you... how can you be... here?"
"I can answer that," another voice came in.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 26 - Shadow World
Syaoran was gasping for his breath when he suddenly heard the cry of soldiers. "Don't... tell me," he said, breathless. "We've been... discovered. Am I right?"
Eurena cringed. "Yes, I do be... believe so. What shall we do now..."
"You leave me alone," Syaoran told her, seeing her eyes widened, as if she were wondering if that was an insult or not. "Get out of here," he explained. "Don't let yourself be discovered, or I won't be able to come to you for help anymore." Then, he managed to give her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. Though, if you can, try to help me get back my magical items. I'll never win a fight just with fists and kicks against these guys. They'll just gang up on me. Now go!"
Eurena frowned slightly and slowed down, not knowing what to do. Finally, she reluctantly nodded her head, and went towards a different and secluded direction back down to her household. Syaoran turned around, glad that there was no one holding him back as he burst out in his remaining speed, hoping to find a place to hide, even if it was temporary. He was running up a hill with houses on his right and a small bit of forest trees on his left. Eurena must have gone the way where the trees are, he realized.
He heard the many footsteps stomping and rushing up the hill behind him. Quickly, Syaoran darted sharply to his right and ran through the houses, zooming this way and that, hoping to throw them off a bit. He jumped over a few fences, ignoring the curious voices of the little children and the men and women. Syaoran then ducked under a few poles, and soon, the site where all the slaves worked could be seen.
Biting his lip, he turned around, dashing the opposite way to the site. Too noticeable there. I might as well just dodge here and there for a while until I know they can't find me. Climbing up a ladder he saw, Syaoran then leaped up to a roof. He went soaring to a few of the closer houses, hoping that he wasn't disturbing anybody. Then, as this entire chase continued, Syaoran smirked. A pursue in broad daylight. This is amusing me to the max.
He stopped for a short moment, deciding where to go next. Shrugging, Syaoran just continued to jump over each house, hearing the soldiers spread out. He quickly ducked as one of them looked up, almost seeing him. He laughed silently to himself. They're never going to be able to cat-
Even before that train of thought could be completed, Syaoran's footing slipped from one of the roofs, and he came tumbling back down to the ground. Groaning, he opened his eyes as he brought a hand up to his head, holding it in pain.
"Well, well, well... Just what do we have here," he heard someone murmured in amusement.
Looking up, Syaoran groaned once more as he got up. It was the head bahrrn soldier.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 29 - Shadow World
"So I have the right one then, do I not?" Irian smirked as she strolled up to them. "Ironic, really, but not surprising."
"Not surprising at all," Eriol agreed, "considering the condition I was in when you found me."
Kneeling down next to him, she slowly opened his shirt. Curious, Sakura asked what she was doing. "Checking on his wounds, I am," Irian answered distantly. "He definitely had not healed yet from that arrow wound my lord gave him."
Frowning in concern, Sakura looked up into his face. "Eriol... how did Irian find you? How did you get out of it... alive?" She lowered her eyes. "After all, I couldn't even do it. Some friend I am."
"It's not your fault, Sakura," Eriol smiled as he patted her hand. "I guess that I was dying. Seriously dying. I blacked out instantly from the pain and I couldn't protect you from being kidnapped."
"The night you were brought here, I learned from Haeli where they had shot your friend down. So once I had finished cleansing you, feeding you, and so on, I gathered some herbs, medicinal items, took a horse and set forth. I found him about an hour later, still bleeding. It's a miracle that he had not left the world yet! I did as much as I could there, then had to use all my strength to put him on the horse. I walked most of the way, stopping once in a while to treat him again. When I had gotten back, I snuck Sir Eriol into my quarters, and continued tending to his wounds there."
"When did you wake up, then?" Sakura asked Eriol.
