::Runs screaming onto the set:: HOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! ::screeches and
crashes into a rack of props, knocking them over:: Ow. ow. ::stands up and
pulls off Syaoran's costume that fell on him, as well as a pair of fake
Inuyasha ears, and Link's cap:: Oof. ::stands up and bows repeatedly::
GOMEN! My latest chapter is late.. And rather. confusing. At least I
started to skip spaces.. But. I've had so much on my mind.. Not to mention
I have TWO fics to start soon: One Zelda, one Inuyasha. So, if you like
that idea, feel free to e-mail (wallcrawler86@aol.com) me or post a review!
And, through this, I'd like to especially thank my editor, Aerin, for doing my fic(s) while translating others, editing other fics. She's just been a big help!
And I'd also like to thank Moonlit Writer, for her kind reviews and her great fic she's writing! ()
Anyway, on with the 25 page chapter! I hope you like, or at least understand it.
Chapter 29 The Reunion
The world around Sakura began to warp and change. She floated through the portal as she did before, and she stared into the limitless bounds of possibility around her. As she hovered by, she peered into what looked like other worlds. Scenes of herself were everywhere, doing everything from talking with friends, fighting Eriol's little tricks, and even sleeping. IT looked almost as if she was in a tunnel made of water, only the walls were covered in moving, flowing pictures. "Eriol, what is all this?"
The boy floated closer inside the giant time portal. "Well, your angelic half was most kind. Her boost of power not only helped us lock onto Koji better, but it helped us see more clearly. Everything you see before you is yourself in different dimensions. Mia could not establish a direct connection with Syaoran, so, instead, we're going to establish a connection with yourself from this time period."
"Hoeee?" Sakura said, still staring around her. "What does that mean?"
Mia sighed, floating beside her. "It's simple. I couldn't find Li-kun in here. Because he doesn't belong, and must be moving constantly, I could not find a decent place to open a portal near him. So, instead, we're going to try and meet with you. or rather, the you from this dimension."
"Ah, I understand now." Sakura said. "But still. none of these dimensions seem too weird. I thought you said they're all different."
Eriol sat upright, as if he were on the ground, though he was still hovering. He scratched his chin and surveyed the different scenes around him. "Aha. Take that dimension right there." Eriol pointed to a small scene, below them. In the reflection of the water-like portal was a much older Sakura, about 20, grabbing a backpack and heading out the door. Sakura examined it.
"Sakura-chan! Wait for me!" In the tranquil scene, a much older Tomoyo ran up, carrying a backpack at well. "Sakura, you didn't want to leave for your first day of college without me, did you?"
"Hoeee?! College? Is this supposed to be my future?" Sakura asked.
Eriol shushed her, though. "Just watch."
"Tomoyo-chan, you know I was just waiting at the usually spot for Syaoran. Of course I was going to wait for you! I just wanted to make sure he knew where we were." Sakura turned to face her friend, but there was something different.
"Hoe? My face.? Is that.?" She stared closer at the scene to notice a large, red wound on her right cheek. "That wound! I remember that scar well. Before I went with Syaoran to get rid of Sadin, I was attacked in my basement and I was hit in the cheek by a knife. I was supposed to have that scar for the rest of my life. I cried at the thought. But then, before I left, Mia got rid of it. But.. Then why is it still there?!" Memories of that night came back to haunt her. Sakura had awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of crashing in the basement study. When she came to see, it was a demon of Sadin. Sakura beat him, but not before getting that wound to her face.
Mia sighed. "Sakura. It's because these dimensions are never the same. Any one difference can set off an entirely new change in anything. For example, in this dimension, perhaps I never perfected my healing spell and could only rid you of the poison that was in you, but not the scar on the outside."
Sakura thought for a moment. "Ah, I think I understand. So, this universe is the same as mine is. Errr. Will be, I mean, and the only thing is different is that the scar on my cheek never healed, right?"
"Well," Eriol continued, "That 'only difference' could set into motion more and more changes that can completely change a dimension forever."
"That's amazing!" Sakura responded. "One little thing can change all of that?"
"Indeed. One small change can change the outcome of anything. Or even delaying a person in going or leaving someplace determines the events that take place later for him or her. Those events, in turn, present more choices with more outcomes."
Kaho, flying slightly above Sakura deeper in the portal smiled and added, "Isn't it simply fascinating to look around and see what can happen, what could happen, and what could have happened?"
Sakura looked around, and laughed. "Yeah, I know. I wish I could see more of it. It's very interesting." Tomoyo and the others waited for the teleportation process to finish, contenting themselves to just watching the infinite stories around them.
"Hey, look, it's Sakura-chan when she was only 3!" Mia pointed out. "Awww. how adorable! She's even cuter than the little stuffed bunny she's carrying!" Tomoyo added.
"Hmmm. This looks like Sakura and her brother when they've both finished college," said Meiling.
Sakura looked and pointed out, "And here's me. HOEEEEEEEEE!" Everyone turned his or her head.
"What's wrong?" asked Meiling.
Sakura flailed her arms and backed up to cover an image. She laughed nervously. "It-it-it's nothing! Nothing at all!" She laughed again, and tried to remain calm. At this, she failed miserably. "Well ummm. maybe we best hurry up and get out of this portal! We have to save Syaoran! .Right?"
She quickly hurried, and pushed everyone along further down the road to the next dimension. "H-hey!" Meiling said, being pushed along.
Behind Sakura, was a vision of her, in her late 20's, holding a small baby in her arms.
A great light grew in size and intensity. "We're almost there! The portal is completely locked onto Sakura's signal in this dimension, and it's pulling us in at full strength! Brace yourselves!" Mia ordered everyone to be prepared, much like a general sending her troops to battle. And, indeed, that's what they were prepared to do; fighting was very likely, if Koji was nearby. There was a growing sensation in their bodies, like they were being pulled into a vacuum, and then they vanished from the portal, into the next dimension.
The wind rustled gently through the trees. School kids below laughed at one another's jokes. Couples walked hand in hand down the street below as cars drove by.
Sakura looked around her and said, "Well. it LOOKS like everything is normal here. so far."
Mia nodded. "Koji IS here. that's for certain. I can almost smell him. but it looks like he hasn't done much so far."
Meiling was not paying attention to this, though, and was busy examining all that was around her. "Ummm. Where are we?"
"Hoeee." Sakura looked over the side of what appeared to be a ledge. "We're on the roof of the school!" Sakura sighed and then asked, "Why would we appear up here?"
Tomoyo answered, "Well, Mia said that we would appear very close to you in this dimension, so. if we arrived during a school day, and you are in class."
The doors to the school were flung open and kids began to pour out. Sakura kneeled down and peered over the wall carefully. "I don't see anything different yet."
Suddenly, a group of four friends the recognized left the school. "Wait, there they. I mean we I mean. LOOK!"
Out of the school door was Sakura, Tomoyo, Meiling, and. SYAORAN?!
"THERE HE IS!" Sakura yelled. "Syaoran! Syaoran, over here!" Sakura became over excited quickly and hollered out to her friend. The boy in the distance turned, but Meiling quickly grabbed Sakura and pulled her out of view.
"Is something wrong, Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked.
He turned and shook his head. "I just. thought I heard someone calling me."
"Kinomoto," Meiling asked, "What were you doing?"
"Calling out to. Syaoran? I thought." Sakura said in a diminishing voice, realizing her mistake.
