The Negative Image
by Joshua Falken

Thanks to BenRG for the beta-reading!

Author's note: This is based solely on the Brazilian translation of the manga by CLAMP (and not on the anime)

Chapter 2 - Penetrating Eyes

The next day, Sakura was discharged from the hospital. According to the doctors, she had simply fainted due to fatigue - although their only reason for saying so was because they couldn't find anything wrong with her. Of course that pretext was enough for Sonomi to have a discussion with Sakura's father (not that she needed one...).

"Are you seeing this, Fujitaka-san! This is what happens when you press her too much! She is not one of your masters degree students that..." Fukitaka Kinomoto just listened and smiled in silence. He could see that Nadeshiko was smiling at Sonomi's antics...

Sakura was sitting between them in a wheelchair, due the hospital rules. Tomoyo pushed her friend's chair and commented: "I think don't think that they will ever change."

Sakura agreed, with a great sweat drop on the back of the head.

"But it is good that you can leave the hospital." Tomoyo said, smiling. And before her friend could answer, she amended: "This way, you won't miss the mathematics test tomorrow."

"Mathematics test?? Tomorrow?!? Hoo-ee!!!"

Kero was in his master's lap, pretending to be a doll. Because of Sonomi and Fujitaka, he could not move and find out why he felt as if they were being watched. He was sure that someone was watching them - he could feel the penetrating eyes of whoever it was boring into the back of his neck!

When the two adults finally went away to take care for Sakura's discharge, a worried Kero looked around, trying to discover who was watching them.

"What's up, Kero?" Sakura asked, surprised the reaction of her Guardian.

Kero decided to stay in silence. He needed to discuss this with Yue first...

======

A pair of eyes watched as two adults and two children boarded a cab. The pair of eyes belonged to orange cat with black stripes. What distinguished that cat from the others was the interest with which it watched the departure of Sakura from the hospital... and also the fact that it had a pair of wings that resembled those of a bat.

The cat flew through Tomoeda until it arrived at a mansion in the outskirts of the city. The darkness and the isolation from people fostered a feeling of importance and oppression. The cat travelled through the empty rooms until arriving in a room illuminated only by the light streaming through a broken window, containing only an armchair (its' back turned to whoever might enter the room) and a small table at its side. The mysterious cat saw when a black-gloved hand elegantly place a cup of red wine on the small table.

"Nemesis?" The occupant of the room asked.

"Yes, Master!" The cat answered, returning to its original form, of a winged tiger.

"Is our... friend going back home?"

"Yes, as you foresaw, Master!"

The gloved hand picked up the cup and it raised it to blood-red lips. "Excellent. You may leave."

Nemesis left the room. Sandra placed the cup on the table again and she looked at her own hand. She seemed to be translucent for one moment. She didn't worry about that. Soon that would change... as she had always planned.

======

Mathematics teacher Nyamo Matsudaira was walking towards the school when she noticed that a black sport car parked in the street outside the school. Through the tinted windows, she could not tell if someone was inside the vehicle. She wondered if she should tell the school's headmaster, since she knew that that car did not belong to any of the students or their families... but, and if she was wrong in her suspicions? That is... that nobody would use such a flashy car. What if the person had changed their minds about their car?

The woman shook the head, starting to think she was getting paranoid...

When, some time later, she was giving her lessons, she looked through the window and saw that the black car was still there. In the same instant in that she bit her lower lip, she saw a strong woman wearing the grey uniform of a chauffeur walking out to the car. The driver got into the car and drove off. Without that she could say the reason, Nyamo felt relieved.

The teacher turned her attention back to her class and she noticed that Sakura Kinomoto seemed distracted. "Sakura?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes, Matsudaira-sensei?"

"Is there anything wrong, Sakura?"

"No."

Nyamo shrugged and dismissed the problem from her mind. After all, Sakura Kinomoto was one of those dreamy girls whose attention was, unfortunately, frequently elsewhere when she should be paying attention to her classes. After the teacher returned her attention to the blackboard, Tomoyo whispered her friend's ear. "Something wrong, Sakura?"

"It is nothing, Tomoyo." Sakura smiled nervously. "Only a weird feeling... but it already is gone."

Tomoyo stayed in silence, but for the rest of the class she kept an eye on Sakura.

======

Later, the driver entered in her Master's private room, and she knelt down in front of the white-masked woman.

"Sandra, Master of the Darkness!"

