As usual, it's time for good news, bad news. The bad news is, I'm leaving
for vacation this Saturday and won't be back until Tuesday, so no computer
or anime for 3 days! ::sobs:: But, I have this chapter and another one that
should be ready by Saturday if all goes well! Enjoy!
.And to answer one question that many people have asked me, yes, Eriol is stronger than Sakura. But he lost because, well, anyone who is slapped by a giant dragon is going down. Hard. Sakura was just using a better strategy.
Chapter 6- Koji's Plan
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Syaoran slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a heart monitor beside him. He slowly sat up on his bed. but it was an unfamiliar room to him. "Ugh. Where am I?" He asked groggily. Syaoran's right arm was hurt badly. He looked around. The brightness was hard on the eyes, but he could tell he was in a hospital room. He looked to his left.
"Sakura?!" Sakura's eyes were filled with tears of joy. "Syaoran. you're alive." Sakura practically leaped from her seat and hugged Syaoran. She pressed her lips to his cheek and kissed him.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Tomoyo and Mia could be heard running in from just outside the door. "Oh my God! Syaoran's heart monitor!" Tomoyo yelled. The two girls entered the room to see Sakura still kissing Syaoran. His entire face was a deep crimson. Tomoyo giggled loudly. "Well, it looks like you're BOTH feeling a lot better!" Sakura turned her head towards the two girls and stopped kissing after started to blush madly. "Ahh. Actually, umm. I." She stuttered. "I'm just glad to see Syaoran awake and well, that's all!" Syaoran rubbed his head drowsily and laid down again. "Ugh. what happened? Where the hell am I?" Mia smiled. "You just got out of the Tomoeda emergency room. You took two bullets in the right arm after you shoved Sakura out of the way. Don't you remember?" Syaoran nodded gently. "Well, I remember that part. but the emergency room? Why so serious?"
"Because you lost quite a bit of blood." The doctor said as he walked in. The doctor was a tall, black man with short black hair and caring black eyes. He was in his late 20's. "In fact, if it weren't for young Sakura here, you probably wouldn't have survived this long. She cut the circulation to your arm. Otherwise, you would have bled to death. Mia here called for an ambulance, but." "I was still too tired from running all the way to Sakura's house to really help out." The doctor nodded. "We gave you enough blood, removed the bullets, and stitched up the wounds. You should make a full recovery in about a week. But for now, you need to rest." Syaoran put his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes. The doctor started to walk out but turned his head towards Syaoran and said, "You're a very lucky boy to have a friend like her. She stayed at your side all night until you woke up." The doctor left the room as he marked down
Syaoran's condition on a clipboard.
Tomoyo yawned. "You know." She said wearily, "I didn't get much sleep last night, either. so I think it's time to go home, don't you think, Mia?" Mia nodded. "Well, yeah. except I don't really have anyplace to go." Tomoyo smiled. "You can sleep over at my house! I won't mind." Mia shook her head. "No, I don't want to be rude. Also, I have an idea of something I can do when Syaoran wakes up, so I'll just stay here for a while." "I understand. Come on, Sakura. You must. be." Sakura was leaning onto Syaoran's chest, sound asleep. Tomoyo blushed slightly. "Kawaii." Tomoyo didn't want to disturb the couple, so she silently walked outside. "Mia." She whispered. "I'll come back first thing in the morning. I'll tell Fujitaka and Touya that Sakura will be spending the night. But maybe Touya will want to visit personally. He's been acting strange ever since the incident."
As soon as Tomoyo left, Mia took a seat next to Syaoran's bed. His heart monitor had slowed down. He was definitely asleep. She yawned and started to try and make sense of what had happened only the night before. "Hmm. It's seven o'clock already. Just a little over a day has passed. I don't know what to do from here. At least we're all safe. Maybe I'll just. think about it. in the morning." Mia drifted off into sleep in her chair.