Meiling shook her head. "Kinomoto, the LAST time you called out to Shaoran, it wasn't him, just a version of him from another dimension, remember?"
Sakura laughed, trying to cover her embarrassment. "I guess I forgot. Well, then what do we do, instead?"
"Simple. We follow them," Eriol said. "If Koji transported Syaoran here, then he will try to stay close to Sakura here. I doubt he'd run off very far. Let's just wait and see what we can learn, and see if Koji has had any effect on everyone here. In fact, let's take some patrols. Spinnel, Kereberos," Eriol commanded. "I want the two of you to fly over the town and keep a watchful eye on the town."
Kero and Spinnel nodded. "Right away, master," replied Spinnel, bowing before he took off into the air.
"Ruby Moon," he said, pointing to the genderless guardian and other form of Nakuru, "Inspect the streets, but don't act conspicuous. We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves."
"Right," she said, before heading off towards the road. As she walked, a bright wind surrounded her and when it vanished, she was back in her school clothes.
"Yue," he said, getting to the last guardian. "You will follow Sakura everywhere. Koji could be anywhere, so we can't rest for a moment."
Yue bowed. "I will, Clow. but what do you intend to do?"
Eriol answered calmly, "Do not worry about me. I have my own plans. But I will need the assistance of Mia and Kaho."
Sakura peered around the corner, seeing that the group had already left the school grounds for home. It was a warm spring day, and the sun was shining, so there was no chance they were just out of distance to see. She looked back at Tomoyo, still leaning around the corner. "I suppose that means it's just you, Yue, Meiling, and I."
"That is correct," Eriol said as he adjusted his glasses. "If you need us. don't worry, we'll be watching over you. I just have a few things to research before we do anything more."
"Research? Research what?" Tomoyo asked.
"You'll see," Eriol responded. "But. won't you want to follow your group before they escape from our detection?"
Sakura turned around and remembered that it was their job to find Syaoran. "HOEEE! You're right! Well, good-bye then!" Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling all ran off towards where they last saw the group.
Eriol just smiled, watching the young Mistress run off. "Ganbatte, Sakura."
Tomoyo huffed as she ran alongside the other two girls down the street. "Do you see any sign of them?" she asked.
"No, not yet." Meiling said.
"Well, it's not a problem. After all, they'll. or is it we'll. probably end up going to my house soon, assuming that's not where they're already heading," said Sakura, analyzing the situation.
They rounded the next corner, when Meiling stopped and stared. Moments later, the other two came to a halt and looked back. "Why have you stopped?" Sakura asked.
"Look!" Meiling pointed towards an object flying in the air. "Is. that. Syaoran?! Flying over the park?!"
Sakura and Tomoyo's jaws dropped. "Oh my, it is Li-kun!" said Tomoyo in astonishment.
Sakura gasped and started to run ahead. "Look! All the people in the area are asleep, all over the ground! What's going on here? It looks like one of the times I tried to capture a Clow Card! I would always cast Sleep to make sure no one could get hurt or see me."
"But if that is the case, why is Li-kun flying?" Tomoyo asked.
Meiling grabbed them both by the shirts and pulled them behind some bushes. "Well, whatever it is, we shouldn't reveal ourselves! Let's just watch." Sakura just stared at Meiling with a sweat drop. "What are you looking at?"
Sakura replied, "It's just strange to see you give up an opportunity to fight!"
Suddenly, a dark figure flew by into a wall to their sides. It appeared to be a man in a dark black tuxedo and his hair was slicked back with gel. Then, another Meiling, from that time, began to lunge at it and fight. "Hoeee. never mind." Sakura retracted her statement.
Suddenly, their jaws dropped once again when they saw none other than Tomoyo, obviously not the one they knew, drop down from above and start attacking as well with martial arts. Sakura, losing her senses, turned to the Tomoyo sitting beside her and asked, "Since when do you know martial arts?!"
Tomoyo shook her head, still staring through the bushes. "I don't know any! Even if I did, I couldn't hurt someone! I'd feel terrible about it."
Meiling just watched as this new Tomoyo leaped into the air and delivered a kick to this man's face, though it was blocked. "Well, apparently, you do know some and don't mind fighting here!"
In the match just outside the bushes where the group lies in wait, Meiling kicked her foe straightforward, towards where Sakura was standing holding a. sword?! "Kinomoto, that sword you're holding. that's not the one that you summon with the cards, right?"
Sakura shook her head. She stared more closely, analyzing it. The patterns on the side did look familiar to her, though. "That looks more like. Syaoran's sword!"
Meiling took a closer look at the boy flying overhead, and noted, "and what exactly is Syaoran WEARING? That looks like something Daidouji would make."
Upon closer inspection, they could see Syaoran wore a long yellow cape with the shape of the star in Sakura's staff cut out of the back. His hat was very similar to his usual hat in shape, only it was a bright yellow and the top was shaped like a sun. He wore similarly colored boots, gloves, pants, and a vest.
Tomoyo looked stunned. "That's not only something I would make, it's something I've already made! I was going to give it to Sakura for her next battle. How did Li-kun get it?"
In the midst of the battle, Sakura pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, like a charm Syaoran uses, and put it against her blade. "LIGHTNING!" A violent bolt of electricity struck through the air with blinding speed, twisting and turning, until it shocked and felled the villain to the dirt. Syaoran pulled what appeared to be a Clow Card from his pocket and began to chant. The group in the bush tried to hear what he was saying, but he was too far away. He then threw the card in front of him and struck it with his sword. It gave off a strange, green aura.
"Hold on, if Li-kun has Clow Cards, this must be a time before the Final Judgment, right?" asked Tomoyo.
Sakura nodded. "Yes.. But that card.." As Sakura spoke, the mighty Earthy Card rose from the ground. "It looked like Syaoran-kun changed the card."
"Shhh! Watch!" Meiling tried to quiet them down. In the battle, the demon saw the mighty Earthy and started to flee. But the worm-like card stood at its fullest and collapsed upon him with an earth-shattering slam. When the spirit returned to the card, the poor fool underneath was not there. Only bits of dust, his remains, blew away in the wind.
Sakura turned back to Meiling and Tomoyo and said, "Did you see that? The way he vanished.. The way he was dressed. That had to be a demon, like the ones Koji has recreated!" Sakura remembered back to when she was at the Li clan house with Aerin. It had been overrun with demons, running everywhere. The same type of demon as had always attacked and tried to stop her every step of the way. Every time one was defeated, it always vanished in the wind as if it were made of sand, as these demons were not even alive. They were merely hollow shells, puppets being used by Koji and, earlier, Sadin.
"If demons are here, then Koji is definitely here!" Sakura said.
"Who's there?!" Syaoran, overhearing Sakura, shouted.
Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling covered their mouths. "Oh no! We're caught! What can we do?" Tomoyo whispered.
Sakura whispered back, "Maybe if we're real quiet, he'll-"
Suddenly, the three of them found vines growing from the bush, wrapping around them. Their ankles, legs, arms, and chests were all being squeezed tight. The vines lifted the three girls upside down in the air. An angry looking Syaoran held the Woody Card in front of him.
"Okay, maybe that won't work." Sakura said.
A few minutes later.
"Wait a second, you mean to tell us that you are us, and the other way around?" said the Sakura from this odd world.
They sat on the bridge over the stream in the park, their legs dangling over the side, touching the surface of the water. "Well, sort of." the 'real' Sakura said. "It's just. that a few things seem to be a little different."
