"OHAYO!!"
Sakura ran up to her brother and hugged him tightly. He was taken aback at this sudden gesture, and awkwardly stood still as Sakura glomped him.
She's… back?
Touya stared at his imouto in shock as she grinned broadly at him through her brightened green eyes. He could swear he saw his ten-year-old sister back.
"K-Kaijuu…" he said with awe.
"I AM NOT A MONSTER!" she screeched. He winced at her cry, and hugged Sakura back for a millisecond, before holding her out in front of him and glaring.
"Who the hell was that punk?!" he asked fiercely.
"He's not a punk!" she exclaimed. "That's Niwa Daisuke-kun…"
"WHAT?!" Touya exclaimed. "THAT PUNK THAT CALLED LAST NIGHT?! THE ONE WHOSE HOUSE YOU STAYED AT?!"
"Ehehe…" she laughed, an extremely large sweatdrop appearing. "Hai,"
Touya began a string of swears, which rang loudly along the streets. More sweatdrops formed on Sakura's head.
"Onii-chan… What are you so angry about?" she asked nervously.
"WHAT AM I ANGRY ABOUT?!" Touya exclaimed. "You spent the night with some guy that could've taken advantage of you!"
"…Onii-chan…" Sakura said, with an annoyed expression. "Daisuke-kun wouldn't do that."
Touya twitched. "What makes you so sure?"
"Daisuke's a good person," she said smiling a little indulgently to herself.
"What were you two doing here, anyway?" Touya asked, a vein popping. Although he knew very well what they were doing, he still wanted his imouto to explain her actions.
"He was walking me home," she said shortly. "Which I think I want to do now," She practically ran down the street, avoiding Touya, who ran after her yelling angrily.
+++
"Oh, it's you, To-ya," Yukito said, yawning. Touya slammed shut the door and watched as Sakura ran up the stairs.
"Coffee." Touya muttered.
"Ah, hai," Yukito said smiling. "You know, after last night, I didn't think you'd be up this early…"
"Coffee." Touya repeated. Yukito grinned.
"I mean, after waking up, we usually– "
"Shut up, Yuki," Touya said grumpily. "Sakura's met another brat,"
"Ah, no wonder you're so moody," Yukito said. He suddenly frowned. "Is she…?"
"No mention of the gaki," Touya said with a veinpop. "That brat, I ought wring his neck for making Sakura…"
"Mm," Yukito said, handing him a mug of coffee, and sitting next to him. He stared at the stairs with a small smile. "She seems… happier," He turned to Touya and laughed. "You must be feeling very conflicted right now,"
"What makes you say that?" Touya asked with a growl.
"Well, on one hand, Sakura's happy again. But on the other hand… there's a new guy in town and he'll take Sakura away from you," Yukito said, with annoying superiority.
"Hmph," Touya took a large swig of his coffee.
"Is he as cute as Syaoran?" Yukito asked suddenly.
Touya twitched.
+++
Sakura threw the door open, shocking Kero. He flew across the room and hit the opposite wall.
"Oi," he muttered. "That hasn't happened for awhile…" he rubbed his head angrily, and was about to glare at Sakura when something hit him.
…Sakura?
"You feel different," Kero said, a little happy, but slightly disturbed. Sakura flew to her bed and hugged her pillow tightly.
"Dai-su-ke~" she sighed happily.
"What, that guy with the red hair?" Kero asked.
"HANYA~N" she said exuberantly. Kero blinked in amazement.
That's something I haven't heard in…
"HEY! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Kero exclaimed. Sakura blushed faintly as she stared at the ceiling.
"Kero-chan~" she sighed. "Daisuke~ is such a great ki…" she stopped in mid-sentence, when she noticed Kero hanging onto her every word. "Ki…d. I mean, person. He's a great person."
Kero looked at her with a confused expression. "What are you talking about, Sakura?"
"…Nothing," she said, laughing it off.
"Well, how did it go yesterday?" Kero asked. "I heard 'Nii-san talking to someone yesterday night. You okay?"
The events of the previous night hit her, and she felt her happiness ebbing away. "Oh," she muttered. "No. He stole it."
"I heard," Kero said. "How?"
She took out her cards and handed them to Kero. "He did something to the cards. It was like… he took them away," She stared at the blank cards, and noticed faint outlines of the pictures. "But it looks like they're regenerating," she said. Kero tapped the blank card.
"Mm," he carefully examined each one. "Wood, Windy, Flower, Thunder, Watery, Fire, Earth, Fly, and Illusion…" he muttered. "He stole practically all of your attack cards. Well, except Sword and Shadow…"
"I could always Erase him," she said a bit jokingly.