"Almost a week later, damn it. By then, I was still pretty dazed, and my body ached like hell. So you've had it pretty easy compared to me," he joked. But when her sad expression did not change, Eriol sighed and shook his head. "What is wrong now, Sakura? Is there something that you still wish to say?" Then, his eyes flashed. "Or... did that lord do anything-"
"Oh, no!" Sakura quickly stated. "No! In fact, when you found me, that was the first time he..." She shuddered, as if just thinking about it caused her anxiety and dread. "No... I was just thinking... Thank you so much, Irian." Sakura turned to look at the girl next to Eriol. "If you hadn't save him... And when I finally could go to search for him, it was about the time when he finally woke up in your quarters. I don't have a clue as to how I could repay y--!! NO! All the stuff I had with me are still back in the cave!" she realized.
"What does it matter?" Irian asked. "All you had with you, really, were torn clothing and such. The bag had nothing important in it, am I right?"
"Yes, but... Oh, you're right. It's nothing... But still. Thank you again. I really grieved for Eriol for the past weeks."
Snorting, Irian shook her head as she got up and leaned in closer to Sakura's friend. "It is not from you that I want gratitude from." She turned to look at Eriol and held his face softly in one hand. "Sir Eriol..."
As if the actions that Irian were taking did not matter at all, Eriol turned to look at her, his face just inches from hers. "Yes?"
"Stay with me," she whispered, her head leaning closer so her lips were just millimeters away now. "Come live with me, and let your friend continue on the journey. We have, after all, gotten her to her destination. Let her do the rest."
Sakura's eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. "WHAT?!" she asked. "But-but-but-"
"But nothing, lady," Irian sniffed. "I saved his life and he must repay me by-"
Finally, he spoke up. "I can't," Eriol whispered, pushing her off of him. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Miss Irian. Yet... I cannot stay with you. I have too much to do. Too much that I promised. All I can give you is my thanks."
Irian stared at him for long moments, and it ended after an eternity. Sakura felt like a third wheel, so she embarrassingly duck back into her bed, trying to look as if it was not of any importance to her. Except it was. Eriol's words before meant the world to her, and she couldn't help but shamefully feel delight and happiness when he turned Irian's request down.
"I... I see..." she whispered and stood up straight. "Well then, let me brew something for us to drink, and I will be on my way, Sir Eriol. Of course," she gave a staggering laugh, halting for a moment, "if I could just have your Name, then nothing would not be within my grasps when it comes to you." Irian then turned around, and walked out of the room.
"Wait!" Eriol suddenly yelled. "I'll come with you." He turned to look at Sakura, who's back was towards them. She listened as the sound of his running footsteps gradually disappeared and he closed the door behind him.
When he reached the first floor of the inn, and found her sitting there, stirring up a cup, Eriol quickly and quietly sat down next to her. She then took out two more cups, filling it with bits of leaves and then some hot water. "Do as you wish," she whispered softly, "to her drink. Then, I shall take you back and wait outside for you to complete your desired task."
Digging into his pockets, Eriol fished out a tiny packet wrapped in white paper. Mumbling, he dipped the powdered contents into the water. He tapped his finger on the cup three times, and stopped his soft words afterwards. "Okay then," he finally answered back. "Wait while I give this to her." He took two cups into his hands and stood up.
"I do not see why you try so hard," her voice picked up as she stared at him. "She has a lover already, as she has told me so many times before on just that one night, and you have known for years. What is the point of doing so much for her?"
Smiling, Eriol replied, "because I have something that belongs to her, and I am quite sure that she has something that belongs to me as well. And it is this object, Miss Irian, that binds the both of us together." He walked back up the stairs to Sakura's room, still smiling the mysterious smile.
Irian sat there in shock, her eyes showing surprise and shock. "He... He and... her... They... How did he obtain it?!"
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 29 - Shadow World
"Here, Sakura," Eriol handed her one of the two cups in his hand as he sat down next to her again. "How d'ya feel?"
"I feel fine," she said as she sat up. She had changed into a low-cut shirt and scarf, and a pair of jeans. Taking a sip, she started to talk, when she felt a hand on her cheek. Sakura looked up, and found Eriol staring down at her sadly.
"You have not slept well in nights."
"No," she admitted. "Not since I thought that you were dead." She then added, "just where are we?"