The Sakura of this dimension stared at her sword for a second, inspecting for any damage from the battle. "Well, uh, for instance, I don't have a sword." said the older, and more 'normal' Sakura said.
"Huh?" The other Sakura responded. "Then what do you fight with? A spear?"
That's when Sakura in response to the question stood back and grasped the key around her neck.
"O, Key that holds the Power of the Stars. Reveal your true form to me! RELEASE!"
Sakura swung her staff around a few times and threw a card up. "FLY!" She sat on her staff and hovered there. "Well, in my world, I'm the Mistress of the Clow, but I've changed all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards.
Syaoran, or rather the strange boy from this world, looked stunned. "How is that possible?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a green card. He then grabbed something around his neck.
"O, Key that holds the Power of the Stars. Reveal your true form to me! RELEASE! FLY!"
Syaoran floated on a staff very much like Sakura's, only green. "I was the one who captured the Clow Cards. and I'm trying to turn them all into Saran Cards right now."
Sakura and her group froze in silence for a moment. "Did. did you say 'Saran?'"
He nodded. "I was a little confused when you said 'Sakura.' I don't know anyone by that name. Why don't you just name them after yourself, Sykura? Sakura sounds like such an odd name."
Sakura sat silent for a moment, before her brain could formulate a response. "Well, for one thing, my name IS 'Sakura,' not 'Sykura.'"
"Hoeee?" Syaoran-I mean, uh, Saran responded with Sakura's usual wording. "How is that possible? When we pulled you out of the bush, I thought you said you WERE us, exactly, just from a different world. But then again, you're also somewhat older. How did that happen?"
Meiling answered in Sakura's place. "Well, it's a long story, but all that really matters is that our worlds are supposed to be SIMILAR, but some differences need to exist, so. so."
Meiling turned towards Tomoyo, whose cheeks were slightly red as she stared at Saran. "Daidouji, are you okay?"
However, both of the two Tomoyos answered at once, though with varying attitudes.
"Y-yes, I'm fine." said the older and meeker Tomoyo.
"What do you mean, am I okay? Of course I am! Didn't you see me in that battle? I just hope that more of those guys come back so I can fight some more!" That was the reply of the slightly more aggressive Tomoyo of this new world. Sakura's group seemed a bit frightened at this less than pacifistic mind-set, especially the kinder of the two Tomoyos who couldn't believe what she was saying.
Sakura turned to the Meiling of the new world and said, "Well, I saw you fight. I guess you still have a lot in common with our Meiling, right? After all, only our Meiling could fight like that and would jump into a battle so willingly."
That Meiling held up the broken shards of an electronic device. "Actually, my name is Lingmei. And I generally hate to fight, but you see, that person, though I'm sure he was well intentioned in some manner, broke my camera as I was taping my wonderful Sykura. and I lost my temper."
Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling all face faulted to the ground. "This is going from odd to just plain insane." thought Meiling.
Lingmei's eyes sparkled brightly as she thought. "Oh, my wonderful new outfit I made just for my Saran. Such inspiration from the sun, so perfect for the bright, lovingness of my Saran. I wanted it on video to cherish, but lost it."
Saran's face reddened. "Lingmei. uhhh." He leaned over to Sakura and whispered, "Don't worry, she's a little strange, but she's actually very nice. I'm just not sure why she goes on like this."
Sakura laughed nervously, but whispered back "Actually, don't worry about it. I know what you mean, perfectly."
Saran laughed and said, "Well, I guess it has been a very strange day. What with that strange man attacking us and now finding you all here, when we're so different but still the same people. I think. But thanks to Sykura, anyway, we're okay, so we got to meet you, which has been fun!"
Sykura blushed. "M-me? I didn't do anything."
Saran smiled as he held her hand. "Well, if you hadn't held him back with that lightning, I probably wouldn't have been able to hit him so easily with Earthy. so. thank you."
That's when Sykura's face lit up, completely red. "I. err. uhhh. well."
Saran, of course, did not notice her embarrassment and went back to cheerfully talking to Sakura. Sykura, though, returned to being silent. Just looking at Saran made her far too embarrassed to say a word. Tomoyo noticed this look on Sykura's face, and then turning to Saran, started to feel very confused. "What's. going on? I feel so. strange. something is most certainly wrong."
Sakura turned to her friend and asked, "Tomoyo, you've been acting uncomfortable since we got here. What's wrong?"
Tomoyo stared at the ground. "Ummm. nothing. I'm just a little confused and dazed. Maybe it's just an effect from traveling through dimensions too quickly. Would you mind if I went to lie down for a minute?"
Everyone nodded his or her head. "Don't worry about it, Tomoyo. Just go rest," Sakura said.
The other Tomoyo, from the new world, added, "Though, I should point out, people just call me 'Tomo' for short, so if you want to call me, don't call me Tomoyo." The group didn't seem to react too badly to this change, though. It would seem they were getting used to the weirdness of this new dimension.
Sakura stood up with Tomoyo and said, "You know, maybe I better just go with Tomoyo to make sure she's okay."
Saran said, "That's fine. But. how about you come to stay at my house later? You don't have a place to stay at right now, do you?"
Meiling shook her head. "Not yet."
Saran smiled. "Then you WILL have to stay at my place! It's just an apartment with my servant, but it should be enough."
Sakura sighed with relief. "At least it seems our houses are in the same place."
She turned to him and said, "Okay, we will! We'll drop by your house later. as soon as Tomoyo is rested. and I find someone. Until then, ja ne."
"Wait!" Saran said. "Do you know where my house is?"
Sakura nodded. "Don't worry, it seems the locations of our houses hasn't changed, so I'm sure we could find it. If not, I can feel your presence magically, so I'll find you again."
Saran smiled, much to Tomoyo's discomfort. Her cheeks were as red as could be. "Well, then see you later!" Saran said.
"Ja ne!" replied Sakura.
"G-good-bye." Tomoyo mumbled.
As Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling were walking away, Saran ran back and asked, " Excuse me, but I forgot to ask something. Where am I, your Saran, from your time?"
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. "Well. we've always called him Syaoran. But where he is. He is the reason we're here. All we know was he was lost from our world and ended up here. and I'm not going to stop looking for him."
Saran sat silent for a moment before responding, "Gomen. I didn't know. But. I'm going to help! As soon as I can, I'll help you look for him! If you need any help at all, don't be afraid to ask, because I'll do all I can."
Sakura smiled back. "Arigatou." Then they set off.
Just outside of the park, Tomoyo lied down on a bench and breathed calmly. Sakura saw Yue waiting patiently on the roof of a nearby building. Meiling sat up against the wall beside the bench. "That was just too strange," Meiling said.
"I know what you mean. I mean, how could he be the Master of the Clow? I thought I caught the cards, so how is it possible? And how could they be so different?"
Tomoyo held a hand to her forehead to check for a fever. "I don't know. but I don't feel so well. I don't know why. It's just, I could tell it was as if you, by which I mean Sykura, and Syaoran. I mean Saran. just switched personalities. I could tell. Oh dear. I'm confusing myself. What I mean is, Sykura seems to act a lot like our Li-kun, and Saran seems to act an awful lot like you."
Meiling turned her head and asked, "Was that why you couldn't take your eyes off him? You looked very confused."
Tomoyo sighed. "It's hard to explain." she started, tilting her head to one side and closing her eyes. "But, well, I don't know. You see. Li-kun. if that's still his name. I can't even figure it out. He just feels. different. but his personality is so familiar. It's just like Sakura's, yet he is not her, so I don't know how to act."