"How did he take your cards away?" he asked.
"I don't know," Sakura said, a bit frustrated. "He had this orb thingie, the size of my fist, and he was throwing it into the air and stuff. It kind of… sucked in my magic,"
"But you sealed them!" Kero exclaimed. "Sealed them and you made them yours! What the hell was that thing…?"
Sakura frowned and gathered up her cards. "Whatever it was, I hope he didn't take the powers of the cards away. I don't even know if the cards are reappearing because it's getting their magic back or because it's just regenerating,"
Kero sniffed disdainfully. "Put them in the book for awhile. They should rest," he looked to Sakura and wagged a stubby hand at her. "As for you, you should not exert yourself too much. Get your 'tou-san to write you a note for PE and cheerleading. And NO chasing after the stupid kaitou. And you have to sleep MORE. And EAT more. Not only that, but you should skip a few days of school too…"
"Kero-chan," she said lightly, reaching out to gently cup him in her hands. "Thank you for being so concerned for me, but I'm feeling fine," She grinned at him. "…And I met someone," she said shyly. Kero's eyes widened.
"Hoooonto?" he asked. Sakura nodded. He beamed and flitted around her happily.
"This is great!" he exclaimed, punching the air enthusiastically. "I knew something was different! Who is he? What's his name? What are his intentions? Does Tomoyo know? Does your 'Nii-chan know?"
With each question, Sakura broke out with sweatdrops. "It's… Daisuke… And I'm sure his intentions are good, and no, Tomoyo does not know, and neither does Touya," she said, a little nervously. Kero paused.
"I have to meet him again," he said suddenly. Sakura face-faulted.
"Why?" she asked.
"I have to approve, of course," Kero said airily.
"I'm not sure he'll be too happy to see one of my stuffed animals flying around, yelling at him, and speaking in an Osaka dialect," she said. Kero waved away all her words.
"At least invite him over for dinner," Kero said. "You do have to introduce him to the family, as well as Tomoyo and Yukito, not to mention Yue."
Sakura sweatdropped at the thought of Touya's menacing growls, Tomoyo's blinking camcorder, Yukito suddenly transforming, Kero zooming around the dining table, demanding food, her father seemingly talking to air and Daisuke's stricken face before scattering out of the house screaming his head off.
"Hoee…" she muttered. "I'll think about it… And don't let this slip, okay Kero-chan?"
"Harrumph," Kero said. He shrugged, "Whatever."
Sakura smiled and patted him fondly. He gave an embarrassed flutter away, and said, "We have to have a talk about your cards with Yue… not to mention everyone else. Yue will definitely be concerned,"
Sakura "Hoe"d again. "This is all very ridiculous," she muttered. "But I really should tell Yue,"
She walked downstairs, and trying hard to avoid Touya, and requested Yukito to transform to Yue.
"What?" Touya asked, looking at Yukito, who closed his eyes and transformed. "Why? What happened?"
"Is it odd," Yue said dryly, "For her to request my presence every now and then?"
"Yes," Touya said. He glared at his sister. "Tell me what's wrong," he demanded.
She laughed nervously. "Gomen nasai, Yue," she said sheepishly. "You must be a bit lonely, since I barely even tell you to come out…"
Yue made no comment, and instead stared at Sakura with the same bland expression. "What's going on?"
Kero fluttered down the stairs and transformed. He growled menacingly. "That kaitou took some of her cards' magic," he said.
"Kero-chan!" Sakura exclaimed. "I thought I was going to explain!"
"Eh," Cerberus shrugged. "It's cooler when I do it,"
Sakura gave him an annoyed expression, and lightly slapped him on the head.
"What does he mean?" Yue asked, slightly interested now.
"Kaitou Dark-san," Sakura said with an annoyed look. "He used some sort of magical artifact to take away my powers,"
"WHAT?!" Touya exclaimed. "That frickin' thief! I ought beat his brains out, pull out all his appendages, gouge out his eyes, rip out his gay-ass hair…"
Sakura sighed.
"What kind of artifact?" Yue asked, raising a thin eyebrow.
"It was shaped like an orb," she said. "And it was about this big," she cupping her hands together and showed them to Yue. He lightly touched her hands and frowned slightly.
"What color was it?" Yue asked.
"I'm… not sure," Sakura said hesitantly. "I think it was clear,"
Yue contemplated silently to himself, while Cerberus looked from Yue's grave expression to Sakura's perplexed and tired one.
"What? What?" he asked. "What is it?"
"The orb sucked out your magic or did it take the spell while it was being cast, or cast already?" Yue asked.