Eriol stared at her for a moment, and laughed out loud the next. "Oh, haha! That's right. You'll love this, Sakura. It turns out the caves and tunnels lead quite far out. By the exit that Irian, you, and I escaped from, we were just about one and a half hour away from Lyrra. And so..."
"So that's what Irian meant by me being in my destination," she whispered, lowering her eyes. Yawning slightly, she started to gaze at his abdomen, a heartbreaking look on her face. "Does it still hurt a lot, Eriol? Did... did it..."
"It's gotten much better, Sakura. I know you blame yourself a little bit, but it's not your fault." He leaned in close and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I wondered how you were each and every day, you know that? Ever since I woke up and found myself in Irian's care, I had thought about if you were well or not. I knew where you were staying, but I couldn't go find you. And then... Then... Then I heard your voice, so I ran as quickly as I could to get to you. I was so relieved to see that he had not done anything to you."
Sakura beamed timidly at him. "I'm glad you're find, then. Though... I saw a small bit of blood, still, leaking through the bandage cloths of yours. Are you sure that it doesn't hurt?" she persisted.
Eriol closed his eyes and nodded his head, the smile still on his face. "It'll be fine. We still have a lot to do, remember? So rest up, Sakura. Rest up until I am ready to come back to pick you up." He watched as she dully nodded, going back into her covers. The potion's working... Slowly, he bent down, and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Rest well, my..." Eriol then whispered a word into Sakura's ears, and her eyes shot open for a moment.
"Wait--!! Eriol, you..." But no matter what, the exhaustion she felt took her over as she fell back onto her bed.
After Eriol tucked her in, he shut his eyes for a moment, brushed his lips on her cheek once more, and dejectedly walked out of the room. He shut the door behind him and pressed his hand onto the knob. Hard. A light ran through the knob in a flash. After it dimmed once more, Eriol was obviously content with that.
"Why not give her a bit of poison? That way, you would not have to worry about her waking up," Irian retorted.
Eriol smiled clandestinely at her. "Let's just go," he whispered. "I have to pay your lord a visit."
Irian frowned uncomfortable as she shifted about. "I wish you would not kill him..." she whispered.
"Let's just see what I'm going to do first, instead, okay?" he said, holding up his beloved staff.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 26 - Shadow World
Syaoran winced as he felt the hard stick hit his bared chest once more, slashing into more of his wounds. He had writhed and twisted his bonded hands until the rope dug into his raw skin. Syaoran was tied to a stake, his hands behind his back, though his feet were left to freely hang. For the first half an hour, Syaoran had kicked just about anybody who wanted to get near him with a weapon of some sort. But as soon as he started to tire out, the soldiers started to strike at him, hoping for him to yell out in torture and agony. Instead, Syaoran only flinched each time, shutting his eyes tightly as each hit came.
He could now taste the bitter blood in his mouth, and reeled as some started to drip out of his mouth and down his chin. As time started to pass, Syaoran could not block their attacks as easily as before, especially if his legs could not block so high. And it did not help as they started to beat his legs as well.
The commander walked up to Syaoran, grinning from ear to ear. "I suppose that we shall give you to the master. We can just say that you were resisting too much. After we have our entertainment, of course, we give you to her. Now how does it feel to be thrashed in such a way. You should be grateful that we had the slaves rid from these parts. Keeps the humiliation down to a minimum, you understand?" When Syaoran did not answer, the head bahrrn clobber him right across the face.
His face jerked to the side, groaning. Syaoran took in a staggering breath, trying his best to stay awake. But he did not know why. If he had fainted instead, at least he would not feel the pain as quickly. Syaoran did not have any more time to think upon that topic as the commander continued to hit him, each in a repeated rhythm. One on the left, then one on the right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Syaoran wanted to cry out, he did. But crying out would show weakness, and he did not want to show that.
They each took turns to continue to damage him, and it went on for what seemed like hours for Syaoran. I... I won't be able to stay awake any longer, I really won't. I can hardly feel the pain and the blood coming out anymore...