Meiling nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. Everyone here seems to familiar. yet they're not them. it's as if their personalities, names, interests, and everything else were just switched and mixed up. I'm not sure I want to know what else is different."
"Yeah," Sakura responded with a sigh, "I know what you mean. I think I just want to find Syaoran, our Syaoran, and just get out if here as soon as we seal Koji's power."
"I agree, that's a good idea. Now, maybe we better wait for Eriol. Maybe he can tell us why this world is so strange," said Meiling.
Tomoyo sat up. "We last saw him at the race track behind the school, so we should probably wait for him there."
"Okay, then that's what we'll do," Sakura ordered. "We'll wait for him there."
Behind the school, Meiling and Sakura paced impatiently while Tomoyo worked on adjusting her camera on a bench.
"What could that boy be doing, anyway?" Meiling asked.
"Hoeee. I'm not sure, but I hope he gets here soon. I need to know what's going on. All the gears in my mind are turning, but they're not getting anything done. I think I'm getting a headache from it all."
"Well, Eriol said he would be watching us somehow, so he should be here soon." Tomoyo added.
Meiling looked down at the ground and noticed they were on the starting point for the track. "Hmm. how about to pass the time, you and I have a race? First one around the track wins? Even if you're in your older body, I can still win!"
"That sounds fun!" answered Sakura with cheer.
Tomoyo picked up her camera and started to tape the two of them. "All right, I'll do the countdown for you two!" Sakura and Meiling got into their starting positions.
"On your mark. get set."
"Do you know how the first race was started?" Chiharu suddenly popped up out of nowhere.
"HOEEEE!"
Sakura was surprised and fell over on Meiling. "Kinomoto, get off me! No fair!"
They both noticed then, Chiharu was standing with her eyes closed, one finger pointing up in the air, like her friend Takashi Yamazaki. "Well, the first races were never about running. You see, running in the old days was forbidden."
By this point, Sakura and Meiling had gotten up and Sakura, at least, was engrossed by Chiharu's story. "Hoeee? How could running be forbidden?"
Chiharu continued. "Well, you see, back then, in the days of ancient civilizations, shoes had not been invented yet, so if people moved too fast, his or her feet or whole legs could have been pulled off if they hit something."
Meiling leaned over to Tomoyo. "This is a lie, just like that Yamazaki kid always tells, isn't it?"
Tomoyo nodded and smiled, still filming Sakura. Meiling glared at Sakura. Sakura was unaware of how obvious this was a lie and paid full attention.
"And Sakura is believing every word, isn't she?" Tomoyo nodded again.
"Hoeee?! Your legs could fall off? But then what did you do?"
Chiharu continued.
"Well, if you legs fall off, people invented the stilts for that, but I'll get to that in a minute. You see, people weren't allowed to run, but people wanted to race, anyway. So, instead, they just tried to find out who could walk the fastest."
"Hoeee? But wouldn't that be hard?" asked Sakura, naively.
"Yes, yes it was. Most races ended in ties. Until one day, during a race, a man stepped in some mud while racing and then stepped on a piece of bark by mistake. Thus, he created the first shoe!"
"Amazing!" said Sakura.
"That's not all. With these new shoes, people were able to actually run in races, thus starting the first running races. However, the shoes were hard to make and sometimes the materials were hard to find, so during races, people often had to stop and pass them to the next person who was going to run. Eventually, the people got so good they could take these shoes off and pass them while still running, starting the very first relay races!"
"I never knew that!" Exclaimed the gullible one.
Just then, a great cloud of dust rose from the air in the distance and a lone figure came charging at a great speed. In a matter of seconds, Yamazaki, with his eyes wide open and an angry glare in them, was standing over Chiharu. He brought his hands around her neck and started yelling, "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT LYING?!"
Chiharu didn't seem to mind, though. "Well, relay races also quickly became a mode of communication through the times when."
Chiharu continued as Yamazaki dragged her off. "Hai, hai, we know, we know." Yamazaki replied, sighing deeply.
"And people ran from village to village in these shoes to spread messages of."
"Hai, hai."
As soon as they were out of the distance, a sweat drop rolled down Sakura's head. "Hoe? It was a lie? .Hey, and isn't that what Yamazaki is supposed to do?"
Meiling nodded. "So you finally noticed. Well, anyway, doesn't look like we have anything better to do than just wait for Eriol to arrive."
Sakura sat down on the bench beside Tomoyo and sighed. "Well, I hope he comes soon. eh?" She quickly stood up. "Look over there!" A lone figure was flying through the sky towards them.
"Eh? But if that's Eriol, where's Mia? And Kaho? And everybody else? And since when could he just fly without wings or his staff?" asked Tomoyo.
Sakura stopped to think. "That's. true. but who else."
"Sakura, RUN! Get out of there! I'm on my way!" Eriol's voice rang through Sakura's mind. "I'm using Mia's help to communicate. You're in grave danger! Get out of there, NOW! It's Koji!"
"KOJI!" Sakura screamed.
Tomoyo jumped to her feet. "It's him? Come on! Let's hide!"
Meiling nodded. "For once, I agree!" They all turned and made for the gym doors of the school when, instantaneously, Koji appeared before them, faster than any of them could blink.
"It's been quite a while, miss Kinomoto," said the demon with an ice-cold stare. Not even replying, the three girls turned, stumbling a little, and then ran. But again, Koji appeared right before them. "There's no where to run, girls. I can be anywhere." he vanished again and appeared behind them, his sword drawn, "and everywhere at once."
Sakura trembled. "How. how is this possible? What do you want?"
He smiled. "How can I do all that I do? It's so simple. I have learned to manipulate time and space itself. In essence, I AM its master. I can put myself anywhere I wish to instantly, should I desire. But as to why? What is it I desire? Complete power. I want everything. And with these powers. these abilities, I have that. But there still is a threat. There are still those of you who shall oppose me. That is who I must eliminate. and the best way to do that, is to eliminate your very source of power, Clow Reed. If Reed dies. none of your powers will ever have existed."
Sakura gripped the key around her neck firmly, ready to stand her ground. "Well, we won't let you do that."
Meiling got back into her fighting stance. "You hurt Shaoran, and for that, I will defeat you."
Tomoyo put her camera down and clenched her jeweled necklace. "I do not wish to fight, but if you're going to hurt my friends, I will have to stop you."
Koji laughed and a look over overconfidence came through his eyes. "I don't think you understand." In an instant, he stood behind Sakura, holding her head within his hands.
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo cried out. Sakura tried to wrestle Koji's hands off, but he was far too strong for her to even budge him. No one dared move closer. Koji slowly drew his mirror of time and held it right in Sakura's face. She saw her own matured reflection in it, but something was not right. Her eyes. her emerald green eyes, always so filled with kindness and cheer were. empty. Sakura felt the very life from her body beginning to drain. The world around her fell dark. She could not see anything but black. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she could not. But she heard one strange thing. The sound of a metal sword being unsheathed. The pounding of footsteps. The slamming of steel against concrete. Then she lost consciousness.
When she came to, Sakura's vision was blurred. "Uhhh. where am I?"
"Shhh. don't move. That was a pretty close call." The voice was that of Eriol's, and when he vision slowly returned, she could see his face above her.
"What. do you mean? A close call? What nearly happened? Did you save me?" inquired Sakura.