"Hoe?" Sakura looked around her. "But. how did I get here? It looks like Ancient Japan!" Sakura walked through what seemed like a small village. Everything appeared normal. But, Sakura felt some sort of power being emitted from a large house. She was almost hypnotized as she walked forward through the doors. "KOJI!" Koji stood in front of her, holding a long Samurai sword at the throat of a young girl who looked kind of like Sakura, but with blue eyes. "Ha!" Koji cackled. "Pathetic. You can't even protect your own ancestor!" Koji raised his blade and brought it down onto the young girl and- Sakura opened her eyes and lifted her head. "Huh? Oh. I must have dozed off. but this is so comfortable." She slowly lifted her head. "Yeah. this pillow is." She noticed she was actually leaning on Syaoran and was about to scream, but a hand covered her mouth. "Shhh! Sakura, be quiet!" Mia whispered. "Let Syaoran sleep. He needs all the rest he can get."
However, Syaoran rolled over and opened his eyes. "Ahh. I needed that. Huh?" Syaoran and Sakura's eyes met with Sakura still leaning on each other. Their faces were both a deep red and mere inches away. Syaoran's heart monitor began to steadily pick up in speed. A sweat drop rolled down each of their heads. Sakura quickly jumped back and laughed nervously. "Umm. well, I'm awake now! So maybe I should go.!" Before Sakura could get up, Mia spoke. "Wait. I need to talk to both of you. Let me check to see if the door is locked first." She stood up and checked.
"Wait," Sakura said, "first let me ask you some questions. What the hell is going on? It seems like you and Syaoran know that guy who tried to shoot us." Syaoran looked at Mia. "Should we tell her?" Mia nodded. "Sakura. time to tell the truth. You see. you were really killed by that man, Koji." Sakura looked confused. "What are you talking about? I'm right here! I'm not dead!" Mia shook her head. "Let me rephrase that for him: You WERE dead. You see. we found out about Koji too late. after you were gone. but we caught him and we made him send us back in time to a week before you died. We had to save you. So all of us stayed with you whenever possible to make sure you were safe. That's why I'm here now." Sakura blushed. "You mean, you all went through all that trouble just to save me?" Syaoran stared into Sakura's eyes. "Sakura, how could I possibly go on living if I knew I could have saved you but I didn't? Plus, everyone else was devastated. I have never seen Tomoyo so depressed in my life!" Mia said, "Sakura, Koji is a very dangerous man. He was a murderer before he was 11! We had to stop him. And since he has 'The Mirror of Time' with him, he could be anywhere in history!" Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, that would explain a few weird things he said."
"Wait, what did he say that was so strange? Did he say anything about the past?" Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I think he said he wanted to kill me and then go on to kill or steal souls of someone. I can't remember who. But that doesn't make any sense. How can he take the souls of people. only-Wait a second! I just remembered I had a dream a few minutes ago when I was sleeping umm. on top of Syaoran.! In this dream, I was in an ancient Japanese village. I saw Koji and he had a young girl by the throat when he was about to strike her down with a sword! The girl looked a little like me, but she had blue eyes!"
Mia didn't say a word. She just stared in amazement. Syaoran did the same. "What are you both staring at?" Syaoran lifted a finger and began to mumble. "S-S-Sakura. L-Look at your arm!" Sakura gazed at her left arm and her eyes shrunk as a large sweat drop appeared on her forehead.
