^^;; Just the usual things: Sorry for being so late, I'm too lazy, etc.
etc. I have the next chapter, though. Word of warning though: The first
half or ¾ or 7/8 has absolutely nothing to do with the overall story.
Mainly, it's just cute/funny scenes I inserted for the sake of being
cute/funny. ^^ You've been warned..
Chapter 25
Tranquility Disturbed
Quietly, without a problem, dinner went on at the Kinomoto residence, even more serene than usual. (Sakura hadn't needed to stomp on Touya's foot the entire time.) Having finished a specialty of his, Mr. Kinomoto and everyone dined upon his famous Modern Yaki. Even Touya and Kero seemed to leave each other alone.
"Delicious!" Meiling finally said, picking up her plate. "Thank you," Fujitaka said while smiling. "That was very good, Mr. Kinomoto," Yukito said as he cleaned up as well. "That's rather unusual. Only 5 servings? I thought you usually ate about 7 at least," Touya noted. "Oh, no, I just haven't had as much of an appetite as of late. It's the strangest thing. I just haven't felt 'right.' Like I'm missing something. On second thought, I'm still hungry!" The young boy grabbed a few more plates and continued to shovel down his food, mouthful after mouthful, and plate after plate.
"It's obvious Yue is sensing what we've been doing," Kero hypothesized from under the table. "Still, since you haven't transformed all the cards into Sakura Cards yet, he's too weak, so that kid's going to be hungry no matter how worried he is."
"Huh?" Sakura's dad, Yukito, and Touya turned to see what had made the noise, only to see Sakura struggling to hide something. "Ah. hehehe I. errr. COUGH. COUGH. I had something stuck in my throat. choking a little bit."
Her brother laughed. "It sounded a lot more like a growl from a monster." Sakura then had the urge to, but didn't, use the Big Card to crush her older brother. "I'm not a monster! That was just a cough! Only a-ahh. ahh. ACHOO!" Sakura sneezed, for real.
"ACHOO!" Syaoran sneezed, too.
Yukito put on a look of concern. "Wait a minute, both of your clothes are still wet. Didn't you change?" Sakura shook her head. "We. thought it would be alright to wait until after dinner." Syaoran nodded in agreement. "Sniff. Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"Nonsense," Meiling said with almost uncharacteristically large signs of concern. "Go change or you'll catch a cold. I'm not going to let my favorite cousin get sick for being careless!" "Alright, we'll go, we'll go." Sakura said in exasperation to the overwhelming pleas of her friends.
A minute later, Syaoran and Sakura were in her room. Sakura stepped into her closet. "Ah, here we go!" She pulled out two outfits: one, a pair of pink pajamas with yellow buttons for her, and she found one of Touya's old gray shirts and green shorts for him. "Thanks," the boy said grabbing them. They both began to try and remove their wet clothes.
Then they noticed each other and their face reddened, and both hastily stopping.
Errr. ANOTHER minute later. Syaoran sat up against Sakura's door. She was the one inside changing. Mia and Tomoyo giggled, watching from the side of the stairs. "I was wondering how long it would take them to notice that," Mia said, barely able to keep her voice down.
Sakura emerged, and then Syaoran went in and changed. Tomoyo, Mia, and Meiling also took turns after them to change. Tomoyo wore a white pajama- dress with lace at the bottom that went down to her ankles. Mia had an old blue shirt with a pair of tan cloth pants. Meiling was clad in a white shirt with the Li Clan symbol on it and red pants. They all then met downstairs to watch a movie.
WHRRRR
Tomoyo fed the video into the VCR and sat down on top of her sleeping bag where the coffee table once was. "It's all set up! Everyone comfy? Then lets start the movie and the slumber party!" Kero-chan poked his head out from Tomoyo's sleeping bag to watch the movie when Touya, Fujitaka, and Yukito went upstairs.
While the film (a romantic comedy, of course. Tomoyo said something about it being appropriate, but Syaoran and Sakura had no idea what she meant.) was starting, Sakura stretched out on one sofa while Syaoran did the same on the other.
"Ahhh, our trip is over for now. It feels so good to be home!" Sakura smiled and took off her socks. "It just feels so good to lie back, stretch out and even wiggle your toes!" So, she did so. Tomoyo giggled, muttering about how cute it was. The movie starting credits were rolling.
An hour passed with no event.
He leaned over to her. "There's. been something. I've wanted to tell you for the longest of time." "Yes? What is it?" "Well, as we've been together, we've gone from enemies to friends. and. well. I'm not good with this sort of thing but. I. I. I just can't hold it in any longer! I LOVE YOU!" ".I. I don't know what to say. No, I do know what I want to say. I. I love you, too! I always have!" "Then. let us say no more." They embraced right there. and the words "THE END" appeared before them. The credits began to roll and there was a moment of silence.
The room was dark, save for the light of the TV, and the darkness had an effect on all of the children and guardians in the room. They began to yawn and yawn. "That. was such a beautiful movie, wouldn't you agree? Such a lovely ending." Sakura and Syaoran nodded. "Hai, it was," Syaoran said, "but I can't help but feel that it was somehow familiar." Sakura put a finger to her cheek and wondered, "You know, I thought the same thing. I've seen this scenario before. But where? Mia? Do you know? Mia? Mia, are you awake?"
There was no reply. The room was dead silent. "Tomoyo? Kero?" No reply. "They must have fallen. asleep. Yawn. I guess we should go to sleep as well, don't you think, Syaoran-kun? .Syaoran-kun? I think. maybe he. just. Yawn." The emerald of Sakura's eyes slowly faded as her eyelids shut tight.
Tomoyo just giggled silently, not even letting the other's know she was able to hear it all. "Hehehe. That movie always has reminded me of Sakura- chan and Li-kun together." She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
"Mmph." Syaoran mumbled in his sleep as he felt something touch his side. "Syaoran? Are you awake?" He sat up. "I am now, Sakura? Mmm?" He looked at the clock on the VCR. It was reading 2:38am. "Is something the matter?" "I'm cold. I don't know what it is. I'm so cold I can't sleep." He put his hand on her cheek. "You're right, you're freezing. You'll catch a cold. Especially since your hair is still a little wet. Well. umm." His face started to redden. "You. can sit here next to me to warm up if you want. I'm pretty cold, too." She smiled back. "Really? Arigatou!"
She sat down beside him, pulled his blanket over them both, and rested her head on his chest. Syaoran's heart started to race. "Hoe? You're even warmer all of a sudden. and why is your heart racing like that?"
"Ummm. err. I." "GASP! I. I think I know what it is!"
Syaoran's eyes shrunk and his face became even redder. His heart was beating so fast he couldn't count the beats. "You. you know?!" Sakura nodded and smiled. "I finally see why you're like this!"
Syaoran couldn't believe it! Could Sakura really see that easily into his heart? Could she really know how he feels?
"You saw the snow out the window and were so excited, but you wanted to keep it a surprise for me for later!"
Syaoran fell down to the ground. "Snow. That's crazy. say, what did she mean by that? It's not winter! Sakura, what were you talking about? It's not winter! How. could. there." His eyes bulged nearly out of their sockets and his jaw dropped. Outside, there was a blizzard as he looked out the window. "It. it. can't be."
He stepped outside to see it was indeed true. It was snowing. At least 10cm had already piled up. Sakura was already outside, running around on the porch, laughing like it was the first time she had seen snow.
Syaoran leaned up against the door, chuckled, and then smiled. "What happened to 'I'm so cold I can't sleep?' You look like you're having fun in just pajamas." Sakura immediately stopped in her tracks and started to shiver. A sweat drop rolled down her head. "I g-guess I was h-having s-s-so much f-fun I didn't n-notice!" She turned to go back in and get some warm clothes, but before she got very far, she felt a burden upon her shoulders and she became a tad warmer. She turned to see Syaoran, placing a jacket on her, He was holding a pair of boots and mittens for her as well.
He had his own set of clothes, too.
Both of them didn't seem to care how this phenomenon had occurred, going from a hot day to near blizzard-like conditions overnight. They just played together, not really caring about anything.
"Hey, where'd you go?" Syaoran asked, as Sakura mysteriously disappeared from the front and side yard. "HERE I AM!" A pile of snow fell from the roof and landed right on Syaoran, covering him entirely, but not for long. His head popped out. "Hey, you used a Card to get up there! No fair!" He grabbed a pile of snow, rolled it into a ball, and threw it at high speeds at Sakura, though she ducked back down and it missed. She gave a little scream, then leaped down with the Jump Card.
The snowball fight continued for another 5 minutes until they were both too tired to continue. They both sat down on the front porch and breathed heavily. "Well, that was so much fun!" Sakura exclaimed in a moment of hyper happiness. Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, it was. But I still wonder. where did all this snow come from? I mean, it was a bit on the hot side yesterday. now it's below freezing? Doesn't that seem a bit strange? Could it be a task for you? Like when these strange things happen at night to change a Clow Card?" Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so. Every time that has happened, I've sensed Clow Reed nearby, but right now I don't sense anything like his magic."