Eriol shook his head. "No, I didn't save you. but he did." Eriol pointed to his left and Sakura turned to see a face smiling back at her.
"It's been quite a while, Sakura."
Sakura's cheeks reddened in an instant and her eyes began to water.
"S-S-SYAORAN!"
To be continued.
And, through this, I'd like to especially thank my editor, Aerin, for doing my fic(s) while translating others, editing other fics. She's just been a big help!
And I'd also like to thank Moonlit Writer, for her kind reviews and her great fic she's writing! ()
Anyway, on with the 25 page chapter! I hope you like, or at least understand it.
Chapter 29 The Reunion
The world around Sakura began to warp and change. She floated through the portal as she did before, and she stared into the limitless bounds of possibility around her. As she hovered by, she peered into what looked like other worlds. Scenes of herself were everywhere, doing everything from talking with friends, fighting Eriol's little tricks, and even sleeping. IT looked almost as if she was in a tunnel made of water, only the walls were covered in moving, flowing pictures. "Eriol, what is all this?"
The boy floated closer inside the giant time portal. "Well, your angelic half was most kind. Her boost of power not only helped us lock onto Koji better, but it helped us see more clearly. Everything you see before you is yourself in different dimensions. Mia could not establish a direct connection with Syaoran, so, instead, we're going to establish a connection with yourself from this time period."
"Hoeee?" Sakura said, still staring around her. "What does that mean?"
Mia sighed, floating beside her. "It's simple. I couldn't find Li-kun in here. Because he doesn't belong, and must be moving constantly, I could not find a decent place to open a portal near him. So, instead, we're going to try and meet with you. or rather, the you from this dimension."
"Ah, I understand now." Sakura said. "But still. none of these dimensions seem too weird. I thought you said they're all different."
Eriol sat upright, as if he were on the ground, though he was still hovering. He scratched his chin and surveyed the different scenes around him. "Aha. Take that dimension right there." Eriol pointed to a small scene, below them. In the reflection of the water-like portal was a much older Sakura, about 20, grabbing a backpack and heading out the door. Sakura examined it.
"Sakura-chan! Wait for me!" In the tranquil scene, a much older Tomoyo ran up, carrying a backpack at well. "Sakura, you didn't want to leave for your first day of college without me, did you?"
"Hoeee?! College? Is this supposed to be my future?" Sakura asked.
Eriol shushed her, though. "Just watch."
"Tomoyo-chan, you know I was just waiting at the usually spot for Syaoran. Of course I was going to wait for you! I just wanted to make sure he knew where we were." Sakura turned to face her friend, but there was something different.
"Hoe? My face.? Is that.?" She stared closer at the scene to notice a large, red wound on her right cheek. "That wound! I remember that scar well. Before I went with Syaoran to get rid of Sadin, I was attacked in my basement and I was hit in the cheek by a knife. I was supposed to have that scar for the rest of my life. I cried at the thought. But then, before I left, Mia got rid of it. But.. Then why is it still there?!" Memories of that night came back to haunt her. Sakura had awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of crashing in the basement study. When she came to see, it was a demon of Sadin. Sakura beat him, but not before getting that wound to her face.
Mia sighed. "Sakura. It's because these dimensions are never the same. Any one difference can set off an entirely new change in anything. For example, in this dimension, perhaps I never perfected my healing spell and could only rid you of the poison that was in you, but not the scar on the outside."
Sakura thought for a moment. "Ah, I think I understand. So, this universe is the same as mine is. Errr. Will be, I mean, and the only thing is different is that the scar on my cheek never healed, right?"
"Well," Eriol continued, "That 'only difference' could set into motion more and more changes that can completely change a dimension forever."
"That's amazing!" Sakura responded. "One little thing can change all of that?"
"Indeed. One small change can change the outcome of anything. Or even delaying a person in going or leaving someplace determines the events that take place later for him or her. Those events, in turn, present more choices with more outcomes."
Kaho, flying slightly above Sakura deeper in the portal smiled and added, "Isn't it simply fascinating to look around and see what can happen, what could happen, and what could have happened?"
Sakura looked around, and laughed. "Yeah, I know. I wish I could see more of it. It's very interesting." Tomoyo and the others waited for the teleportation process to finish, contenting themselves to just watching the infinite stories around them.
"Hey, look, it's Sakura-chan when she was only 3!" Mia pointed out. "Awww. how adorable! She's even cuter than the little stuffed bunny she's carrying!" Tomoyo added.
"Hmmm. This looks like Sakura and her brother when they've both finished college," said Meiling.
Sakura looked and pointed out, "And here's me. HOEEEEEEEEE!" Everyone turned his or her head.
"What's wrong?" asked Meiling.
Sakura flailed her arms and backed up to cover an image. She laughed nervously. "It-it-it's nothing! Nothing at all!" She laughed again, and tried to remain calm. At this, she failed miserably. "Well ummm. maybe we best hurry up and get out of this portal! We have to save Syaoran! .Right?"
She quickly hurried, and pushed everyone along further down the road to the next dimension. "H-hey!" Meiling said, being pushed along.
Behind Sakura, was a vision of her, in her late 20's, holding a small baby in her arms.
A great light grew in size and intensity. "We're almost there! The portal is completely locked onto Sakura's signal in this dimension, and it's pulling us in at full strength! Brace yourselves!" Mia ordered everyone to be prepared, much like a general sending her troops to battle. And, indeed, that's what they were prepared to do; fighting was very likely, if Koji was nearby. There was a growing sensation in their bodies, like they were being pulled into a vacuum, and then they vanished from the portal, into the next dimension.
The wind rustled gently through the trees. School kids below laughed at one another's jokes. Couples walked hand in hand down the street below as cars drove by.
Sakura looked around her and said, "Well. it LOOKS like everything is normal here. so far."
Mia nodded. "Koji IS here. that's for certain. I can almost smell him. but it looks like he hasn't done much so far."
Meiling was not paying attention to this, though, and was busy examining all that was around her. "Ummm. Where are we?"
"Hoeee." Sakura looked over the side of what appeared to be a ledge. "We're on the roof of the school!" Sakura sighed and then asked, "Why would we appear up here?"
Tomoyo answered, "Well, Mia said that we would appear very close to you in this dimension, so. if we arrived during a school day, and you are in class."
The doors to the school were flung open and kids began to pour out. Sakura kneeled down and peered over the wall carefully. "I don't see anything different yet."
Suddenly, a group of four friends the recognized left the school. "Wait, there they. I mean we I mean. LOOK!"
Out of the school door was Sakura, Tomoyo, Meiling, and. SYAORAN?!
"THERE HE IS!" Sakura yelled. "Syaoran! Syaoran, over here!" Sakura became over excited quickly and hollered out to her friend. The boy in the distance turned, but Meiling quickly grabbed Sakura and pulled her out of view.
"Is something wrong, Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked.
He turned and shook his head. "I just. thought I heard someone calling me."
"Kinomoto," Meiling asked, "What were you doing?"
"Calling out to. Syaoran? I thought." Sakura said in a diminishing voice, realizing her mistake.
Meiling shook her head. "Kinomoto, the LAST time you called out to Shaoran, it wasn't him, just a version of him from another dimension, remember?"
Sakura laughed, trying to cover her embarrassment. "I guess I forgot. Well, then what do we do, instead?"