She could see straight through her arm! "HOEEE!" Sakura tried to rest her arm on the bed, but her arm passed right through it and she landed on the floor. "What the hell is happening to my arm?!" Mia shook her head. "I was afraid of this. Remember how Koji said he was going to revive Sadin with souls? Well, I know that normal souls aren't enough. He would need the souls of people with magical abilities. People with magic are very rare, though. And while everyone can learn a little magic like myself, he would need someone with magic built into them, whether they know it or not. For example, you two were born with magical skills. That means, your ancestors must have all had at least some magic in them. They may not have known about it, but they did. I believe Koji has gone into the past and is trying to take the souls of your ancestors! And if your dream is correct, Sakura, then Koji has already killed one of yours and that's why you are starting to disappear! Changing all of history is a slow process. Sakura, you'll probably slowly disappear into oblivion and then time will change to as if you never existed." "HOEEE!" Sakura hugged Syaoran and started to cry. "You know, Mia, you could have made that a little bit easier to swallow than, 'you're just going to disappear into nothingness.'" "Oops. Gomen-nasi, Sakura-chan. But there is a way to stop Koji." "How do we do that?" Syaoran asked. "We don't know where, or should I say when, he is." Mia laughed. "Well, maybe we don't, but I can figure out. During the battle, if you didn't notice, I shot a new magic spell at Koji into his portal before he left. This is a special tracking spell that I learned on the way here. With this new spell, I can always track where or when he is. Because this spell entered the portal, I'll be able to tell exactly what date Koji is in right now, so we should be able to stop him! All Sakura has to do is use the Time Card to send us back to the right date!"
Syaoran clenched his arm and screamed in pain. "ARGH! I see one problem though. my arm still hurts like hell and the doctor said I wouldn't be fully healed for at least a week. While I'd say that's very quick for a bullet wound, how long can Sakura last like this? There is no way I can let you all go into the past without me." Mia laughed nervously. "Well, seeing as Sakura's arm almost managed to disappear in a little more than a day. I'd say she has less than 3 or 4 days left." "HOEEE! You mean I'll die in less than a week?" A sweat drop rolled down Mia's head. "Calm down, Sakura! I have a plan. First off, we'll deal with you, Syaoran. What kind of mage would I be if I couldn't heal a simple bullet wound?"
Mia held one hand over Syaoran's arm and he began to levitate into the air. "Hey? What the.?" A blue light was emitted from Syaoran's body as he hovered at least three feet in the air. It was too bright to see anything. A moment later, the light died down and Syaoran fell onto the bed. "My. my arm! It's healed! There isn't a single mark on it!" Mia smiled widely. "Well, of course! Now are you ready to go?"
There was a knock at the door and Sakura opened it. The doctor stepped in. "Ah, time to check on how you are doing." Sakura stood against a wall to conceal her nearly invisible left arm. "Now, by now your wounds should. huh? Where are they?! What happened to your wounds?!" Syaoran laughed nervously. "Well, what do you know? I guess the wounds healed by themselves overnight!" The doctor looked utterly shocked. "Umm. well, I. ahh. I guess that means you. err. I guess you can leave." Syaoran hopped out of his bed and moved his arm to see if it was completely back to normal. The doctor left the room, still with a look of shock on his face. "So, what do we do now?" Syaoran asked. "I guess we'll meet at Sakura's house as soon as we can today. I'll go get Tomoyo, too. She'll want to come along." They all agreed.
Touya walked through the door. "There you are, monster! Why'd you stay here all night? Sheesh." Touya and Syaoran's eyes met. Touya started to turn red in embarrassment. "Now, gaki, I don't normally say this, and you better not get used to it, but. thanks for saving my sister. Now, Sakura, let's go." They all looked somewhat shocked. They had never seen Touya actually thank anyone for anything. Touya reached out and tried to grab Sakura's hand, but his hand passed right through hers. "Huh? Come on, Sakura. Don't fuss. We have to go. Dad is worried. So just come on!" Sakura laughed tensely and started to run out of the room. "Umm. I'll meet you back at the house! Bye, Syaoran, Mia!"
For a brief moment, Touya could have sworn he saw through Sakura's arm. "What the? .I must not have gotten enough sleep last night." And Touya walked out.
