Chapter Three: Sakura' Strange Dream

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I really really appreciate them!!! And thanks to Lau for pointing out that Yue and Yukito is essentially the same. I did think about it too, and yes, maybe Sakura's going to be with BOTH of them, happily-ever-after ahhhhhhhhhhhh......but I won't tell you now!!

This chapter is not just about a strange dream that Sakura has, but also about Kero and Yue transferring their powers to Sakura. About strange dreams, you know that Sakura's dreams sort of predict the future right? This one's more like giving her a clue of what COULD happen. May or may not come true. And it's all rather vague, much as how dreams come.

Alrighty!! On with it then!!

=======CHAPTER 3: SAKURA'S STRANGE DREAM=========

Sakura felt the absence of warm as Yukito-san left her side. She shivered involuntarily and forced her eyes to open. To her surprise, she found herself in a garden, sparsely dotted with some plants and flowers. There was a large Cherry Blossom Tree in the middle of the garden. There were two figures beneath the tree. "Kero-chan? Yue-san?" Kero-chan, in his originally big form, and Yue, were sleeping in the shade. She walked up to them and whispered in puzzlement, "Where am I?" A soft voice called out her name, "Sakura-chan." She turned around and said in surprise- "Yukito-san?" He smiled and took her hand as they sat down beside Kero-chan and Yue-san. "Yukito-san, do you know where we are?" But Yukito-san just held onto her hand and smiled silently. Not understanding anything, Sakura brows drew together as she tried to figure things out. So absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't realize that the two sleeping guardians had woke up and were now looking at her.

"Sakura!" Kero-chan shouted happily, while Yue smiled at her warmly. She was pleasantly surprised to see Yue-san smiling at her like that. Kero-chan went nearer to her and nudged her with his furry head. Yue floated to her and hugged her in a close but gentle embrace, treating her like glass, as if he would shatter her if he held on too tightly. Sakura gasped; as this is the first time that Yue had chose to touch her without her being in danger of any kind. "Yue-san?" Yue simply gave her a tender look, and bent his head down to kiss her lightly on her forehead.

Before she could say anything else, Sakura felt someone tugging her hand, pulling her away from Yue. "Huh?" Sakura turned in Yue's embrace and saw Yukito-san pulling her gently but persistently. He was still smiling sweetly at her, but there's now something more in his smile. What is it? Abruptly, Yue let go of her and she stumbled into Yukito's arms. Then both Yue and Yukito took a step away from her. Kero-chan looked up at Sakura and said, "Sakura, you must choose."

"Choose? What? I don't understand!" Sakura replied in frustration. Kero- chan shook his head sadly. "Sakura, if you can't decide, you could lose Yue or Yukito. But don't worry, no matter what happens, we will always be with you. If not physically, at the least spiritually."

"Lose Yue-san...or....lose Yukito-san???" Sakura was now more confused than ever. Suddenly Yue and Yukito faded away, while Kero-chan was also starting to look translucent. "Remember Sakura, be strong. We love you....." And Kero-chan disappeared along with Yue and Yukito. Sakura found herself alone in the garden, and a stark feeling of loneliness and despair crept into her heart. Tears start to fall from her eyes, making the usual emerald color turn moist-green like ferns after rain. "No..I...I...DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS!!!"

Trapped in her dreams, Sakura can only toss and turn in bed, shivering with coldness that's not only in her body, but also in her heart. Yue saw tears flowing from Sakura' eyes and wiped them gently with his hands. Out of the blue, a strange feeling overcame Yue, leaving his throat all choked-up. Without thinking what he's doing, he leaned forward, putting his face close to Sakura's. His pale lips were just a hair's breadth away from Sakura's rosy ones when Kero-chan exclaimed happily, "Yay! I found Sakura's favorite pink wool-knitted jacket! Now let's keep her warm!" And the spell that Yue was in broke in less than a second. He straightened up quickly and took a step back, observing Kero-chan dressing Sakura-chan in another layer of clothes with an air of nonchalance.

But Kero-chan was having difficulties dressing Sakura because of his big furry paws, which were too clumsy to handle clothing. Moreover, Sakura was moving about in bed uneasily from the effects of being ill and from the disturbing dream she's having. "Yue! A little help here!" Kero looked to Yue, who just lifted his brows slightly. "Help Sakura into these clothes will ya?" Kero cried out in frustration. Yue took the knitted sweater from Kero-chan and held Sakura up so that he could pull it over her head. He frowned when he felt Sakura's clothes. "Her clothes are soaked..." Kero checked and said in a worried tone, "She perspiring from the fever....I don't think we should leave her in wet clothes, she might get sicker. Let me find some pajamas for her to change into. Kero rummaged through the cupboard again and found a pink pajamas with cute yellow stars printed all over. "Ok Yue, change her into these clothes." Yue gasped, "Huh? But, I....."