"Simple. We follow them," Eriol said. "If Koji transported Syaoran here, then he will try to stay close to Sakura here. I doubt he'd run off very far. Let's just wait and see what we can learn, and see if Koji has had any effect on everyone here. In fact, let's take some patrols. Spinnel, Kereberos," Eriol commanded. "I want the two of you to fly over the town and keep a watchful eye on the town."
Kero and Spinnel nodded. "Right away, master," replied Spinnel, bowing before he took off into the air.
"Ruby Moon," he said, pointing to the genderless guardian and other form of Nakuru, "Inspect the streets, but don't act conspicuous. We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves."
"Right," she said, before heading off towards the road. As she walked, a bright wind surrounded her and when it vanished, she was back in her school clothes.
"Yue," he said, getting to the last guardian. "You will follow Sakura everywhere. Koji could be anywhere, so we can't rest for a moment."
Yue bowed. "I will, Clow. but what do you intend to do?"
Eriol answered calmly, "Do not worry about me. I have my own plans. But I will need the assistance of Mia and Kaho."
Sakura peered around the corner, seeing that the group had already left the school grounds for home. It was a warm spring day, and the sun was shining, so there was no chance they were just out of distance to see. She looked back at Tomoyo, still leaning around the corner. "I suppose that means it's just you, Yue, Meiling, and I."
"That is correct," Eriol said as he adjusted his glasses. "If you need us. don't worry, we'll be watching over you. I just have a few things to research before we do anything more."
"Research? Research what?" Tomoyo asked.
"You'll see," Eriol responded. "But. won't you want to follow your group before they escape from our detection?"
Sakura turned around and remembered that it was their job to find Syaoran. "HOEEE! You're right! Well, good-bye then!" Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling all ran off towards where they last saw the group.
Eriol just smiled, watching the young Mistress run off. "Ganbatte, Sakura."
Tomoyo huffed as she ran alongside the other two girls down the street. "Do you see any sign of them?" she asked.
"No, not yet." Meiling said.
"Well, it's not a problem. After all, they'll. or is it we'll. probably end up going to my house soon, assuming that's not where they're already heading," said Sakura, analyzing the situation.
They rounded the next corner, when Meiling stopped and stared. Moments later, the other two came to a halt and looked back. "Why have you stopped?" Sakura asked.
"Look!" Meiling pointed towards an object flying in the air. "Is. that. Syaoran?! Flying over the park?!"
Sakura and Tomoyo's jaws dropped. "Oh my, it is Li-kun!" said Tomoyo in astonishment.
Sakura gasped and started to run ahead. "Look! All the people in the area are asleep, all over the ground! What's going on here? It looks like one of the times I tried to capture a Clow Card! I would always cast Sleep to make sure no one could get hurt or see me."
"But if that is the case, why is Li-kun flying?" Tomoyo asked.
Meiling grabbed them both by the shirts and pulled them behind some bushes. "Well, whatever it is, we shouldn't reveal ourselves! Let's just watch." Sakura just stared at Meiling with a sweat drop. "What are you looking at?"
Sakura replied, "It's just strange to see you give up an opportunity to fight!"
Suddenly, a dark figure flew by into a wall to their sides. It appeared to be a man in a dark black tuxedo and his hair was slicked back with gel. Then, another Meiling, from that time, began to lunge at it and fight. "Hoeee. never mind." Sakura retracted her statement.
Suddenly, their jaws dropped once again when they saw none other than Tomoyo, obviously not the one they knew, drop down from above and start attacking as well with martial arts. Sakura, losing her senses, turned to the Tomoyo sitting beside her and asked, "Since when do you know martial arts?!"
Tomoyo shook her head, still staring through the bushes. "I don't know any! Even if I did, I couldn't hurt someone! I'd feel terrible about it."
Meiling just watched as this new Tomoyo leaped into the air and delivered a kick to this man's face, though it was blocked. "Well, apparently, you do know some and don't mind fighting here!"
In the match just outside the bushes where the group lies in wait, Meiling kicked her foe straightforward, towards where Sakura was standing holding a. sword?! "Kinomoto, that sword you're holding. that's not the one that you summon with the cards, right?"
Sakura shook her head. She stared more closely, analyzing it. The patterns on the side did look familiar to her, though. "That looks more like. Syaoran's sword!"
Meiling took a closer look at the boy flying overhead, and noted, "and what exactly is Syaoran WEARING? That looks like something Daidouji would make."
Upon closer inspection, they could see Syaoran wore a long yellow cape with the shape of the star in Sakura's staff cut out of the back. His hat was very similar to his usual hat in shape, only it was a bright yellow and the top was shaped like a sun. He wore similarly colored boots, gloves, pants, and a vest.
Tomoyo looked stunned. "That's not only something I would make, it's something I've already made! I was going to give it to Sakura for her next battle. How did Li-kun get it?"
In the midst of the battle, Sakura pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, like a charm Syaoran uses, and put it against her blade. "LIGHTNING!" A violent bolt of electricity struck through the air with blinding speed, twisting and turning, until it shocked and felled the villain to the dirt. Syaoran pulled what appeared to be a Clow Card from his pocket and began to chant. The group in the bush tried to hear what he was saying, but he was too far away. He then threw the card in front of him and struck it with his sword. It gave off a strange, green aura.
"Hold on, if Li-kun has Clow Cards, this must be a time before the Final Judgment, right?" asked Tomoyo.
Sakura nodded. "Yes.. But that card.." As Sakura spoke, the mighty Earthy Card rose from the ground. "It looked like Syaoran-kun changed the card."
"Shhh! Watch!" Meiling tried to quiet them down. In the battle, the demon saw the mighty Earthy and started to flee. But the worm-like card stood at its fullest and collapsed upon him with an earth-shattering slam. When the spirit returned to the card, the poor fool underneath was not there. Only bits of dust, his remains, blew away in the wind.
Sakura turned back to Meiling and Tomoyo and said, "Did you see that? The way he vanished.. The way he was dressed. That had to be a demon, like the ones Koji has recreated!" Sakura remembered back to when she was at the Li clan house with Aerin. It had been overrun with demons, running everywhere. The same type of demon as had always attacked and tried to stop her every step of the way. Every time one was defeated, it always vanished in the wind as if it were made of sand, as these demons were not even alive. They were merely hollow shells, puppets being used by Koji and, earlier, Sadin.
"If demons are here, then Koji is definitely here!" Sakura said.
"Who's there?!" Syaoran, overhearing Sakura, shouted.
Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling covered their mouths. "Oh no! We're caught! What can we do?" Tomoyo whispered.
Sakura whispered back, "Maybe if we're real quiet, he'll-"
Suddenly, the three of them found vines growing from the bush, wrapping around them. Their ankles, legs, arms, and chests were all being squeezed tight. The vines lifted the three girls upside down in the air. An angry looking Syaoran held the Woody Card in front of him.
"Okay, maybe that won't work." Sakura said.
A few minutes later.
"Wait a second, you mean to tell us that you are us, and the other way around?" said the Sakura from this odd world.
They sat on the bridge over the stream in the park, their legs dangling over the side, touching the surface of the water. "Well, sort of." the 'real' Sakura said. "It's just. that a few things seem to be a little different."
The Sakura of this dimension stared at her sword for a second, inspecting for any damage from the battle. "Well, uh, for instance, I don't have a sword." said the older, and more 'normal' Sakura said.
"Huh?" The other Sakura responded. "Then what do you fight with? A spear?"
That's when Sakura in response to the question stood back and grasped the key around her neck.