Syaoran turned to Mia. "Mia, if Sakura and Touya are siblings, shouldn't Touya be disappearing, too?" "Well, yes, and he will, but not as fast. He's a lot bigger and older, so his body is more resistant. If we leave tonight, he probably won't notice a thing, which is good, because otherwise we might end up stuck all night waiting in the hospital again." Syaoran shook his head. "No, thanks. Being hospitalized once is enough. I'm not gonna wait on some other guy. Well, why don't you head over to get Tomoyo? I have to change into my normal clothes. See you later." "Alright, bye, Syaoran."
Later that night.
Syaoran, Mia, and Tomoyo quietly snuck around the side of Sakura's home. They all gathered in the shadows of anything that could conceal them from sight. They waited for Sakura for about a half an hour. Still no sign of her. It was 9:00 pm. The trio wanted to see what was taking her so long, but they were afraid that Touya or Fujitaka might see them. Plus, they all carried backpacks filled with supplies. Eventually, Syaoran built up enough courage to get under Sakura's window and call for her quietly. Her window slid open and Kero hung out of it.
"Syaoran, Mia, Tomoyo, I'm glad you're all here. but Sakura's in a bit of a predicament. Touya and Fujitaka are very worried about her and have been asking her questions about her health for like an hour." They all gasped. Mia asked, "Did they see Sakura's arm?" Kero shook his head. "That's not the problem. She's wearing a long robe that conceals her arm, so they can't see it. But. well. you'll see for yourself when she's done and-oh, here she is now." Kero signaled for Sakura with his hands and she came over to the window.
The lights were off, so they could only see a shadow of Sakura's face, but they heard her say slowly in a trembling voice, "S-S-Syaoran. i-is that you? Oh, thank God you're here. I'm so scared." "Sakura, what's wrong?" Syaoran asked. ".I'll be down in a minute." And Sakura left sight of the window. They all waited back in the shadows until they could see Sakura's silhouette moving towards them. Sakura began to become clearer and clearer as she stepped into the moonlight. She was wearing her school outfit, apparently having taken off her robe, but something wasn't right.
Syaoran, Mia, and Tomoyo's jaws dropped. Sakura looked absolutely awful. Her left arm had disappeared altogether. Her eyes were filled with fear, and. "Oh, my God!" Tomoyo squealed as she put he hands over her mouth in shock. "Sakura, you're so skinny! What happened?" Indeed, Sakura looked like she had lost ten to twenty pounds. She started to sob. "I. I don't know what it is!" She screeched between tears. "I'm losing weight so fast. According to our bathroom scale, I lost 16 lbs. today alone! I only weighed 55 lbs. to begin with! But. I can't eat anything. I don't know what's wrong with me! I can barely move I'm so hungry, but I just can't eat. I'm wasting away. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, but I don't know if I can make it. Dad and spent an hour lecturing me and asking me questions about my health as if I was crash dieting or even doing drugs!" Sakura broke down completely and hugged Syaoran. He didn't know what to say, so Syaoran just ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed her back.
Mia stepped forward after a minute of silence and said, "It must be an effect of disappearing. Well, the good news is that once we go back in time, you will be back to normal. You might still be a little skinnier than usual, but nothing as bad as this. Ok?" Sakura let go of Syaoran and tried to smile a little. But seeing her overly slender body and the distraught look on her face, you could tell she wasn't really happy. Kero flew out of Sakura's window, carrying the Book of the Clow in his mouth. Maybe falling out of the window is more correct a term, since it was still very heavy for the small beast to carry. "Alright, I'm ready! Mia, have you figured out when Koji is doing all of this?"
Mia snapped her fingers. "I almost forgot!" She put her hands together and started to meditate. Sweat rolled down her forehead. "Yes. yes. I see him. He's around this area. the date is. June 14th, 1567. Back when the Shogun still ruled Japan."
Sakura grabbed a card from her backpack and the key to the staff.
"Key that hides the power of the Stars, reveal your true form to me! By our contract, I, Sakura, command you! RELEASE!" The small pink key grew into her staff while Sakura hurled the Time Card into the air. "TIME CARD! TAKE US BACK TO JUNE 7th 1567, BEFORE KOJI CAN INTERFERE WITH TIME!"