Eriol waved his wand through the air and the vision of Sakura on the porch faded.
"Oh, my dear pupil and descendant. I wish I could be the one to claim fault for this phenomenon, but it is not I who has caused it. The hour draws near."
He put his staff away.
"The hour upon which I may have to reveal myself to you may come sooner than planned. But there is no alternative. And for now, all we can do is pray for more time."
"It's starting to get really cold! Maybe we better head inside," suggested the young Clow Mistress in training, Sakura. They both stood up. She smiled warmly again and said, "Thank you, Syaoran-kun. It's been a lot of fun." He nodded and blushed. "It's alright, but we better get inside before someone notices we're gone." His friend nodded back. But as they went inside.
"HOE!" In an instant, Sakura's foot caught a sheet of ice. She began to slip backwards. Her feet came out from under her and she was almost completely flat put. A look of fear glazed her face. She was going to hit the ground. "SAKURA!" He leaped forward, thrusting his on body into hers. His flying tackle succeeded as his shoulders slammed into her shoulders and they were both thrown back a meter or so.
A pile of snow softened the fall as they landed away from the ice. Syaoran was at first relieved they were both safe. Then he reddened, as she did. They were safe. but found themselves on top of one another. arms around each other.
Lip to lip.
All was still. all was quiet. They were stuck mouth to mouth. But they couldn't stop. Both turned bright red. The soft, soft snow seemed to muffle all of the noise surrounding them.
They were both embarrassed half to death. but neither. knew how to stop. Or maybe they just didn't want to.
Suddenly, Syaoran got the nerve and jumped up. His face was completely red. "G-G-G-Gomen nasai! I'm so sorry! That was all my fault! I didn't. I didn't hurt you, did I?"
She shook her head violently. "N-no, I was feeling good. No! Ummm. I meant I felt fine."
Suddenly, there was a crash and the ground seemed to move from beneath their feet. They turned to the door to see an irate Touya. "Y-y-you! Why. I. You.. ARGH! I come down. thinking I heard a burglar. And I find. you. both. HOW COULD YOU?!" His forehead looked like it was going to explode. But a friendlier Yukito (who had been studying in Touya's room until he accidentally fell asleep) popped up over Touya's shoulder and gave a heartwarming smile. "Wow, that's great, you two!"
"Hoe?" Sakura and Syaoran faced each other for a minute and looked back. "What's great?" Yukito laughed, "Well, I knew you two were friends but I never expected to see you both going so far so soon! You must really care about each other." The two of them began to blush frantically. "It-it-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Syaoran screamed. Sakura nodded feverishly and said, "It's true! It. may have looked like something. but. ummm. well, it wasn't! I just was about to fall and he caught me and. errr. ummm. that happened. It wasn't what it looked like!"
Touya undoubtedly wasn't paying attention. He just gave Syaoran a stare so cold that if looks could kill, he'd have died 20 times over. He had heard all that he wanted to hear. However. he then noticed something else, as did Yukito. "Hey. is it. snowing? This early in the year? After a really hot day?" Sakura scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess it is. That's why we came out here. but I don't know how it exactly happened." Touya rubbed his head like he had a headache and walked back. "Fine, we can think more about this after we finish getting a good night's sleep. See you all later then." But before leaving, he poked his head outside again. "Oh, and you, brat, if I EVER see you flirting with my sister or anything like that again, I'll personally kill you. Got it?"
Sakura and Syaoran just sat there in the snow, completely speechless as to what to say. Touya walked back up the stairs. Yukito couldn't help but chuckle out loud the whole time. "Oh, shut up," Touya said, aware of why he was laughing.
"Well. this has been a very eventful morning." Sakura said. "Let's leave things as they are and try to get to bed before we accidentally wake the others."
They both snuck in very quietly, removing their boots and coat, and then tiptoed across the floor.
"THAT WAS JUST TOO INCREDIBLY AND UNBELIEVABLY KAWAII!" Both of their eyes became just little dots when they came to see the entire room replaying what just happened on the VCR thanks to Tomoyo's video camera that had been hiding in the window. They were beet red.
Tomoyo turned away from the TV for a moment and her eyes filled with stars. "My dear Sakura-chan's first kiss, and I have it on video! I knew this day would come! I just never imagined my dear, sweet Sakura-chan would have it so soon. I'm so glad I was able to tape it." Mia turned and saw both of them there. "Heh. Well, here comes the happy couple now! Did you have fun outside?"
Neither of them truly knew what to say. Kero rewound the tape and played the whole scene again on the TV. Tomoyo ran over and held Sakura's hand in her own, her eyes still bursting with tears of joy. "I just can't believe it has happened so soon! That was beautiful!" Tomoyo hugged Sakura extremely hard, making her turn even red, possibly due to a lack of oxygen. Kero floated over by Syaoran and gave him a nudge with his elbow. "Come on, you can tell us, you did the whole 'dive and kiss' thing on purpose, ne? It's pretty smooth." Syaoran gleamed furiously. "I most certainly did not! Sakura could have been hurt, slipping on the ice!"
Tomoyo lifted up her camera. "Actually, I saw it all, and it wasn't ice. You were all surrounded by snow everywhere with no ice. Sakura slipped and tripped on your foot, Li-kun." The boy stood there in stunned silence. "You know. I do seem to remember. something hitting my foot. I thought it was the front step."
"What's going on down here?" A drowsy voice came from atop the stairs. A moment later came slow paced sounds of barefoot steps being taken. The stairs creaked with each step. When the person reached the bottom, it was Fujitaka. He took his glasses from a pocket in his pajamas and flipped them open and took a look around. "What's all the commotion down here?" (Kero had dropped down and played stuffed animal on the table.)
The girls and Syaoran all turned to him. "N-Nothing. we. ummm. just thought- " Sakura started to explain the situation but Fujitaka was distracted. Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He walked down and took a look at the TV. Kero had fallen on the remote and rewound the tape.
The static glared across the screen for a moment before it started to play. The lens cap came off and they saw the living room while the camera was hoisted to the window. There, they could see Sakura and Syaoran talking. the slip. the kiss.
Fujitaka just stood there and stared. "Is. this what I think it is?" Sakura blushed, hung her head low, and she nodded. "I thought so. It's that new romantic comedy I bought at the video store the other day!"
Everyone in the room fell to the ground.
"Well, at least I think it is. my eyes are always bad this early, and there appears to be a lot of snow. But, you know, that couple reminds me a lot of you, Sakura, and Li." Mia just laughed. "See? We told you, Sakura!" However, the young magician wasn't paying attention to the sarcastic comments, only to her father. "Well, I don't see nay resemblance. maybe you need to get more sleep, huh? Soon?" Fujitaka smiled and headed back upstairs. "I suppose I could use some more sleep. Sorry to disturb you, but please try to be a bit more discreet for the rest of the night." "Hai!" Sakura answered, "we will."
Mia laughed. "I guess you didn't get all of that from your mother." "Hoe? Get what? I'm confused." The girl just smirked and turned away. "Exactly my point!" Mia had left Sakura completely speechless.
Kero got up once Sakura's father had left and yawned. Everyone else yawned soon after. "Maybe we better gets some more sleep." Syaoran suggested. "Hai, I agree. We've had enough excitement for one morning." Tomoyo acknowledge. "What do you think Sakura? .Sakura?" The sounds of Sakura already fast asleep came about. Kero hovered by Sakura's face and pulled the covers of her sleeping bag up. "Well, looks like she had the right idea. But even if it were the wrong idea, you'd sooner be able to pick up this entire house with your bare hands than wake THIS sleepy head up." But by the time he finished saying it, everyone else had fallen asleep. Kero decided to follow along and fell asleep right there beside Sakura.
Morning came just as always. What wasn't so normal was what they all saw when they looked outside. After Syaoran woke up, he saw the snow was still out there. "I've never seen this much snow except on top of a mountain, and it's not even winter yet!" Tomoyo stepped out from behind him. "Yes, it is quite unusual, but at the same time it's very beautiful. I wonder what could cause it to snow so early in the year." Mia got off the couch and turned on the radio in the kitchen. "Let's find out."
"Zzzzzzzzzzzz. And now, for today's weather," said the newscaster. "According to our weather station, Tomoeda should be warming up to 25°C, however, our meteorologists are completely perplexed by what is actually going on. Our storm center employees have found it to actually be -25°C, a temperature never before seen in that area, especially before winter. Almost half a meter of snow fell on the area last night. It at least looks like the snow has stopped for now, but we can't be sure. We'll update you with all the information we get as we get it." Mia turned off the radio and turned back towards everyone in the living room. "Yes, this is rather peculiar weather."