"It took all the cards that I used against him… except Fly and Illusion." She said, finally noticing, "I didn't use those,"
"Abssorbire…" Yue muttered.
"What?" Cerberus asked impatiently. "Absorb?"
"The Abssorbire Orb, idiot," Yue snapped. "Used in the magical wars! Magicians took each other's magics and used them against each other! How could you forget this history?"
Cerberus growled, "How am I supposed to remember something I learned centuries ago?!"
"I remembered."
"That is because you have nothing better to do while you're sitting around in the Snow Bunny's body!"
"Maybe the fat formed around your brain from your insatiable appetite has impaired your thinking,"
"Maybe you have a stick up your—"
"Kero-chan! Yue-san!" Sakura exclaimed. They stopped their argument to stare at the angry Sakura and the blank stare of Touya. "Stop that at once!"
"Yeah, yeah," Cerberus said dismissively. "You're lucky Sakura's around, Yue. Or else I would've…"
"What? Thrown pudding at me?"
"Now that's a start. To see your perfect silver hair with pudding all over it –"
"Kero-chan! Transform back this instant!" Sakura snapped. Kero-chan sighed, and changed back into his more plushy form. Sakura glared at him. "If you don't behave, you won't get any dessert today,"
"Hai hai, Sakura-sama…"
"Yue-san," Sakura said. "This orb… does it completely take away my powers? When my powers are restored… are part of them still in the orb? Or can I get them back?"
"The magic he stole from you is his to have," Yue said. "He can continue taking your cards powers as well, if he is in a close proximity," he stared at Sakura's dejected face. "I believe that you will also restore your powers, however, he'll keep the magic that you lost until he has used it up,"
"How long will I not have magic?" Sakura said worriedly. Yue reached out and gently touched her chest, where her heart was. He closed his eyes and the only sound that could be heard was Sakura's nervous breathing and Touya's grunts of disapproval.
"Your magic seems to be coming back at a rapid pace," Yue said, after a minute of intense silence. "But you have a large well to fill, and it'll most likely take a one or two weeks for your magic to return. Longer, if we have cloudy weather,"
Touya let out a sigh. "She'll have to be more careful, then?"
"Absolutely," Yue said. He looked at Sakura, and knelt in front of her.
"Mistress," he said, his voice filled with the immense emotion, "If you wish, you could extract some of my powers for the time being,"
Kero snorted. "Suck up," he distinctly muttered. Yue ignored him and stared up at Sakura with earnest eyes. The care from his gaze and actions touched her heart and she reached out to lightly stroke Yue's hair.
"Arigatou, Yue-san," she said. "But you don't need to. I don't want to weaken you,"
"I won't be weakened," Yue said sharply. Sakura kissed his forehead and knelt in front of him.
"Yue-san. It'll certainly be a relief for me to have a few days without magic. So there is no need for useless sacrifices. You are my guardian, not my backup magic souce," she said. Yue sighed.
"Alright, Mistress. But if you ever see Kaitou Dark again, I insist on coming," he said.
"Oh! Me too!" Kero exclaimed. Sakura laughed.
"Alright then," she said. She looked up at the clock on the wall in the kitchen. It read 12:30. She grinned.
"Onii-chan, is it okay if I go out to eat with Tomoyo for lunch?" she asked brightly.
Touya twitched. "In your condition?"
"What condition?" she asked, glaring a bit. Kero and Yue both exchanged glances, and retreated to the kitchen where they promptly began arguing about Kero's appetite. Touya took a menacing step forward.
"Remember what Yue said? No extraneous activities?!" Touya exclaimed angrily.
"Actually," Yue said. "You said that she should 'be more careful',"
"Shut up!" Touya exclaimed angrily. Sakura took this moment to slowly creep towards the door. "Sakura!' he exclaimed, rushing over. "You might get hurt! And that pervert kaitou might molest you or something!"
"Molest?" Sakura repeated with extreme doubt. "Well he had a chance to yesterday, but he didn't," she said. Blinking, she said, "I can't believe I defended him,"
"Sakura," Touya said, his eyes a little sad. "I don't want you to keep going out like this,"
"Onii-chan, I'll be safe," she said. "Don't worry,"
"How can I not?" Touya said, with a veinpop. "With that pervert running around and this new guy that you're hanging around with… I'm going to die of a heart attack,"
Sakura scoffed. "What are the chances of that happening?"
"Sakura," Touya said, now officially pleading. "I don't want you to get hurt."
She began to feel her resolve ebbing away at his earnest face. "…Fine," she said with a sigh. "I'll invite Tomoyo-chan over, okay?"
Touya let out a sigh of relief.
"But you're cooking lunch for us,"
He twitched.