"Get up, Morgana. And no matter how much I appreciate your uniform, you can assume your true form." After her creation to dispelled its' disguise, Sandra continued. "Did you confirm the identities of our friend's teachers?" She asked from the shadows, while her hand caressed Nemesis's head.

"Yes, Master. Here there is the list of her teachers and their schedules."

A paper leaf flew from Morgana to Sandra's elegant hand. "It's good that you have recorded it... no one should ever trust in memory alone..." she said almost as if thinking out loud. "Then, the subject with more classes is mathematics..." The Master of the Darkness had a sip of a cup of wine, and stayed in silence for some minutes.

"Then I believe that you should teach Mathematics, Morgana."

"And the current teacher?"

Sandra made a dismissive gesture with her gloved hand. "I leave that to you and Nemesis' discretion, Morgana."

A cold smile appeared on the winged woman's lips, at the same time that a frightening shine glowed in the eyes of the winged tiger. "As you wish, Master!" The two magic beings disappeared.

Sandra's cold green eyes shone with satisfaction.

======

Late that, Nyamo Matsudaira went back to her house, in the other side of the town. After the classes, she had to do some grocery shopping, being late her day. Suddenly, in a dark street, her car stalled.

"But... what? Damn! Now what?!" Nyamo left the car and when she badly had opened the hood, she realised that she was being watched. Swallowing dryly, she looked around. In the darkness, she couldn't see anything!

She turned back in direction of her car before a shadowy being attacked her with a sudden and unstoppable ferociously. In the shadows, a winged woman smiled in approval...

======

"I'm sorry for inform the class that Matsudaira-san suffered an accident and will not teach classes for the rest of the year." The school's headmaster informed Sakura's class. The youngsters immediately began to whisper between themselves in surprise and concern. Sakura felt a strange chill.

"My God, was it serious?"

"Was she hurt badly?"

"I hope she recovers soon!"

The headmaster shared the shock of his students. He didn't still couldn't believe what the police had told him: that Nyamo had been found in coma in the street... after having been apparently attacked by a large cat, like a puma or a tiger! In Downtown Tokyo!

"Silence!" he said aloud, to silence the class. "The Secretary of Education sent us a teacher to substitute Miss Matsudaira until she recovers." He gestured for someone that was outside the room. "Please, come in."

The door opened and a woman entered and she looked at the class. The students fell silent immediately. She had long black hair and seemed very strong. The beautiful face radiated authority. Her posture seemed to communicate that was a person that liked to be obeyed. She dressed a leather suit, long skirt, high-heeled shoes and gloves, all black. Overall, a very imposing look. But what silenced the students were her eyes: a deep blue colour behind her austere glasses, they were fixed, penetrating - it was as if she was reading their thoughts...

"It is a pleasure to meet you." She said with a smile that made Sakura suddenly feel worried for no reason that she could name. "My name is Miss Mona Shinohara." She wrote the name in the blackboard and the class began. While her back was turned to the class, nobody could see the malign smile in her lips.

Later, during the recess, Sakura and her friends talked about the new teacher.

"What did you think of her?" Chiraru asked.

"I don't know... she seems very serious..." Tomoyo commented.

"Yeah... Maybe she had military training once? She seems very strong." another added.

Sakura was amused for one moment and turned her eyes to school building. The new teacher was standing in the window of a classroom, staring directly at her with a cold, predatory smile. The new Master of the Clow Cards immediately knew that this was a being for her to fear.

"Tomoyo..." she murmured.

"What's wrong, Sakura?"

"Look at..." Sakrua began, pointing at the classroom window.

"Look at what?" The violet-eyed girl asked in confusion.

Sakura turned and saw that there was no one at the window. "Nothing..."

======

"Sakura, are you home yet?" Her father asked.

"Yes, Papa!" she answered, removing her skates. She had come directly to her house after the end of her school day.

"Ah, Sakura! Before I forget, a telegram arrived for you from England!"

"Cool! Where is it?" Is it from Eriol and Kaho?, she wondered happily.

"On top of the table."

The young sorceress caught the envelope marked in red letters: 'Urgent telegram!' Feeling a weird sensation, she walked slowly to her bedroom.

"Sakura, are you ok?" Kero asked concerned.

She didn't answer, opening the telegram. The message was short, just a line.

Sakura *STOP* Beware with the penetrating eyes *STOP* Eriol *STOP*

"Beware with the penetrating eyes..." she murmured, and immediately remembered the new teacher's eyes...

So? What did you think?

Next chapter coming soon!