Sakura shivered and added, "And cold, too!" "Eh? When did you get up?" Mia asked, only to have Sakura reply, "I've actually been awake for a while. It's too cold to sleep!" Meiling nodded. "I had some trouble sleeping after last night, too." "I don't think it has ever been this cold here," Sakura added. "I can't take the heat or the cold."
Fujitaka slowly came down the stairs. "Ohayo, Sakura-san, Daidouji-san, Stryfe-san, Li-san. It's pretty cold out, isn't it?" "Ohayo!" was the unanimous response. "Hai, it is cold outside! It's freezing in here, too!" Sakura added. Fujitaka smiled. "Well, then I guess I better make some nice, warm hot cakes! Does that sound alright?" All of their faces lit up. "Hot cakes! Alright!" Kero shouted, breaking his teddy bear like state. "Huh? Who said that?" Touya asked as he came down the stairs in just a pair of light purple pajama bottoms.
Sakura laughed. "It. ummm. err. That was just me." She gave a very phony cough. "I had something stuck in my throat." Yukito popped up from behind Touya. "Well, I agree, I'm starving! Would it be alright if I stayed for breakfast?" Fujitaka just smiled. "Of course!" The doorbell rang. "Oh, can someone get that?" "I will!" Meiling shouted.
"Hello!" said a young boy. "Ni hao! Say. I know you. from somewhere." Syaoran turned around and gasped. "Eriol? What are you doing here?"
The young magician in disguise just smiled. "Oh, Hello Li-kun. It seems like a party or something. I hope I'm not intruding." Sakura shook her head. "No, of course not! Come on in." Fujitaka was still carrying a pan with a hotcake when he entered the room. "Who is it? Oh! A friend of yours, Sakura? Is he staying for breakfast?"
"Me? Stay?" Eriol said in astonishment. "I don't want to be a bother. I just came to talk to Sakura." Everyone was smiling, except for Syaoran, whose face turned boiling angry as soon as Eriol mentioned Sakura's name. "Oh, don't worry, it's no bother." Fujitaka said. "We'll need to take out a second table for all the guests, anyway. Make yourself at home."
Touya leaned against the closet door and said to Yukito, "Sheesh. With all of the monster's friends and brats along, you might not get the chance to eat the majority of the food like you usually do." But before he could finish that sentence, Touya felt a searing laser-like glare pierce through his heart as Sakura and Meiling took offense and stomped on both of his feet for the insult.
As Touya was still on the floor holding his feet in pain, Fujitaka came back out and announced that breakfast was ready.
It was a very nice breakfast. Eggs, egg rolls, hot cakes, juice, and everything else you could imagine for breakfast. Everyone took their time eating (Even Yukito, only eating an entire hot cake every 5 seconds), and discussed the peculiar weather. "Yes, it is quite strange. According to my radio, it was supposed to be warm and dry last night and today." "Ours said something similar," said Mia. Touya stuffed another bite into his mouth but still said through the food, "All I know is it's a pain in the butt. You brats may have the day off, but Yuki and I don't." Yukito then nudged the big bully in the arm and smiled, "There's no need to be like that. You know you were looking forward to today. We were going to go biking, remember? The trail shouldn't have any snow, since the school takes care of it."
Eriol put his glass down and politely nodded towards Sakura. "Oh, that reminds me why I came here in the first place. You see, we may not have any school today, but our teacher decided to have a little picnic in the park so he can discuss a few things about snow and weather, being it such a perfect time to do so." the group smiled back. "That sounds like a lot of fun," Sakura said.
"Excellent." Eriol said as he held Sakura's hand. He brought her nimble fingers to his lips, kissed them and said, "Of course, it would be even better if I could have as lovely a partner as you to escort me to the park." Sakura's cheeks reddened, while Eriol smiled, Fujitaka, Meiling, Touya and Eriol stared in shock, Syaoran growled in anger, and Tomoyo videotaped it all with the air glistening around her.
Fujitaka turned to Tomoyo, who actually seemed attentive, despite her gazing over Sakura, and asked, "And they're like this everyday?"
Syaoran slammed his hands down and yelled, "Well, as a matter of fact, Sakura was coming with ME today!" His face was afire with embarrassment and anger.
Touya just sighed deeply shook his head. "She's not even 13 yet and the boys are fighting over her. She really is a monster."
After breakfast, Eriol got up to the door and walked to the door. "Thank you, Mr. Kinomoto. That was delicious. And if Sakura-chan wishes to be escorted by Li-kun here, I guess I'll see you her later at the park. Farewell!" He closed the door, but his presence still angered Syaoran, whose flaming eyes seared still at where the wizard would be standing.
"Well, that went well." Suppi said while lying on the top of the hedge. "No, it didn't," replied Eriol. "I could tell easily that none of them had the faintest clue that this is no ordinary storm." Suppi floated up and landed on his master's shoulders. "Well, then, just one last question: Why did you take time to flirt with the girl and torture the boy?" Eriol just smirked. "Well, I just find it a bit easier to work and think if I've had some fun first."
20 minutes later, Sakura, Mia, Tomoyo, and Meiling all emerged from Sakura's room after finishing getting dressed. Sakura headed downstairs and said, "Can we go to the park, now?" Fujitaka turned around. "I don't know. I'd prefer if you had at least an extra warm jacket, but I don't think we have enough for all of you." Tomoyo smiled. "You just let me worry about all of that!" She opened up a cell phone and pressed a special button on it. A minute or two later, a van pulled up in the driveway. A woman in a suit and sunglasses emerged and opened the back doors as everyone stood in amazement. The inside of the truck was laced with all sorts of clothes. Sweat drops rolled down everyone's heads.
"Do I really want to know what you do with a truck of clothes following you, Daidouji?" asked an inquisitive Meiling.
Another few minutes later, everyone had found a coat. Sakura took a nice and warm pink winter jacket and Syaoran took his usual green. Everyone had grabbed a scarf, too, except Syaoran. "No scarf?" inquired Tomoyo. "That won't do." "He can share with me!" Sakura said. "NANI?!" Syaoran's face turned as red as a fresh coat of paint again.
But it was too late. Sakura came up to him, completely oblivious to Syaoran's embarrassment and wrapped one part of he scarf around him as well, keeping them close. It felt much warmer, but his face became warmest of all.
"All right, let's go!" Sakura chanted again and again as she and Syaoran marched off to the park. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Mia followed closely behind and Kero was in Sakura's handbag.
Tomoyo started to walk, but something latched onto her shoulder. She turned her head to see a slit-eyed Meiling glaring at her. "Tell me, Daidouji, if there were no more scarves, what is that hidden behind your back?" Tomoyo let her hands appear out in the open and there was a green scarf in them. Meiling sighed. "It couldn't be any more obvious that you're trying to set those two up." But her sigh and frown quickly turned to a semi-evil smile and a thumb up. "That's why I'm going to help you get those two together so you can get them both on tape and together once and for all!" The two devious friends shook hands.
"Konnichiwa," was the reaction of most of their friends upon Sakura and Syaoran's arrival to the park. "Konnichiwa," Sakura answered back. "Hello, Sakura-chan." Said Rika. "I'm glad you could come. Say, why are you and Li- kun sharing a."
"Actually, sharing scarves is an ancient tradition here in Japan." Yamazaki suddenly popped up, causing Sakura to cling onto Syaoran in abrupt surprise. "You see. It all started-" The lie was suddenly interrupted by a loud choking noise as Chiharu came from behind him. "What did I tell you about lying?!" She started to drag him off, but he didn't seem to mind. "Its just back in the 14th century, scarves were made of wood and." "Yeah, yeah, we know your lies. I told you yesterday on the plane ride home you couldn't lie again! I've never heard of anyone getting temporarily banned from a country just for lying to too many people. But you managed to do it."
As soon as the two left, Mia asked. "Didn't we just see them in China yesterday? How could. Never mind. I'm not sure I want to know." Meiling just sighed and sat down on a pile of snow. "That kid really scares me sometimes." Syaoran started to become brightly colored in the face again, but not because he was embarrassed. "Err. Sak. Sakura. Yamazaki-kun. gone. You can. l-let g-go of my th-throat. now." He dropped down as soon as Sakura let go. "Oops. gomen nasai, Syaoran-kun. I guess I forgot."
"Konnichiwa, students!" Tereda-sensei approached from behind them. "I'm glad to see so many of you could come. So, let's get started. As a surprise, we found the lake perfectly frozen, so the school and I decided to rent enough ice skates for everyone!" A loud cheer of approval erupted from the crowd of kids. Everyone rushed to the pond just a few meters away to find it a perfect piece of ice; it was as flat as glass and twice as beautiful as the most perfectly created piece of glasswork.