"O, Key that holds the Power of the Stars. Reveal your true form to me! RELEASE!"
Sakura swung her staff around a few times and threw a card up. "FLY!" She sat on her staff and hovered there. "Well, in my world, I'm the Mistress of the Clow, but I've changed all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards.
Syaoran, or rather the strange boy from this world, looked stunned. "How is that possible?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a green card. He then grabbed something around his neck.
"O, Key that holds the Power of the Stars. Reveal your true form to me! RELEASE! FLY!"
Syaoran floated on a staff very much like Sakura's, only green. "I was the one who captured the Clow Cards. and I'm trying to turn them all into Saran Cards right now."
Sakura and her group froze in silence for a moment. "Did. did you say 'Saran?'"
He nodded. "I was a little confused when you said 'Sakura.' I don't know anyone by that name. Why don't you just name them after yourself, Sykura? Sakura sounds like such an odd name."
Sakura sat silent for a moment, before her brain could formulate a response. "Well, for one thing, my name IS 'Sakura,' not 'Sykura.'"
"Hoeee?" Syaoran-I mean, uh, Saran responded with Sakura's usual wording. "How is that possible? When we pulled you out of the bush, I thought you said you WERE us, exactly, just from a different world. But then again, you're also somewhat older. How did that happen?"
Meiling answered in Sakura's place. "Well, it's a long story, but all that really matters is that our worlds are supposed to be SIMILAR, but some differences need to exist, so. so."
Meiling turned towards Tomoyo, whose cheeks were slightly red as she stared at Saran. "Daidouji, are you okay?"
However, both of the two Tomoyos answered at once, though with varying attitudes.
"Y-yes, I'm fine." said the older and meeker Tomoyo.
"What do you mean, am I okay? Of course I am! Didn't you see me in that battle? I just hope that more of those guys come back so I can fight some more!" That was the reply of the slightly more aggressive Tomoyo of this new world. Sakura's group seemed a bit frightened at this less than pacifistic mind-set, especially the kinder of the two Tomoyos who couldn't believe what she was saying.
Sakura turned to the Meiling of the new world and said, "Well, I saw you fight. I guess you still have a lot in common with our Meiling, right? After all, only our Meiling could fight like that and would jump into a battle so willingly."
That Meiling held up the broken shards of an electronic device. "Actually, my name is Lingmei. And I generally hate to fight, but you see, that person, though I'm sure he was well intentioned in some manner, broke my camera as I was taping my wonderful Sykura. and I lost my temper."
Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling all face faulted to the ground. "This is going from odd to just plain insane." thought Meiling.
Lingmei's eyes sparkled brightly as she thought. "Oh, my wonderful new outfit I made just for my Saran. Such inspiration from the sun, so perfect for the bright, lovingness of my Saran. I wanted it on video to cherish, but lost it."
Saran's face reddened. "Lingmei. uhhh." He leaned over to Sakura and whispered, "Don't worry, she's a little strange, but she's actually very nice. I'm just not sure why she goes on like this."
Sakura laughed nervously, but whispered back "Actually, don't worry about it. I know what you mean, perfectly."
Saran laughed and said, "Well, I guess it has been a very strange day. What with that strange man attacking us and now finding you all here, when we're so different but still the same people. I think. But thanks to Sykura, anyway, we're okay, so we got to meet you, which has been fun!"
Sykura blushed. "M-me? I didn't do anything."
Saran smiled as he held her hand. "Well, if you hadn't held him back with that lightning, I probably wouldn't have been able to hit him so easily with Earthy. so. thank you."
That's when Sykura's face lit up, completely red. "I. err. uhhh. well."
Saran, of course, did not notice her embarrassment and went back to cheerfully talking to Sakura. Sykura, though, returned to being silent. Just looking at Saran made her far too embarrassed to say a word. Tomoyo noticed this look on Sykura's face, and then turning to Saran, started to feel very confused. "What's. going on? I feel so. strange. something is most certainly wrong."
Sakura turned to her friend and asked, "Tomoyo, you've been acting uncomfortable since we got here. What's wrong?"
Tomoyo stared at the ground. "Ummm. nothing. I'm just a little confused and dazed. Maybe it's just an effect from traveling through dimensions too quickly. Would you mind if I went to lie down for a minute?"
Everyone nodded his or her head. "Don't worry about it, Tomoyo. Just go rest," Sakura said.
The other Tomoyo, from the new world, added, "Though, I should point out, people just call me 'Tomo' for short, so if you want to call me, don't call me Tomoyo." The group didn't seem to react too badly to this change, though. It would seem they were getting used to the weirdness of this new dimension.
Sakura stood up with Tomoyo and said, "You know, maybe I better just go with Tomoyo to make sure she's okay."
Saran said, "That's fine. But. how about you come to stay at my house later? You don't have a place to stay at right now, do you?"
Meiling shook her head. "Not yet."
Saran smiled. "Then you WILL have to stay at my place! It's just an apartment with my servant, but it should be enough."
Sakura sighed with relief. "At least it seems our houses are in the same place."
She turned to him and said, "Okay, we will! We'll drop by your house later. as soon as Tomoyo is rested. and I find someone. Until then, ja ne."
"Wait!" Saran said. "Do you know where my house is?"
Sakura nodded. "Don't worry, it seems the locations of our houses hasn't changed, so I'm sure we could find it. If not, I can feel your presence magically, so I'll find you again."
Saran smiled, much to Tomoyo's discomfort. Her cheeks were as red as could be. "Well, then see you later!" Saran said.
"Ja ne!" replied Sakura.
"G-good-bye." Tomoyo mumbled.
As Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meiling were walking away, Saran ran back and asked, " Excuse me, but I forgot to ask something. Where am I, your Saran, from your time?"
Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. "Well. we've always called him Syaoran. But where he is. He is the reason we're here. All we know was he was lost from our world and ended up here. and I'm not going to stop looking for him."
Saran sat silent for a moment before responding, "Gomen. I didn't know. But. I'm going to help! As soon as I can, I'll help you look for him! If you need any help at all, don't be afraid to ask, because I'll do all I can."
Sakura smiled back. "Arigatou." Then they set off.
Just outside of the park, Tomoyo lied down on a bench and breathed calmly. Sakura saw Yue waiting patiently on the roof of a nearby building. Meiling sat up against the wall beside the bench. "That was just too strange," Meiling said.
"I know what you mean. I mean, how could he be the Master of the Clow? I thought I caught the cards, so how is it possible? And how could they be so different?"
Tomoyo held a hand to her forehead to check for a fever. "I don't know. but I don't feel so well. I don't know why. It's just, I could tell it was as if you, by which I mean Sykura, and Syaoran. I mean Saran. just switched personalities. I could tell. Oh dear. I'm confusing myself. What I mean is, Sykura seems to act a lot like our Li-kun, and Saran seems to act an awful lot like you."
Meiling turned her head and asked, "Was that why you couldn't take your eyes off him? You looked very confused."
Tomoyo sighed. "It's hard to explain." she started, tilting her head to one side and closing her eyes. "But, well, I don't know. You see. Li-kun. if that's still his name. I can't even figure it out. He just feels. different. but his personality is so familiar. It's just like Sakura's, yet he is not her, so I don't know how to act."
Meiling nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. Everyone here seems to familiar. yet they're not them. it's as if their personalities, names, interests, and everything else were just switched and mixed up. I'm not sure I want to know what else is different."