And they all vanished into the gateway of time in the blink of an eye.
To be continued.
.And to answer one question that many people have asked me, yes, Eriol is stronger than Sakura. But he lost because, well, anyone who is slapped by a giant dragon is going down. Hard. Sakura was just using a better strategy.
Chapter 6- Koji's Plan
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Syaoran slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a heart monitor beside him. He slowly sat up on his bed. but it was an unfamiliar room to him. "Ugh. Where am I?" He asked groggily. Syaoran's right arm was hurt badly. He looked around. The brightness was hard on the eyes, but he could tell he was in a hospital room. He looked to his left.
"Sakura?!" Sakura's eyes were filled with tears of joy. "Syaoran. you're alive." Sakura practically leaped from her seat and hugged Syaoran. She pressed her lips to his cheek and kissed him.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Tomoyo and Mia could be heard running in from just outside the door. "Oh my God! Syaoran's heart monitor!" Tomoyo yelled. The two girls entered the room to see Sakura still kissing Syaoran. His entire face was a deep crimson. Tomoyo giggled loudly. "Well, it looks like you're BOTH feeling a lot better!" Sakura turned her head towards the two girls and stopped kissing after started to blush madly. "Ahh. Actually, umm. I." She stuttered. "I'm just glad to see Syaoran awake and well, that's all!" Syaoran rubbed his head drowsily and laid down again. "Ugh. what happened? Where the hell am I?" Mia smiled. "You just got out of the Tomoeda emergency room. You took two bullets in the right arm after you shoved Sakura out of the way. Don't you remember?" Syaoran nodded gently. "Well, I remember that part. but the emergency room? Why so serious?"
"Because you lost quite a bit of blood." The doctor said as he walked in. The doctor was a tall, black man with short black hair and caring black eyes. He was in his late 20's. "In fact, if it weren't for young Sakura here, you probably wouldn't have survived this long. She cut the circulation to your arm. Otherwise, you would have bled to death. Mia here called for an ambulance, but." "I was still too tired from running all the way to Sakura's house to really help out." The doctor nodded. "We gave you enough blood, removed the bullets, and stitched up the wounds. You should make a full recovery in about a week. But for now, you need to rest." Syaoran put his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes. The doctor started to walk out but turned his head towards Syaoran and said, "You're a very lucky boy to have a friend like her. She stayed at your side all night until you woke up." The doctor left the room as he marked down
Syaoran's condition on a clipboard.
Tomoyo yawned. "You know." She said wearily, "I didn't get much sleep last night, either. so I think it's time to go home, don't you think, Mia?" Mia nodded. "Well, yeah. except I don't really have anyplace to go." Tomoyo smiled. "You can sleep over at my house! I won't mind." Mia shook her head. "No, I don't want to be rude. Also, I have an idea of something I can do when Syaoran wakes up, so I'll just stay here for a while." "I understand. Come on, Sakura. You must. be." Sakura was leaning onto Syaoran's chest, sound asleep. Tomoyo blushed slightly. "Kawaii." Tomoyo didn't want to disturb the couple, so she silently walked outside. "Mia." She whispered. "I'll come back first thing in the morning. I'll tell Fujitaka and Touya that Sakura will be spending the night. But maybe Touya will want to visit personally. He's been acting strange ever since the incident."
As soon as Tomoyo left, Mia took a seat next to Syaoran's bed. His heart monitor had slowed down. He was definitely asleep. She yawned and started to try and make sense of what had happened only the night before. "Hmm. It's seven o'clock already. Just a little over a day has passed. I don't know what to do from here. At least we're all safe. Maybe I'll just. think about it. in the morning." Mia drifted off into sleep in her chair.