Sakura gleefully sat down to took off her shoes. She held one cute foot in the air and grabbed a skate. but as she did, she noticed a shadow over her. It was Yamazaki, popping up again. "Hey, everyone. Did you know that Sakura here has magic powers?"
"HOEEEEE?!" Sakura's face beamed in surprise. "How does he know?!" Her eyes grew gigantic, as did the eyes of her friends. Syaoran stepped forward in an attempt to cover the secret. "I-I don't know WHAT you're talking about! She. She doesn't have any powers!" It was too late, though, as all the kids circled around. "Really? Sakura, is it true?" "Wow!" "That's so cool!" Yamazaki stood up. "See? She was in Japan hundreds of years ago!" He held out a piece of paper with a golden blur on it. It was a newspaper clipping. The title read "Statue of Ancient Village Goddess Found on Coast." Meiling bent forward to get a close look. A puzzled look went over her face. "What the. That statue. looks just like. Kinomoto?!"
"Yamazaki, are you telling lies again?" Chiharu asked. "No, it's true! It's true! Look for yourself!" Chiharu grabbed the paper and slowly read it. She glanced it over once or twice. "And. what part of this would show Sakura has any powers? It's just a statue. It only has a little resemblance. That could be anyone, and Sakura wasn't even born back then!" "Well, yes, but." It was too late for Yamazaki to clear up his "lie." All the kids left and went onto the ice.
He scratched his head and laughed. "Well, I guess that one was pretty unbelievable, ne? See you later, Kinomoto, Li, Daidouji!" He dropped the newspaper clipping behind and Mia picked it up.
Sakura just sighed in relief that her secret was safe. "Tomoyo." Mia stated a few moments later, handing her the paper. "If you remember, you talked to the village chief right before we left for China a while back. This SAME village. Care to explain how our friend here became the idol and goddess of an ancient village and turned into a statue?" The ecstatic girl just giggled, shaking her head in laughter. "Well, how could I leave the village without revealing to the world her cuteness for eternity?"
Meiling just rolled her eyes and got onto the ice. Tomoyo, Mia, and the others followed closely behind.
It was a grand time skating. Kids were everywhere on the ice, skating to their heart's content. But something was wrong. "Say, where is Eriol?"
"Hello, my friends. How are you all?" Eriol skated up to them with his usual warm smile and friendly attitude. "I'm glad you could all come. Hmm? Sakura-chan, you look a bit flushed. Did something happen?" Sakura laughed. "N-No, I'm fine, I'm fine."
The snow started to come down again. Light and glistening pieces of it fell gently from the sky at a slow pace. "Hey, it's snowing again!" said Meiling, pointing out the obvious. She caught a flake in her palm and admired it for a brief instant before it vanished and became just a drop of water on her hand. "Sigh. I love snow." She said. "I just never figured we'd have it at this time of the year. I'm not complaining, though."
The other kids on the ice stopped in place on the ice and admired the oncoming frozen droplets.
It was dead quiet; no one said a word. No one, that is, except Eriol. "So. it's coming."
"Hoe? Eriol? Did you say something?" Sakura crept ever closer to the young mage, as he stood in the middle of the ice, staring straight up into the gray, cloudy sky. "It's coming. It's started. He's beginning the final movement."
That was when the tranquility ended.
The wind roared and the snowflakes became much larger. The clouds almost instantly turned black. Small bits of hail mixed into the torment. It pounded down with a thunderous force, stinging greatly anyone who was hit by the balls of ice. The wind picked up. Kids fell to the ice, unable to stand up in the gale. The snow was seen increasing on the ground. One could not see 5 meters in front of his or herself.
"EVERYONE! QICKLY! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! HEAD TO THE ENTRANCE! STAY TOGETHER!" Terada-sensei called out to his students, but it proved futile as even he had trouble standing. Sakura, Syaoran, Meiling, Rika, Yamazaki, Chiharu, and everyone else were blown to the ground and scattered in every direction.
"IT'S NO USE!" The teacher once again cried out. "LET'S JUST STICK TOGETHER! HOLD ONTO SOMEONE AND WE'LL WAIT IT OUT!" Every boy and girl grabbed hold of one another and attempted to stand. It worked well, mostly. But Rika-chan couldn't hold on. She held onto Tereda-sensei's hand, but the wind was too hard. "RIKA-CHAN!" He called out.
Sakura watched in horror as her friend rolled away into the darkness. She couldn't take it. She ran from the group after her. "SAKURA!" Tomoyo called out in worry, but Syaoran and Meiling held her back.
It was utterly frigid. One couldn't feel anything but cold in the snow. It was so dark with the clouds and snow that nothing was visible outside 5 meters around you. You couldn't tell the difference between snow and ice. This proved a pain as Sakura didn't see the frozen pond beneath her and slipped. She started to fall headfirst. She braced for the pain of her head hitting the ice, but the pain never came. Instead, she opened her eyes to see only another pair of eyes staring back.
"E-Eriol?" "It has begun." "Huh?" "I have Rika. let's get back to the group. He's attacking." Eriol was holding Rika in his left arm, but she was barely awake. "Hoe? Who?" Eriol held up a long icicle in his right hand. "These are coming." ".What is it?" "No, don't waste time here. Go. Mistress of the Clow."
Sakura's jaw dropped. "You. know. but. How can you." Eriol pointed straight towards the class. "I SAID GO!"
Sakura turned and ran back to the group with all her might. "I HAVE TO SAVE THEM!"
To her good fortune, the group was unharmed and everyone was sticking together. But then. a sensation came to her. A feeling of immense power. Overhead it loomed. a dark force of magic moving down fast.
PFFF! PFFF!
Several objects hit the snow. A young boy from the class saw it and picked it up. "Oh my. God. It's snowing. spikes or something! They'll hit us!" "Everyone get down and hold onto each other!" The teacher called in reply to this horrid turn of events.
Syaoran, however, did not duck. HE ran to Sakura as soon as he saw her and screamed, "What the Hell is going on?" Sakura didn't have time to give a full answer, however. "It's Koji but. There are a bunch of spikes of ice falling down here; I can feel it! They will kill everyone!"
She grabbed the key around her neck. "What are you doing?!" Syaoran asked. "If you use your powers here. There has to be another way!"
"No!" She shouted. A look of distress and concern crossed Syaoran's face. "Sakura. Please." A tear rolled down Sakura's cheek. "I'm. sorry. I didn't mean to snap. It's just. There is no other way. I'm sorry. It's time to reveal. I can't let my friends die!"
Sakura ran to her friends and classmates, all ducking down on the ground, praying not to be struck down by the incoming power. She leapt into the center of them all and looked straight up.
"Kinomoto! Get down! Please!" Her teacher called out to her, but she did not heed the warning. "I can't. I have to do this."
She grasped the magical key that hung from her neck and released her magical energy.
"Key that hides the power of the Stars, reveal your true form to me! By our contract, I, Sakura, command you! RELEASE!"
A great light covered Sakura and a magical wind swirled around her. The key lengthened into a full-length staff suspended in the air. Reaching high up, Sakura brought her hand down and grasped the wand with one hand. With the other, she grabbed a card from her bag.
Her classmates all stood in awe, watching their fellow friend use her magic for the first time before their eyes. No one uttered a sound. Even the wind seemed to silence.
Sakura hurled the card straight up. "FIERY! Destroy all those that threaten us with your burning touch!" The demon of the Fiery Card rose straight into the sky and lit up the surrounding land.
"Is. that. Sakura?! SAKURA! YOU MONSTER!" Touya screamed as he ran into the park. He got within 10 meters of her and he stopped in shock. "Sakura. what. What the Hell?! What the Hell is going on here?!"
Sakura didn't acknowledge her brother's arrival. She just concentrated on the threat above. Into view appeared a group of objects hurdling from the stratosphere. The Spirit of the Fiery Card reached them and in one blast wiped out the majority of them. However, one thing became apparent to Sakura. From the sky, these weren't just shards of ice, they were some sort of magic attack!
Sakura grabbed another card from her bag. "O, card that Clow has made, I command you to lose your form and be born again under your new master, Sakura! SHOT CARD!"
Beams of energy flew from Sakura's staff, blasting away the remaining pieces of the attack still in the sky.
All fell silent. Her classmates stood up. Touya just stood there in surprise. Everyone could only stare at Sakura. That is, until, Touya lost his temper. "SAKURA! I came all this way once the storm started just to see if my little sister was safe, when she wasn't telling me she had some sort of powers! I mean, I knew you were hiding something, but-"
Sakura lifted one hand and signaled everyone to be quiet. They looked up. Even those without powers could feel a massive magical force. A large object surged down at an incredible speed. It was similar to the previous attack, but much more powerful.