"Yeah," Sakura responded with a sigh, "I know what you mean. I think I just want to find Syaoran, our Syaoran, and just get out if here as soon as we seal Koji's power."
"I agree, that's a good idea. Now, maybe we better wait for Eriol. Maybe he can tell us why this world is so strange," said Meiling.
Tomoyo sat up. "We last saw him at the race track behind the school, so we should probably wait for him there."
"Okay, then that's what we'll do," Sakura ordered. "We'll wait for him there."
Behind the school, Meiling and Sakura paced impatiently while Tomoyo worked on adjusting her camera on a bench.
"What could that boy be doing, anyway?" Meiling asked.
"Hoeee. I'm not sure, but I hope he gets here soon. I need to know what's going on. All the gears in my mind are turning, but they're not getting anything done. I think I'm getting a headache from it all."
"Well, Eriol said he would be watching us somehow, so he should be here soon." Tomoyo added.
Meiling looked down at the ground and noticed they were on the starting point for the track. "Hmm. how about to pass the time, you and I have a race? First one around the track wins? Even if you're in your older body, I can still win!"
"That sounds fun!" answered Sakura with cheer.
Tomoyo picked up her camera and started to tape the two of them. "All right, I'll do the countdown for you two!" Sakura and Meiling got into their starting positions.
"On your mark. get set."
"Do you know how the first race was started?" Chiharu suddenly popped up out of nowhere.
"HOEEEE!"
Sakura was surprised and fell over on Meiling. "Kinomoto, get off me! No fair!"
They both noticed then, Chiharu was standing with her eyes closed, one finger pointing up in the air, like her friend Takashi Yamazaki. "Well, the first races were never about running. You see, running in the old days was forbidden."
By this point, Sakura and Meiling had gotten up and Sakura, at least, was engrossed by Chiharu's story. "Hoeee? How could running be forbidden?"
Chiharu continued. "Well, you see, back then, in the days of ancient civilizations, shoes had not been invented yet, so if people moved too fast, his or her feet or whole legs could have been pulled off if they hit something."
Meiling leaned over to Tomoyo. "This is a lie, just like that Yamazaki kid always tells, isn't it?"
Tomoyo nodded and smiled, still filming Sakura. Meiling glared at Sakura. Sakura was unaware of how obvious this was a lie and paid full attention.
"And Sakura is believing every word, isn't she?" Tomoyo nodded again.
"Hoeee?! Your legs could fall off? But then what did you do?"
Chiharu continued.
"Well, if you legs fall off, people invented the stilts for that, but I'll get to that in a minute. You see, people weren't allowed to run, but people wanted to race, anyway. So, instead, they just tried to find out who could walk the fastest."
"Hoeee? But wouldn't that be hard?" asked Sakura, naively.
"Yes, yes it was. Most races ended in ties. Until one day, during a race, a man stepped in some mud while racing and then stepped on a piece of bark by mistake. Thus, he created the first shoe!"
"Amazing!" said Sakura.
"That's not all. With these new shoes, people were able to actually run in races, thus starting the first running races. However, the shoes were hard to make and sometimes the materials were hard to find, so during races, people often had to stop and pass them to the next person who was going to run. Eventually, the people got so good they could take these shoes off and pass them while still running, starting the very first relay races!"
"I never knew that!" Exclaimed the gullible one.
Just then, a great cloud of dust rose from the air in the distance and a lone figure came charging at a great speed. In a matter of seconds, Yamazaki, with his eyes wide open and an angry glare in them, was standing over Chiharu. He brought his hands around her neck and started yelling, "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT LYING?!"
Chiharu didn't seem to mind, though. "Well, relay races also quickly became a mode of communication through the times when."
Chiharu continued as Yamazaki dragged her off. "Hai, hai, we know, we know." Yamazaki replied, sighing deeply.
"And people ran from village to village in these shoes to spread messages of."
"Hai, hai."
As soon as they were out of the distance, a sweat drop rolled down Sakura's head. "Hoe? It was a lie? .Hey, and isn't that what Yamazaki is supposed to do?"
Meiling nodded. "So you finally noticed. Well, anyway, doesn't look like we have anything better to do than just wait for Eriol to arrive."
Sakura sat down on the bench beside Tomoyo and sighed. "Well, I hope he comes soon. eh?" She quickly stood up. "Look over there!" A lone figure was flying through the sky towards them.
"Eh? But if that's Eriol, where's Mia? And Kaho? And everybody else? And since when could he just fly without wings or his staff?" asked Tomoyo.
Sakura stopped to think. "That's. true. but who else."
"Sakura, RUN! Get out of there! I'm on my way!" Eriol's voice rang through Sakura's mind. "I'm using Mia's help to communicate. You're in grave danger! Get out of there, NOW! It's Koji!"
"KOJI!" Sakura screamed.
Tomoyo jumped to her feet. "It's him? Come on! Let's hide!"
Meiling nodded. "For once, I agree!" They all turned and made for the gym doors of the school when, instantaneously, Koji appeared before them, faster than any of them could blink.
"It's been quite a while, miss Kinomoto," said the demon with an ice-cold stare. Not even replying, the three girls turned, stumbling a little, and then ran. But again, Koji appeared right before them. "There's no where to run, girls. I can be anywhere." he vanished again and appeared behind them, his sword drawn, "and everywhere at once."
Sakura trembled. "How. how is this possible? What do you want?"
He smiled. "How can I do all that I do? It's so simple. I have learned to manipulate time and space itself. In essence, I AM its master. I can put myself anywhere I wish to instantly, should I desire. But as to why? What is it I desire? Complete power. I want everything. And with these powers. these abilities, I have that. But there still is a threat. There are still those of you who shall oppose me. That is who I must eliminate. and the best way to do that, is to eliminate your very source of power, Clow Reed. If Reed dies. none of your powers will ever have existed."
Sakura gripped the key around her neck firmly, ready to stand her ground. "Well, we won't let you do that."
Meiling got back into her fighting stance. "You hurt Shaoran, and for that, I will defeat you."
Tomoyo put her camera down and clenched her jeweled necklace. "I do not wish to fight, but if you're going to hurt my friends, I will have to stop you."
Koji laughed and a look over overconfidence came through his eyes. "I don't think you understand." In an instant, he stood behind Sakura, holding her head within his hands.
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo cried out. Sakura tried to wrestle Koji's hands off, but he was far too strong for her to even budge him. No one dared move closer. Koji slowly drew his mirror of time and held it right in Sakura's face. She saw her own matured reflection in it, but something was not right. Her eyes. her emerald green eyes, always so filled with kindness and cheer were. empty. Sakura felt the very life from her body beginning to drain. The world around her fell dark. She could not see anything but black. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she could not. But she heard one strange thing. The sound of a metal sword being unsheathed. The pounding of footsteps. The slamming of steel against concrete. Then she lost consciousness.
When she came to, Sakura's vision was blurred. "Uhhh. where am I?"
"Shhh. don't move. That was a pretty close call." The voice was that of Eriol's, and when he vision slowly returned, she could see his face above her.
"What. do you mean? A close call? What nearly happened? Did you save me?" inquired Sakura.
Eriol shook his head. "No, I didn't save you. but he did." Eriol pointed to his left and Sakura turned to see a face smiling back at her.
"It's been quite a while, Sakura."
Sakura's cheeks reddened in an instant and her eyes began to water.
"S-S-SYAORAN!"
To be continued.