"Hoe?" Sakura looked around her. "But. how did I get here? It looks like Ancient Japan!" Sakura walked through what seemed like a small village. Everything appeared normal. But, Sakura felt some sort of power being emitted from a large house. She was almost hypnotized as she walked forward through the doors. "KOJI!" Koji stood in front of her, holding a long Samurai sword at the throat of a young girl who looked kind of like Sakura, but with blue eyes. "Ha!" Koji cackled. "Pathetic. You can't even protect your own ancestor!" Koji raised his blade and brought it down onto the young girl and- Sakura opened her eyes and lifted her head. "Huh? Oh. I must have dozed off. but this is so comfortable." She slowly lifted her head. "Yeah. this pillow is." She noticed she was actually leaning on Syaoran and was about to scream, but a hand covered her mouth. "Shhh! Sakura, be quiet!" Mia whispered. "Let Syaoran sleep. He needs all the rest he can get."
However, Syaoran rolled over and opened his eyes. "Ahh. I needed that. Huh?" Syaoran and Sakura's eyes met with Sakura still leaning on each other. Their faces were both a deep red and mere inches away. Syaoran's heart monitor began to steadily pick up in speed. A sweat drop rolled down each of their heads. Sakura quickly jumped back and laughed nervously. "Umm. well, I'm awake now! So maybe I should go.!" Before Sakura could get up, Mia spoke. "Wait. I need to talk to both of you. Let me check to see if the door is locked first." She stood up and checked.
"Wait," Sakura said, "first let me ask you some questions. What the hell is going on? It seems like you and Syaoran know that guy who tried to shoot us." Syaoran looked at Mia. "Should we tell her?" Mia nodded. "Sakura. time to tell the truth. You see. you were really killed by that man, Koji." Sakura looked confused. "What are you talking about? I'm right here! I'm not dead!" Mia shook her head. "Let me rephrase that for him: You WERE dead. You see. we found out about Koji too late. after you were gone. but we caught him and we made him send us back in time to a week before you died. We had to save you. So all of us stayed with you whenever possible to make sure you were safe. That's why I'm here now." Sakura blushed. "You mean, you all went through all that trouble just to save me?" Syaoran stared into Sakura's eyes. "Sakura, how could I possibly go on living if I knew I could have saved you but I didn't? Plus, everyone else was devastated. I have never seen Tomoyo so depressed in my life!" Mia said, "Sakura, Koji is a very dangerous man. He was a murderer before he was 11! We had to stop him. And since he has 'The Mirror of Time' with him, he could be anywhere in history!" Sakura thought for a moment. "Well, that would explain a few weird things he said."
"Wait, what did he say that was so strange? Did he say anything about the past?" Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I think he said he wanted to kill me and then go on to kill or steal souls of someone. I can't remember who. But that doesn't make any sense. How can he take the souls of people. only-Wait a second! I just remembered I had a dream a few minutes ago when I was sleeping umm. on top of Syaoran.! In this dream, I was in an ancient Japanese village. I saw Koji and he had a young girl by the throat when he was about to strike her down with a sword! The girl looked a little like me, but she had blue eyes!"
Mia didn't say a word. She just stared in amazement. Syaoran did the same. "What are you both staring at?" Syaoran lifted a finger and began to mumble. "S-S-Sakura. L-Look at your arm!" Sakura gazed at her left arm and her eyes shrunk as a large sweat drop appeared on her forehead.