Eriol approached holding his staff. "So, it seems this may be the end. Koji wishes to kill us all."
A moment of confusion was around them all. but everyone knew, despite their general unknowingness, that something bad and big was coming.
To be continued.
Chapter 25
Tranquility Disturbed
Quietly, without a problem, dinner went on at the Kinomoto residence, even more serene than usual. (Sakura hadn't needed to stomp on Touya's foot the entire time.) Having finished a specialty of his, Mr. Kinomoto and everyone dined upon his famous Modern Yaki. Even Touya and Kero seemed to leave each other alone.
"Delicious!" Meiling finally said, picking up her plate. "Thank you," Fujitaka said while smiling. "That was very good, Mr. Kinomoto," Yukito said as he cleaned up as well. "That's rather unusual. Only 5 servings? I thought you usually ate about 7 at least," Touya noted. "Oh, no, I just haven't had as much of an appetite as of late. It's the strangest thing. I just haven't felt 'right.' Like I'm missing something. On second thought, I'm still hungry!" The young boy grabbed a few more plates and continued to shovel down his food, mouthful after mouthful, and plate after plate.
"It's obvious Yue is sensing what we've been doing," Kero hypothesized from under the table. "Still, since you haven't transformed all the cards into Sakura Cards yet, he's too weak, so that kid's going to be hungry no matter how worried he is."
"Huh?" Sakura's dad, Yukito, and Touya turned to see what had made the noise, only to see Sakura struggling to hide something. "Ah. hehehe I. errr. COUGH. COUGH. I had something stuck in my throat. choking a little bit."
Her brother laughed. "It sounded a lot more like a growl from a monster." Sakura then had the urge to, but didn't, use the Big Card to crush her older brother. "I'm not a monster! That was just a cough! Only a-ahh. ahh. ACHOO!" Sakura sneezed, for real.
"ACHOO!" Syaoran sneezed, too.
Yukito put on a look of concern. "Wait a minute, both of your clothes are still wet. Didn't you change?" Sakura shook her head. "We. thought it would be alright to wait until after dinner." Syaoran nodded in agreement. "Sniff. Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"Nonsense," Meiling said with almost uncharacteristically large signs of concern. "Go change or you'll catch a cold. I'm not going to let my favorite cousin get sick for being careless!" "Alright, we'll go, we'll go." Sakura said in exasperation to the overwhelming pleas of her friends.
A minute later, Syaoran and Sakura were in her room. Sakura stepped into her closet. "Ah, here we go!" She pulled out two outfits: one, a pair of pink pajamas with yellow buttons for her, and she found one of Touya's old gray shirts and green shorts for him. "Thanks," the boy said grabbing them. They both began to try and remove their wet clothes.
Then they noticed each other and their face reddened, and both hastily stopping.
Errr. ANOTHER minute later. Syaoran sat up against Sakura's door. She was the one inside changing. Mia and Tomoyo giggled, watching from the side of the stairs. "I was wondering how long it would take them to notice that," Mia said, barely able to keep her voice down.
Sakura emerged, and then Syaoran went in and changed. Tomoyo, Mia, and Meiling also took turns after them to change. Tomoyo wore a white pajama- dress with lace at the bottom that went down to her ankles. Mia had an old blue shirt with a pair of tan cloth pants. Meiling was clad in a white shirt with the Li Clan symbol on it and red pants. They all then met downstairs to watch a movie.
WHRRRR
Tomoyo fed the video into the VCR and sat down on top of her sleeping bag where the coffee table once was. "It's all set up! Everyone comfy? Then lets start the movie and the slumber party!" Kero-chan poked his head out from Tomoyo's sleeping bag to watch the movie when Touya, Fujitaka, and Yukito went upstairs.
While the film (a romantic comedy, of course. Tomoyo said something about it being appropriate, but Syaoran and Sakura had no idea what she meant.) was starting, Sakura stretched out on one sofa while Syaoran did the same on the other.
"Ahhh, our trip is over for now. It feels so good to be home!" Sakura smiled and took off her socks. "It just feels so good to lie back, stretch out and even wiggle your toes!" So, she did so. Tomoyo giggled, muttering about how cute it was. The movie starting credits were rolling.
An hour passed with no event.
He leaned over to her. "There's. been something. I've wanted to tell you for the longest of time." "Yes? What is it?" "Well, as we've been together, we've gone from enemies to friends. and. well. I'm not good with this sort of thing but. I. I. I just can't hold it in any longer! I LOVE YOU!" ".I. I don't know what to say. No, I do know what I want to say. I. I love you, too! I always have!" "Then. let us say no more." They embraced right there. and the words "THE END" appeared before them. The credits began to roll and there was a moment of silence.
The room was dark, save for the light of the TV, and the darkness had an effect on all of the children and guardians in the room. They began to yawn and yawn. "That. was such a beautiful movie, wouldn't you agree? Such a lovely ending." Sakura and Syaoran nodded. "Hai, it was," Syaoran said, "but I can't help but feel that it was somehow familiar." Sakura put a finger to her cheek and wondered, "You know, I thought the same thing. I've seen this scenario before. But where? Mia? Do you know? Mia? Mia, are you awake?"
There was no reply. The room was dead silent. "Tomoyo? Kero?" No reply. "They must have fallen. asleep. Yawn. I guess we should go to sleep as well, don't you think, Syaoran-kun? .Syaoran-kun? I think. maybe he. just. Yawn." The emerald of Sakura's eyes slowly faded as her eyelids shut tight.
Tomoyo just giggled silently, not even letting the other's know she was able to hear it all. "Hehehe. That movie always has reminded me of Sakura- chan and Li-kun together." She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
"Mmph." Syaoran mumbled in his sleep as he felt something touch his side. "Syaoran? Are you awake?" He sat up. "I am now, Sakura? Mmm?" He looked at the clock on the VCR. It was reading 2:38am. "Is something the matter?" "I'm cold. I don't know what it is. I'm so cold I can't sleep." He put his hand on her cheek. "You're right, you're freezing. You'll catch a cold. Especially since your hair is still a little wet. Well. umm." His face started to redden. "You. can sit here next to me to warm up if you want. I'm pretty cold, too." She smiled back. "Really? Arigatou!"
She sat down beside him, pulled his blanket over them both, and rested her head on his chest. Syaoran's heart started to race. "Hoe? You're even warmer all of a sudden. and why is your heart racing like that?"
"Ummm. err. I." "GASP! I. I think I know what it is!"
Syaoran's eyes shrunk and his face became even redder. His heart was beating so fast he couldn't count the beats. "You. you know?!" Sakura nodded and smiled. "I finally see why you're like this!"
Syaoran couldn't believe it! Could Sakura really see that easily into his heart? Could she really know how he feels?
"You saw the snow out the window and were so excited, but you wanted to keep it a surprise for me for later!"
Syaoran fell down to the ground. "Snow. That's crazy. say, what did she mean by that? It's not winter! Sakura, what were you talking about? It's not winter! How. could. there." His eyes bulged nearly out of their sockets and his jaw dropped. Outside, there was a blizzard as he looked out the window. "It. it. can't be."
He stepped outside to see it was indeed true. It was snowing. At least 10cm had already piled up. Sakura was already outside, running around on the porch, laughing like it was the first time she had seen snow.
Syaoran leaned up against the door, chuckled, and then smiled. "What happened to 'I'm so cold I can't sleep?' You look like you're having fun in just pajamas." Sakura immediately stopped in her tracks and started to shiver. A sweat drop rolled down her head. "I g-guess I was h-having s-s-so much f-fun I didn't n-notice!" She turned to go back in and get some warm clothes, but before she got very far, she felt a burden upon her shoulders and she became a tad warmer. She turned to see Syaoran, placing a jacket on her, He was holding a pair of boots and mittens for her as well.
He had his own set of clothes, too.
Both of them didn't seem to care how this phenomenon had occurred, going from a hot day to near blizzard-like conditions overnight. They just played together, not really caring about anything.
"Hey, where'd you go?" Syaoran asked, as Sakura mysteriously disappeared from the front and side yard. "HERE I AM!" A pile of snow fell from the roof and landed right on Syaoran, covering him entirely, but not for long. His head popped out. "Hey, you used a Card to get up there! No fair!" He grabbed a pile of snow, rolled it into a ball, and threw it at high speeds at Sakura, though she ducked back down and it missed. She gave a little scream, then leaped down with the Jump Card.
The snowball fight continued for another 5 minutes until they were both too tired to continue. They both sat down on the front porch and breathed heavily. "Well, that was so much fun!" Sakura exclaimed in a moment of hyper happiness. Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, it was. But I still wonder. where did all this snow come from? I mean, it was a bit on the hot side yesterday. now it's below freezing? Doesn't that seem a bit strange? Could it be a task for you? Like when these strange things happen at night to change a Clow Card?" Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so. Every time that has happened, I've sensed Clow Reed nearby, but right now I don't sense anything like his magic."