Being a stuffed-toy living in Sakura's room for so long, Kero has long gotten used to seeing Sakura change for school or to go out. He found nothing strange in helping her change. "Hurry up Yue! She moving about so much maybe cuz she don't feel comfortable in these wet clothes! Do you want her to get worse?" Kero snapped in an impatient tone. Yue stiffened, and then he nodded. Kero suddenly remembered that Yukito was supposed to bring some medicine for Sakura, but there's no sign of him. "I'm going to check on Yukito, maybe he doesn't know where the medicine are placed." And Kero left before Yue could protest.

Yue sighed, seeing that he has no choice but to carry out the task as soon as he can. Shyly, he unbuttoned Sakura's top. Yue tried to avert his eyes but they were drawn to the cute undergarment that Sakura was wearing. It was pink cotton, much like the color of cotton candy. He noted that Sakura are developing well for a teenager, and blushed. Yue quickly change her into the fresh pajamas top, and proceed to strip her of her skirt. Again, Yue can't help but notice the matching panties, as well as the exposed pale long legs. They were smooth, but currently glistened with sweat. To Yue's eyes, it seems that Sakura's legs were shining. He averted his eyes to Sakura's face, and saw her lips move to form his name, "Yue-san?" Yue felt a familiar feeling washing over him. It was what he felt whenever Clow smiles at him. It's a feeling of mixed tenderness, desire and love.

"Yue-san, we've found some medicine for Sakura-chan!" Yukito's voice rang out from the stairs as he prepared to enter the room. Yue shut off his thoughts and quickly dressed Sakura into the bottom half of her pajamas before Yukito entered the room. Yukito took the medicine to Sakura and shook her lightly. Kero hovered behind. "Sakura-chan, please wake up and take this medicine, it'll make you feel better." Sakura stirred and slowly regain consciousness, but she was still feeling groggy, as if her head was underwater and laden with cotton. "What?" She murmured weakly. Yukito fed her the medicine efficiently, and Sakura fell back into slumber after that. She seems to be breathing better and had stopped moving restlessly. Both Kero and Yukito breathed a sigh of relief. Yue was so preoccupied with what he had just felt for Sakura that he didn't notice anything. He didn't even feel Eriol's presence when he appeared in the room. "How is Sakura now?"

"Eriol! Sakura's feeling better now." Kero replied. "Eriol checked on Sakura and nodded. "Good, we can now start the transference. Yukito-san, please make sure we are not disturbed. Arigatou."

"Hai. Please let me know when you are done so that I can know how Sakura- chan is." Yukito left the room and went downstairs.

Eriol set up a circle on the floor with some magical artifacts, and instructed Yue to carry Sakura to the middle of it. He also told the two guardians to be in the circle, and stand next to Sakura. "Now, put your hands on Sakura and concentrate on the flow of energy from your bodies to hers." Then Eriol chanted something in a foreign language as Yue and Kero focused on the transference. "Sakura-sama, I will save you! By transferring all my powers to you..I just hope that it's enough..Please, please be alright." These were Yue's last thoughts before a bright light exploded within the circle, signaling the process of the transference. When it faded away, there were three unconscious bodies inside.

In her sleep, Sakura felt someone lifting her from the bed and putting her down on the floor. And then warm hands on her shoulders and furry paws on her lap. Before she could register who was touching her, she felt two flows of aura filling her, making her stronger. She recognized those auras. They belong to Yue and Kero. Then abruptly, the two flows of energy disappeared, as something heavy slumped over her body.

Someone was calling her name, and Sakura woke up to see Yukito and Eriol peering down at her. "What happened?" She asked in a clear, strong voice. "Sakura-chan, you feeling better?"

"Yes, I feel fine now. Thank you. But what were the two flows of energy I felt entering my body just now? I recognize their aura as Yue-san's and Kero-chan's...hey!! Where are they?" Sakura sat up and looked around her. They were no trace of the two guardians.

Eriol and Yukito shook their heads sadly, but didn't reply her.

================to be continued===============

A/N: Hey I know it's a cliff-hanger, but strangely, the two guardians' presences have eluded my mind too! What do you think has happened to Yue and Kero-chan? Are they gone? Personally I like happy-endings, so I'll try my very best to give you a happily-ever-after kind of ending. I mean, the world is already sad enough as it is!!

But that again depends on my characters, as I suspect they are having minds of their own sometimes...sigh.....And frankly, one of the fun things about writing a story is not knowing how it'll turn out. It gives motivation to carry writing! Of course, REVIEWS, especially kind ones, are also a source of motivation to continue with the story!!! So you know what to do, ne??? ^_^