She could see straight through her arm! "HOEEE!" Sakura tried to rest her arm on the bed, but her arm passed right through it and she landed on the floor. "What the hell is happening to my arm?!" Mia shook her head. "I was afraid of this. Remember how Koji said he was going to revive Sadin with souls? Well, I know that normal souls aren't enough. He would need the souls of people with magical abilities. People with magic are very rare, though. And while everyone can learn a little magic like myself, he would need someone with magic built into them, whether they know it or not. For example, you two were born with magical skills. That means, your ancestors must have all had at least some magic in them. They may not have known about it, but they did. I believe Koji has gone into the past and is trying to take the souls of your ancestors! And if your dream is correct, Sakura, then Koji has already killed one of yours and that's why you are starting to disappear! Changing all of history is a slow process. Sakura, you'll probably slowly disappear into oblivion and then time will change to as if you never existed." "HOEEE!" Sakura hugged Syaoran and started to cry. "You know, Mia, you could have made that a little bit easier to swallow than, 'you're just going to disappear into nothingness.'" "Oops. Gomen-nasi, Sakura-chan. But there is a way to stop Koji." "How do we do that?" Syaoran asked. "We don't know where, or should I say when, he is." Mia laughed. "Well, maybe we don't, but I can figure out. During the battle, if you didn't notice, I shot a new magic spell at Koji into his portal before he left. This is a special tracking spell that I learned on the way here. With this new spell, I can always track where or when he is. Because this spell entered the portal, I'll be able to tell exactly what date Koji is in right now, so we should be able to stop him! All Sakura has to do is use the Time Card to send us back to the right date!"
Syaoran clenched his arm and screamed in pain. "ARGH! I see one problem though. my arm still hurts like hell and the doctor said I wouldn't be fully healed for at least a week. While I'd say that's very quick for a bullet wound, how long can Sakura last like this? There is no way I can let you all go into the past without me." Mia laughed nervously. "Well, seeing as Sakura's arm almost managed to disappear in a little more than a day. I'd say she has less than 3 or 4 days left." "HOEEE! You mean I'll die in less than a week?" A sweat drop rolled down Mia's head. "Calm down, Sakura! I have a plan. First off, we'll deal with you, Syaoran. What kind of mage would I be if I couldn't heal a simple bullet wound?"
Mia held one hand over Syaoran's arm and he began to levitate into the air. "Hey? What the.?" A blue light was emitted from Syaoran's body as he hovered at least three feet in the air. It was too bright to see anything. A moment later, the light died down and Syaoran fell onto the bed. "My. my arm! It's healed! There isn't a single mark on it!" Mia smiled widely. "Well, of course! Now are you ready to go?"
There was a knock at the door and Sakura opened it. The doctor stepped in. "Ah, time to check on how you are doing." Sakura stood against a wall to conceal her nearly invisible left arm. "Now, by now your wounds should. huh? Where are they?! What happened to your wounds?!" Syaoran laughed nervously. "Well, what do you know? I guess the wounds healed by themselves overnight!" The doctor looked utterly shocked. "Umm. well, I. ahh. I guess that means you. err. I guess you can leave." Syaoran hopped out of his bed and moved his arm to see if it was completely back to normal. The doctor left the room, still with a look of shock on his face. "So, what do we do now?" Syaoran asked. "I guess we'll meet at Sakura's house as soon as we can today. I'll go get Tomoyo, too. She'll want to come along." They all agreed.
Touya walked through the door. "There you are, monster! Why'd you stay here all night? Sheesh." Touya and Syaoran's eyes met. Touya started to turn red in embarrassment. "Now, gaki, I don't normally say this, and you better not get used to it, but. thanks for saving my sister. Now, Sakura, let's go." They all looked somewhat shocked. They had never seen Touya actually thank anyone for anything. Touya reached out and tried to grab Sakura's hand, but his hand passed right through hers. "Huh? Come on, Sakura. Don't fuss. We have to go. Dad is worried. So just come on!" Sakura laughed tensely and started to run out of the room. "Umm. I'll meet you back at the house! Bye, Syaoran, Mia!"
For a brief moment, Touya could have sworn he saw through Sakura's arm. "What the? .I must not have gotten enough sleep last night." And Touya walked out.
Syaoran turned to Mia. "Mia, if Sakura and Touya are siblings, shouldn't Touya be disappearing, too?" "Well, yes, and he will, but not as fast. He's a lot bigger and older, so his body is more resistant. If we leave tonight, he probably won't notice a thing, which is good, because otherwise we might end up stuck all night waiting in the hospital again." Syaoran shook his head. "No, thanks. Being hospitalized once is enough. I'm not gonna wait on some other guy. Well, why don't you head over to get Tomoyo? I have to change into my normal clothes. See you later." "Alright, bye, Syaoran."