Eriol waved his wand through the air and the vision of Sakura on the porch faded.
"Oh, my dear pupil and descendant. I wish I could be the one to claim fault for this phenomenon, but it is not I who has caused it. The hour draws near."
He put his staff away.
"The hour upon which I may have to reveal myself to you may come sooner than planned. But there is no alternative. And for now, all we can do is pray for more time."
"It's starting to get really cold! Maybe we better head inside," suggested the young Clow Mistress in training, Sakura. They both stood up. She smiled warmly again and said, "Thank you, Syaoran-kun. It's been a lot of fun." He nodded and blushed. "It's alright, but we better get inside before someone notices we're gone." His friend nodded back. But as they went inside.
"HOE!" In an instant, Sakura's foot caught a sheet of ice. She began to slip backwards. Her feet came out from under her and she was almost completely flat put. A look of fear glazed her face. She was going to hit the ground. "SAKURA!" He leaped forward, thrusting his on body into hers. His flying tackle succeeded as his shoulders slammed into her shoulders and they were both thrown back a meter or so.
A pile of snow softened the fall as they landed away from the ice. Syaoran was at first relieved they were both safe. Then he reddened, as she did. They were safe. but found themselves on top of one another. arms around each other.
Lip to lip.
All was still. all was quiet. They were stuck mouth to mouth. But they couldn't stop. Both turned bright red. The soft, soft snow seemed to muffle all of the noise surrounding them.
They were both embarrassed half to death. but neither. knew how to stop. Or maybe they just didn't want to.
Suddenly, Syaoran got the nerve and jumped up. His face was completely red. "G-G-G-Gomen nasai! I'm so sorry! That was all my fault! I didn't. I didn't hurt you, did I?"
She shook her head violently. "N-no, I was feeling good. No! Ummm. I meant I felt fine."
Suddenly, there was a crash and the ground seemed to move from beneath their feet. They turned to the door to see an irate Touya. "Y-y-you! Why. I. You.. ARGH! I come down. thinking I heard a burglar. And I find. you. both. HOW COULD YOU?!" His forehead looked like it was going to explode. But a friendlier Yukito (who had been studying in Touya's room until he accidentally fell asleep) popped up over Touya's shoulder and gave a heartwarming smile. "Wow, that's great, you two!"
"Hoe?" Sakura and Syaoran faced each other for a minute and looked back. "What's great?" Yukito laughed, "Well, I knew you two were friends but I never expected to see you both going so far so soon! You must really care about each other." The two of them began to blush frantically. "It-it-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Syaoran screamed. Sakura nodded feverishly and said, "It's true! It. may have looked like something. but. ummm. well, it wasn't! I just was about to fall and he caught me and. errr. ummm. that happened. It wasn't what it looked like!"
Touya undoubtedly wasn't paying attention. He just gave Syaoran a stare so cold that if looks could kill, he'd have died 20 times over. He had heard all that he wanted to hear. However. he then noticed something else, as did Yukito. "Hey. is it. snowing? This early in the year? After a really hot day?" Sakura scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess it is. That's why we came out here. but I don't know how it exactly happened." Touya rubbed his head like he had a headache and walked back. "Fine, we can think more about this after we finish getting a good night's sleep. See you all later then." But before leaving, he poked his head outside again. "Oh, and you, brat, if I EVER see you flirting with my sister or anything like that again, I'll personally kill you. Got it?"
Sakura and Syaoran just sat there in the snow, completely speechless as to what to say. Touya walked back up the stairs. Yukito couldn't help but chuckle out loud the whole time. "Oh, shut up," Touya said, aware of why he was laughing.
"Well. this has been a very eventful morning." Sakura said. "Let's leave things as they are and try to get to bed before we accidentally wake the others."
They both snuck in very quietly, removing their boots and coat, and then tiptoed across the floor.
"THAT WAS JUST TOO INCREDIBLY AND UNBELIEVABLY KAWAII!" Both of their eyes became just little dots when they came to see the entire room replaying what just happened on the VCR thanks to Tomoyo's video camera that had been hiding in the window. They were beet red.
Tomoyo turned away from the TV for a moment and her eyes filled with stars. "My dear Sakura-chan's first kiss, and I have it on video! I knew this day would come! I just never imagined my dear, sweet Sakura-chan would have it so soon. I'm so glad I was able to tape it." Mia turned and saw both of them there. "Heh. Well, here comes the happy couple now! Did you have fun outside?"
Neither of them truly knew what to say. Kero rewound the tape and played the whole scene again on the TV. Tomoyo ran over and held Sakura's hand in her own, her eyes still bursting with tears of joy. "I just can't believe it has happened so soon! That was beautiful!" Tomoyo hugged Sakura extremely hard, making her turn even red, possibly due to a lack of oxygen. Kero floated over by Syaoran and gave him a nudge with his elbow. "Come on, you can tell us, you did the whole 'dive and kiss' thing on purpose, ne? It's pretty smooth." Syaoran gleamed furiously. "I most certainly did not! Sakura could have been hurt, slipping on the ice!"
Tomoyo lifted up her camera. "Actually, I saw it all, and it wasn't ice. You were all surrounded by snow everywhere with no ice. Sakura slipped and tripped on your foot, Li-kun." The boy stood there in stunned silence. "You know. I do seem to remember. something hitting my foot. I thought it was the front step."
"What's going on down here?" A drowsy voice came from atop the stairs. A moment later came slow paced sounds of barefoot steps being taken. The stairs creaked with each step. When the person reached the bottom, it was Fujitaka. He took his glasses from a pocket in his pajamas and flipped them open and took a look around. "What's all the commotion down here?" (Kero had dropped down and played stuffed animal on the table.)
The girls and Syaoran all turned to him. "N-Nothing. we. ummm. just thought- " Sakura started to explain the situation but Fujitaka was distracted. Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He walked down and took a look at the TV. Kero had fallen on the remote and rewound the tape.
The static glared across the screen for a moment before it started to play. The lens cap came off and they saw the living room while the camera was hoisted to the window. There, they could see Sakura and Syaoran talking. the slip. the kiss.
Fujitaka just stood there and stared. "Is. this what I think it is?" Sakura blushed, hung her head low, and she nodded. "I thought so. It's that new romantic comedy I bought at the video store the other day!"
Everyone in the room fell to the ground.
"Well, at least I think it is. my eyes are always bad this early, and there appears to be a lot of snow. But, you know, that couple reminds me a lot of you, Sakura, and Li." Mia just laughed. "See? We told you, Sakura!" However, the young magician wasn't paying attention to the sarcastic comments, only to her father. "Well, I don't see nay resemblance. maybe you need to get more sleep, huh? Soon?" Fujitaka smiled and headed back upstairs. "I suppose I could use some more sleep. Sorry to disturb you, but please try to be a bit more discreet for the rest of the night." "Hai!" Sakura answered, "we will."
Mia laughed. "I guess you didn't get all of that from your mother." "Hoe? Get what? I'm confused." The girl just smirked and turned away. "Exactly my point!" Mia had left Sakura completely speechless.
Kero got up once Sakura's father had left and yawned. Everyone else yawned soon after. "Maybe we better gets some more sleep." Syaoran suggested. "Hai, I agree. We've had enough excitement for one morning." Tomoyo acknowledge. "What do you think Sakura? .Sakura?" The sounds of Sakura already fast asleep came about. Kero hovered by Sakura's face and pulled the covers of her sleeping bag up. "Well, looks like she had the right idea. But even if it were the wrong idea, you'd sooner be able to pick up this entire house with your bare hands than wake THIS sleepy head up." But by the time he finished saying it, everyone else had fallen asleep. Kero decided to follow along and fell asleep right there beside Sakura.
Morning came just as always. What wasn't so normal was what they all saw when they looked outside. After Syaoran woke up, he saw the snow was still out there. "I've never seen this much snow except on top of a mountain, and it's not even winter yet!" Tomoyo stepped out from behind him. "Yes, it is quite unusual, but at the same time it's very beautiful. I wonder what could cause it to snow so early in the year." Mia got off the couch and turned on the radio in the kitchen. "Let's find out."
"Zzzzzzzzzzzz. And now, for today's weather," said the newscaster. "According to our weather station, Tomoeda should be warming up to 25°C, however, our meteorologists are completely perplexed by what is actually going on. Our storm center employees have found it to actually be -25°C, a temperature never before seen in that area, especially before winter. Almost half a meter of snow fell on the area last night. It at least looks like the snow has stopped for now, but we can't be sure. We'll update you with all the information we get as we get it." Mia turned off the radio and turned back towards everyone in the living room. "Yes, this is rather peculiar weather."