It was then when an angel flew overhead, coming to rescue the descendant of Clow Reed.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Day 26 - Shadow World
Tomoyo watched from above as Yue carried her over the houses. "We're in Lyrra..." she whispered to herself. "I can't believe that we are finally here. Are you sure that you're okay, Yue?" she then addressed him. "I mean, you're carrying me and a large bag of crap, too. Can you really handle all of that?"
"I am fine, Tomoyo," he answered back above the wind. "But keep a watch for Sakura's love. We are passing over the slave's site. He must be working somewhere down there."
"Yeah..." Tomoyo mumbled. "Poor Syaoran. I hope he's okay. And Sakura, too. I wonder if she and Eriol are here."
"They might not be. There is no loud commotion in action currently, and the men and women are still slaves."
But they passed all over the site over five times in almost an hour, yet they could not spot Syaoran anywhere at all. "I think we should try the rest of this place," Tomoyo suggested. "He might not be working right now, and we have to try every possibility that we can think of. Let's go over there." She then pointed to where the huts and households laid. "Just make sure that you are high enough to not be seen at all by those have stayed behind."
"I understand that already; you have nothing to worry about," Yue told her.
Suddenly, about fifteen minutes later, the sound of laughter caught the two's ears, and Yue headed over in that direction. What they saw surprised them to no ends. Tomoyo held her hands to her mouth as she gasped, feeling tears well into her eyes. "Oh, my God!" she whispered fiercely as she saw the limp figure of her close friend.
Swooping down, Yue landed behind a few trees, meters away from the crowd of soldiers. "Listen to me," he whispered softly to Tomoyo. "I will attempt to draw the soldiers away. Take the knife that you have out and cut the boy loose. Nobody deserves this type of pain. Do it as quickly as you can and run back here."
Tomoyo swallowed nervously, yet nodded her head. "O-okay," she whispered, digging into her pack after Yue handed it to her a bit too forcefully. Her hands shaking violently, she cringed as she held the knife in her hand as she watched Yue charged out, flying overhead for effect, most likely. He held out a hand as the shimmering blue energy shone once more, causing more effect than needed to draw the warriors' attentions.
Seconds later, Yue was hitting down any person opposing him and had immediately distracted their attention. Quickly, he drew them away from the hard-breathing Syaoran, and Tomoyo made her way secretly, yet swiftly, past the brawl. "Syaoran!" she whispered fiercely. "Syaoran, please answer me!" As carefully and rushed as she could, Tomoyo sliced through the hard rope, and watched as he flailed in the air.
Stumbling, Syaoran collapsed in Toyomo's arms. "Ugh..." he groaned, his eyes closed.
"Syaoran! Syaoran!" Tomoyo gasped, shaking him softly. Bending down, she cupped his face into her hands, saddened almost to tears at the condition he was in currently. "Are you okay?! What happened to you?!"
Syaoran opened his eyes partially, and stared at her. "You found me..." he whispered hoarsely. "Tomoyo... You found me... Is... Is it the real you?"
Nodding her head, she said, "come on. We need to get you out of here. It's dangerous if those people plan on coming to get you back." Tugging his torn sleeve of his t-shirt, she continued desperately, "get up, Syaoran! We need to get going now!" But she could only watch as he lagged a bit, staggering and struggling to just stay away. His face was torn and injured, scrapes and slashes all about his body. "Oh, Syaoran," she whispered.
But he only ignored her, and pressed his face forward towards hers, still a bit in a daze during this situation, and this position forced Tomoyo to stumbled back to the ground. "Tomoyo..." he whispered huskily.
Edging back a bit, Tomoyo stared at him. "What... What is it?" she squeaked. But as she tried to continue to back away, she found that Syaoran's arms snaked around her and pulled her towards him. Suddenly, she found his dried and bloodied, yet gentle lips, on hers. And then, two word entered her mind.
Oh... dear... Tomoyo thought, her eyes widening at his actions, when something else entered her mine as well. Something... which took over her thoughts, showing itself to her in its pure form.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Told ya thingy was short. And it wasn't even that sappy, either. Blargh. I'm trying to get to the part I wanna get to!!! T_T Next chapter: You get to find out more about how Eriol is feeling about everything that is happening. Please revieewwwwwww!!!