Later that night.
Syaoran, Mia, and Tomoyo quietly snuck around the side of Sakura's home. They all gathered in the shadows of anything that could conceal them from sight. They waited for Sakura for about a half an hour. Still no sign of her. It was 9:00 pm. The trio wanted to see what was taking her so long, but they were afraid that Touya or Fujitaka might see them. Plus, they all carried backpacks filled with supplies. Eventually, Syaoran built up enough courage to get under Sakura's window and call for her quietly. Her window slid open and Kero hung out of it.
"Syaoran, Mia, Tomoyo, I'm glad you're all here. but Sakura's in a bit of a predicament. Touya and Fujitaka are very worried about her and have been asking her questions about her health for like an hour." They all gasped. Mia asked, "Did they see Sakura's arm?" Kero shook his head. "That's not the problem. She's wearing a long robe that conceals her arm, so they can't see it. But. well. you'll see for yourself when she's done and-oh, here she is now." Kero signaled for Sakura with his hands and she came over to the window.
The lights were off, so they could only see a shadow of Sakura's face, but they heard her say slowly in a trembling voice, "S-S-Syaoran. i-is that you? Oh, thank God you're here. I'm so scared." "Sakura, what's wrong?" Syaoran asked. ".I'll be down in a minute." And Sakura left sight of the window. They all waited back in the shadows until they could see Sakura's silhouette moving towards them. Sakura began to become clearer and clearer as she stepped into the moonlight. She was wearing her school outfit, apparently having taken off her robe, but something wasn't right.
Syaoran, Mia, and Tomoyo's jaws dropped. Sakura looked absolutely awful. Her left arm had disappeared altogether. Her eyes were filled with fear, and. "Oh, my God!" Tomoyo squealed as she put he hands over her mouth in shock. "Sakura, you're so skinny! What happened?" Indeed, Sakura looked like she had lost ten to twenty pounds. She started to sob. "I. I don't know what it is!" She screeched between tears. "I'm losing weight so fast. According to our bathroom scale, I lost 16 lbs. today alone! I only weighed 55 lbs. to begin with! But. I can't eat anything. I don't know what's wrong with me! I can barely move I'm so hungry, but I just can't eat. I'm wasting away. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, but I don't know if I can make it. Dad and spent an hour lecturing me and asking me questions about my health as if I was crash dieting or even doing drugs!" Sakura broke down completely and hugged Syaoran. He didn't know what to say, so Syaoran just ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed her back.
Mia stepped forward after a minute of silence and said, "It must be an effect of disappearing. Well, the good news is that once we go back in time, you will be back to normal. You might still be a little skinnier than usual, but nothing as bad as this. Ok?" Sakura let go of Syaoran and tried to smile a little. But seeing her overly slender body and the distraught look on her face, you could tell she wasn't really happy. Kero flew out of Sakura's window, carrying the Book of the Clow in his mouth. Maybe falling out of the window is more correct a term, since it was still very heavy for the small beast to carry. "Alright, I'm ready! Mia, have you figured out when Koji is doing all of this?"
Mia snapped her fingers. "I almost forgot!" She put her hands together and started to meditate. Sweat rolled down her forehead. "Yes. yes. I see him. He's around this area. the date is. June 14th, 1567. Back when the Shogun still ruled Japan."
Sakura grabbed a card from her backpack and the key to the staff.
"Key that hides the power of the Stars, reveal your true form to me! By our contract, I, Sakura, command you! RELEASE!" The small pink key grew into her staff while Sakura hurled the Time Card into the air. "TIME CARD! TAKE US BACK TO JUNE 7th 1567, BEFORE KOJI CAN INTERFERE WITH TIME!"
And they all vanished into the gateway of time in the blink of an eye.
To be continued.