Sakura shivered and added, "And cold, too!" "Eh? When did you get up?" Mia asked, only to have Sakura reply, "I've actually been awake for a while. It's too cold to sleep!" Meiling nodded. "I had some trouble sleeping after last night, too." "I don't think it has ever been this cold here," Sakura added. "I can't take the heat or the cold."
Fujitaka slowly came down the stairs. "Ohayo, Sakura-san, Daidouji-san, Stryfe-san, Li-san. It's pretty cold out, isn't it?" "Ohayo!" was the unanimous response. "Hai, it is cold outside! It's freezing in here, too!" Sakura added. Fujitaka smiled. "Well, then I guess I better make some nice, warm hot cakes! Does that sound alright?" All of their faces lit up. "Hot cakes! Alright!" Kero shouted, breaking his teddy bear like state. "Huh? Who said that?" Touya asked as he came down the stairs in just a pair of light purple pajama bottoms.
Sakura laughed. "It. ummm. err. That was just me." She gave a very phony cough. "I had something stuck in my throat." Yukito popped up from behind Touya. "Well, I agree, I'm starving! Would it be alright if I stayed for breakfast?" Fujitaka just smiled. "Of course!" The doorbell rang. "Oh, can someone get that?" "I will!" Meiling shouted.
"Hello!" said a young boy. "Ni hao! Say. I know you. from somewhere." Syaoran turned around and gasped. "Eriol? What are you doing here?"
The young magician in disguise just smiled. "Oh, Hello Li-kun. It seems like a party or something. I hope I'm not intruding." Sakura shook her head. "No, of course not! Come on in." Fujitaka was still carrying a pan with a hotcake when he entered the room. "Who is it? Oh! A friend of yours, Sakura? Is he staying for breakfast?"
"Me? Stay?" Eriol said in astonishment. "I don't want to be a bother. I just came to talk to Sakura." Everyone was smiling, except for Syaoran, whose face turned boiling angry as soon as Eriol mentioned Sakura's name. "Oh, don't worry, it's no bother." Fujitaka said. "We'll need to take out a second table for all the guests, anyway. Make yourself at home."
Touya leaned against the closet door and said to Yukito, "Sheesh. With all of the monster's friends and brats along, you might not get the chance to eat the majority of the food like you usually do." But before he could finish that sentence, Touya felt a searing laser-like glare pierce through his heart as Sakura and Meiling took offense and stomped on both of his feet for the insult.
As Touya was still on the floor holding his feet in pain, Fujitaka came back out and announced that breakfast was ready.
It was a very nice breakfast. Eggs, egg rolls, hot cakes, juice, and everything else you could imagine for breakfast. Everyone took their time eating (Even Yukito, only eating an entire hot cake every 5 seconds), and discussed the peculiar weather. "Yes, it is quite strange. According to my radio, it was supposed to be warm and dry last night and today." "Ours said something similar," said Mia. Touya stuffed another bite into his mouth but still said through the food, "All I know is it's a pain in the butt. You brats may have the day off, but Yuki and I don't." Yukito then nudged the big bully in the arm and smiled, "There's no need to be like that. You know you were looking forward to today. We were going to go biking, remember? The trail shouldn't have any snow, since the school takes care of it."
Eriol put his glass down and politely nodded towards Sakura. "Oh, that reminds me why I came here in the first place. You see, we may not have any school today, but our teacher decided to have a little picnic in the park so he can discuss a few things about snow and weather, being it such a perfect time to do so." the group smiled back. "That sounds like a lot of fun," Sakura said.
"Excellent." Eriol said as he held Sakura's hand. He brought her nimble fingers to his lips, kissed them and said, "Of course, it would be even better if I could have as lovely a partner as you to escort me to the park." Sakura's cheeks reddened, while Eriol smiled, Fujitaka, Meiling, Touya and Eriol stared in shock, Syaoran growled in anger, and Tomoyo videotaped it all with the air glistening around her.
Fujitaka turned to Tomoyo, who actually seemed attentive, despite her gazing over Sakura, and asked, "And they're like this everyday?"
Syaoran slammed his hands down and yelled, "Well, as a matter of fact, Sakura was coming with ME today!" His face was afire with embarrassment and anger.
Touya just sighed deeply shook his head. "She's not even 13 yet and the boys are fighting over her. She really is a monster."
After breakfast, Eriol got up to the door and walked to the door. "Thank you, Mr. Kinomoto. That was delicious. And if Sakura-chan wishes to be escorted by Li-kun here, I guess I'll see you her later at the park. Farewell!" He closed the door, but his presence still angered Syaoran, whose flaming eyes seared still at where the wizard would be standing.
"Well, that went well." Suppi said while lying on the top of the hedge. "No, it didn't," replied Eriol. "I could tell easily that none of them had the faintest clue that this is no ordinary storm." Suppi floated up and landed on his master's shoulders. "Well, then, just one last question: Why did you take time to flirt with the girl and torture the boy?" Eriol just smirked. "Well, I just find it a bit easier to work and think if I've had some fun first."
20 minutes later, Sakura, Mia, Tomoyo, and Meiling all emerged from Sakura's room after finishing getting dressed. Sakura headed downstairs and said, "Can we go to the park, now?" Fujitaka turned around. "I don't know. I'd prefer if you had at least an extra warm jacket, but I don't think we have enough for all of you." Tomoyo smiled. "You just let me worry about all of that!" She opened up a cell phone and pressed a special button on it. A minute or two later, a van pulled up in the driveway. A woman in a suit and sunglasses emerged and opened the back doors as everyone stood in amazement. The inside of the truck was laced with all sorts of clothes. Sweat drops rolled down everyone's heads.
"Do I really want to know what you do with a truck of clothes following you, Daidouji?" asked an inquisitive Meiling.
Another few minutes later, everyone had found a coat. Sakura took a nice and warm pink winter jacket and Syaoran took his usual green. Everyone had grabbed a scarf, too, except Syaoran. "No scarf?" inquired Tomoyo. "That won't do." "He can share with me!" Sakura said. "NANI?!" Syaoran's face turned as red as a fresh coat of paint again.
But it was too late. Sakura came up to him, completely oblivious to Syaoran's embarrassment and wrapped one part of he scarf around him as well, keeping them close. It felt much warmer, but his face became warmest of all.
"All right, let's go!" Sakura chanted again and again as she and Syaoran marched off to the park. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Mia followed closely behind and Kero was in Sakura's handbag.
Tomoyo started to walk, but something latched onto her shoulder. She turned her head to see a slit-eyed Meiling glaring at her. "Tell me, Daidouji, if there were no more scarves, what is that hidden behind your back?" Tomoyo let her hands appear out in the open and there was a green scarf in them. Meiling sighed. "It couldn't be any more obvious that you're trying to set those two up." But her sigh and frown quickly turned to a semi-evil smile and a thumb up. "That's why I'm going to help you get those two together so you can get them both on tape and together once and for all!" The two devious friends shook hands.
"Konnichiwa," was the reaction of most of their friends upon Sakura and Syaoran's arrival to the park. "Konnichiwa," Sakura answered back. "Hello, Sakura-chan." Said Rika. "I'm glad you could come. Say, why are you and Li- kun sharing a."
"Actually, sharing scarves is an ancient tradition here in Japan." Yamazaki suddenly popped up, causing Sakura to cling onto Syaoran in abrupt surprise. "You see. It all started-" The lie was suddenly interrupted by a loud choking noise as Chiharu came from behind him. "What did I tell you about lying?!" She started to drag him off, but he didn't seem to mind. "Its just back in the 14th century, scarves were made of wood and." "Yeah, yeah, we know your lies. I told you yesterday on the plane ride home you couldn't lie again! I've never heard of anyone getting temporarily banned from a country just for lying to too many people. But you managed to do it."
As soon as the two left, Mia asked. "Didn't we just see them in China yesterday? How could. Never mind. I'm not sure I want to know." Meiling just sighed and sat down on a pile of snow. "That kid really scares me sometimes." Syaoran started to become brightly colored in the face again, but not because he was embarrassed. "Err. Sak. Sakura. Yamazaki-kun. gone. You can. l-let g-go of my th-throat. now." He dropped down as soon as Sakura let go. "Oops. gomen nasai, Syaoran-kun. I guess I forgot."
"Konnichiwa, students!" Tereda-sensei approached from behind them. "I'm glad to see so many of you could come. So, let's get started. As a surprise, we found the lake perfectly frozen, so the school and I decided to rent enough ice skates for everyone!" A loud cheer of approval erupted from the crowd of kids. Everyone rushed to the pond just a few meters away to find it a perfect piece of ice; it was as flat as glass and twice as beautiful as the most perfectly created piece of glasswork.
Sakura gleefully sat down to took off her shoes. She held one cute foot in the air and grabbed a skate. but as she did, she noticed a shadow over her. It was Yamazaki, popping up again. "Hey, everyone. Did you know that Sakura here has magic powers?"
"HOEEEEE?!" Sakura's face beamed in surprise. "How does he know?!" Her eyes grew gigantic, as did the eyes of her friends. Syaoran stepped forward in an attempt to cover the secret. "I-I don't know WHAT you're talking about! She. She doesn't have any powers!" It was too late, though, as all the kids circled around. "Really? Sakura, is it true?" "Wow!" "That's so cool!" Yamazaki stood up. "See? She was in Japan hundreds of years ago!" He held out a piece of paper with a golden blur on it. It was a newspaper clipping. The title read "Statue of Ancient Village Goddess Found on Coast." Meiling bent forward to get a close look. A puzzled look went over her face. "What the. That statue. looks just like. Kinomoto?!"
"Yamazaki, are you telling lies again?" Chiharu asked. "No, it's true! It's true! Look for yourself!" Chiharu grabbed the paper and slowly read it. She glanced it over once or twice. "And. what part of this would show Sakura has any powers? It's just a statue. It only has a little resemblance. That could be anyone, and Sakura wasn't even born back then!" "Well, yes, but." It was too late for Yamazaki to clear up his "lie." All the kids left and went onto the ice.
He scratched his head and laughed. "Well, I guess that one was pretty unbelievable, ne? See you later, Kinomoto, Li, Daidouji!" He dropped the newspaper clipping behind and Mia picked it up.
Sakura just sighed in relief that her secret was safe. "Tomoyo." Mia stated a few moments later, handing her the paper. "If you remember, you talked to the village chief right before we left for China a while back. This SAME village. Care to explain how our friend here became the idol and goddess of an ancient village and turned into a statue?" The ecstatic girl just giggled, shaking her head in laughter. "Well, how could I leave the village without revealing to the world her cuteness for eternity?"
Meiling just rolled her eyes and got onto the ice. Tomoyo, Mia, and the others followed closely behind.
It was a grand time skating. Kids were everywhere on the ice, skating to their heart's content. But something was wrong. "Say, where is Eriol?"
"Hello, my friends. How are you all?" Eriol skated up to them with his usual warm smile and friendly attitude. "I'm glad you could all come. Hmm? Sakura-chan, you look a bit flushed. Did something happen?" Sakura laughed. "N-No, I'm fine, I'm fine."
The snow started to come down again. Light and glistening pieces of it fell gently from the sky at a slow pace. "Hey, it's snowing again!" said Meiling, pointing out the obvious. She caught a flake in her palm and admired it for a brief instant before it vanished and became just a drop of water on her hand. "Sigh. I love snow." She said. "I just never figured we'd have it at this time of the year. I'm not complaining, though."
The other kids on the ice stopped in place on the ice and admired the oncoming frozen droplets.
It was dead quiet; no one said a word. No one, that is, except Eriol. "So. it's coming."
"Hoe? Eriol? Did you say something?" Sakura crept ever closer to the young mage, as he stood in the middle of the ice, staring straight up into the gray, cloudy sky. "It's coming. It's started. He's beginning the final movement."
That was when the tranquility ended.
The wind roared and the snowflakes became much larger. The clouds almost instantly turned black. Small bits of hail mixed into the torment. It pounded down with a thunderous force, stinging greatly anyone who was hit by the balls of ice. The wind picked up. Kids fell to the ice, unable to stand up in the gale. The snow was seen increasing on the ground. One could not see 5 meters in front of his or herself.
"EVERYONE! QICKLY! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! HEAD TO THE ENTRANCE! STAY TOGETHER!" Terada-sensei called out to his students, but it proved futile as even he had trouble standing. Sakura, Syaoran, Meiling, Rika, Yamazaki, Chiharu, and everyone else were blown to the ground and scattered in every direction.
"IT'S NO USE!" The teacher once again cried out. "LET'S JUST STICK TOGETHER! HOLD ONTO SOMEONE AND WE'LL WAIT IT OUT!" Every boy and girl grabbed hold of one another and attempted to stand. It worked well, mostly. But Rika-chan couldn't hold on. She held onto Tereda-sensei's hand, but the wind was too hard. "RIKA-CHAN!" He called out.
Sakura watched in horror as her friend rolled away into the darkness. She couldn't take it. She ran from the group after her. "SAKURA!" Tomoyo called out in worry, but Syaoran and Meiling held her back.
It was utterly frigid. One couldn't feel anything but cold in the snow. It was so dark with the clouds and snow that nothing was visible outside 5 meters around you. You couldn't tell the difference between snow and ice. This proved a pain as Sakura didn't see the frozen pond beneath her and slipped. She started to fall headfirst. She braced for the pain of her head hitting the ice, but the pain never came. Instead, she opened her eyes to see only another pair of eyes staring back.
"E-Eriol?" "It has begun." "Huh?" "I have Rika. let's get back to the group. He's attacking." Eriol was holding Rika in his left arm, but she was barely awake. "Hoe? Who?" Eriol held up a long icicle in his right hand. "These are coming." ".What is it?" "No, don't waste time here. Go. Mistress of the Clow."
Sakura's jaw dropped. "You. know. but. How can you." Eriol pointed straight towards the class. "I SAID GO!"
Sakura turned and ran back to the group with all her might. "I HAVE TO SAVE THEM!"
To her good fortune, the group was unharmed and everyone was sticking together. But then. a sensation came to her. A feeling of immense power. Overhead it loomed. a dark force of magic moving down fast.
PFFF! PFFF!
Several objects hit the snow. A young boy from the class saw it and picked it up. "Oh my. God. It's snowing. spikes or something! They'll hit us!" "Everyone get down and hold onto each other!" The teacher called in reply to this horrid turn of events.
Syaoran, however, did not duck. HE ran to Sakura as soon as he saw her and screamed, "What the Hell is going on?" Sakura didn't have time to give a full answer, however. "It's Koji but. There are a bunch of spikes of ice falling down here; I can feel it! They will kill everyone!"
She grabbed the key around her neck. "What are you doing?!" Syaoran asked. "If you use your powers here. There has to be another way!"
"No!" She shouted. A look of distress and concern crossed Syaoran's face. "Sakura. Please." A tear rolled down Sakura's cheek. "I'm. sorry. I didn't mean to snap. It's just. There is no other way. I'm sorry. It's time to reveal. I can't let my friends die!"
Sakura ran to her friends and classmates, all ducking down on the ground, praying not to be struck down by the incoming power. She leapt into the center of them all and looked straight up.
"Kinomoto! Get down! Please!" Her teacher called out to her, but she did not heed the warning. "I can't. I have to do this."
She grasped the magical key that hung from her neck and released her magical energy.
"Key that hides the power of the Stars, reveal your true form to me! By our contract, I, Sakura, command you! RELEASE!"
A great light covered Sakura and a magical wind swirled around her. The key lengthened into a full-length staff suspended in the air. Reaching high up, Sakura brought her hand down and grasped the wand with one hand. With the other, she grabbed a card from her bag.
Her classmates all stood in awe, watching their fellow friend use her magic for the first time before their eyes. No one uttered a sound. Even the wind seemed to silence.
Sakura hurled the card straight up. "FIERY! Destroy all those that threaten us with your burning touch!" The demon of the Fiery Card rose straight into the sky and lit up the surrounding land.
"Is. that. Sakura?! SAKURA! YOU MONSTER!" Touya screamed as he ran into the park. He got within 10 meters of her and he stopped in shock. "Sakura. what. What the Hell?! What the Hell is going on here?!"
Sakura didn't acknowledge her brother's arrival. She just concentrated on the threat above. Into view appeared a group of objects hurdling from the stratosphere. The Spirit of the Fiery Card reached them and in one blast wiped out the majority of them. However, one thing became apparent to Sakura. From the sky, these weren't just shards of ice, they were some sort of magic attack!
Sakura grabbed another card from her bag. "O, card that Clow has made, I command you to lose your form and be born again under your new master, Sakura! SHOT CARD!"
Beams of energy flew from Sakura's staff, blasting away the remaining pieces of the attack still in the sky.
All fell silent. Her classmates stood up. Touya just stood there in surprise. Everyone could only stare at Sakura. That is, until, Touya lost his temper. "SAKURA! I came all this way once the storm started just to see if my little sister was safe, when she wasn't telling me she had some sort of powers! I mean, I knew you were hiding something, but-"
Sakura lifted one hand and signaled everyone to be quiet. They looked up. Even those without powers could feel a massive magical force. A large object surged down at an incredible speed. It was similar to the previous attack, but much more powerful.
Eriol approached holding his staff. "So, it seems this may be the end. Koji wishes to kill us all."
A moment of confusion was around them all. but everyone knew, despite their general unknowingness, that something bad and big was coming.
To be continued.