Disclaimer: It is a cientific fact that 95 % of the readers skip the disclaimer completely and get right on the story.
Authors Notes:
Another chapter and I still haven't gotten ver far. But I've decided not to rush, not my style. There's more action in this one, but still not much.
There are major hints of E+T in this chapter, and there will me more in future chapters. Also, to Eriol fans, a big part of this chapter is seen through his eyes (but not in first person POV). You'll find thoughts and feelings of this curious character, some in reference to past events that haven't been explained yet. Do not worry, everything will be explained later.
In case you are wondering, this fic still has a long way to go, and evil still hasn't had it's final battle.
This fic is dedicated to my faithful reviewers: Syaoran_lover, Emily-Hermione, ButterFly; heartie, Ruby-chan, Sarah-chan, sweetS+S.
Thanx, you guys. You shine a light in my way.
Enjoy!
"I'll say goodbye for the two of us: When the truth breaks the silence"
Part five: "Another chance"
by cherry blossom
"I will not" the voice said quietly but firmly
"My dear girl, do not be silly. Don't you understand I'm trying to help you? I care about you, I'm the only one who does" a smooth, cold voice retorted.
"No...that is not true..."
"It is, mistress, I am doing you a favor. I've taken you away from that horrible world, where people suffer and die, I've taken you away from all those people who hate you and only pretended to love you so that you would protect them. I am the only one who cares, and this is how you pay back??!!" anger rose in the second voice.
"No, I said no" the first voice said more determinedly
"I'm offering you everything, why won't you come to my side? You would have much more than what that pathetic little warrior could give you. And he won't last long anyway. None of them will"
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Kinomoto Sakura steadied her breathing as she tried to hold herself together. Pay no attention to his voice she commanded herself. Remember...
"Remember what, my dear?" he asked coolly "Your memories are all painful. The day your mother died, the day your brother moved away, all those days of anxiety and uncertainty you experienced after a certain Chinese warrior turned his back on you."
"Y-you're lying" she said, her voice trembling "I used t-to be happy. My life wasn't p-perfect, but I loved it anyway. Syaoran did not turn his back on me!"
"You were alone. You were so desperately alone. You tried to mask it with a cheery smile and an energetic, unprocuppied attitude, but deep inside you were just an insecure, seeking soul. And you hated it so much. The way you felt lonely even in the middle of a crowd, the way no one seemed to fill the empty space in your heart, after he left. Even when he did came back, you weren't the same person."
Sakura was rythmically, shaking her head trying to block the voice that pierced her soul.
"You tried to mask it" he continued "To everyone you were the unpreocuppied, cute 10-year-old again. But five years of insecurity and anguish left deep marks, didn't they my precious one? Only when nobody could see you you would let out those tears that filled your heart day after day, slowly, inevitably drowning you. How many nights, Sakura? How many nights did you sneak out to that hill near the sea and watch sunrise contrast directly with your soul?"
"Stop" Sakura said weakly, her heart throbbing with pain. He had hit in the right place, but how? How did he know all those things about her? What hurt most it that it was true. Some part of it at least. His absence had truly changed her, she hadn't been the same cheery girl, the girl who opened her arms wide to everything and everyone. But how was she to be the same after everything that had happened? She too had tried to hide it. Why? She didn't know. But instead of confiding her problems and fears to Syaoran or Tomoyo, she had shut that part of herself in. And it had been gradually, consuming herself. She supposed she wasn't as trustful as before. But the world had been rough on her, and she wasn't a child anymore; she couldn't afford to be the sweet, naive girl she once was. Not in this world.
"But you miss it, don't you? You would love to go back to the time you were ten and you trusted people with heart and soul, ain't I right?" he asked in a very condescending way.
Sakura held her hand to her heart, to feel the fast irregular beating. It was incredible that after all the pain it still worked. Biologically, at least.
"You know I'm right. I care about you, I want you to have what you deserve. Let's make them pay."
Sakura, dazed by the voice, was about to nod when a sudden vision of a certain brown-haired boy with fierce amber ayes flashed into her mind. And into her heart.
"No. You are turning everything upside down. You have been playing with my mind and with my heart but I won't let you do it anymore! I'm not prepared to give up, and I will never, NEVER give in to the dark magic, do you hear me? NEVER!" she choked out.
"You silly girl, you'll regret this later! Now tell me where you've hidden the key before it's too late. Or if not-"
"Or if not what?" asked Sakura, her eyes blazing "You can't hurt me more than you already have. And I'm sure my friends are looking for me!"
"That's were you are wrong, my dear. I've been working on them as well, if you know what I mean" he said evilly.
Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Did he mean what she thought he meant?
"Indeed, my beautiful Card Mistress. I've been playing with their minds as well, and you could say there have been some consequences..."
"You bastard, what have you done to my friends??!!" asked Sakura, fury raising within her every word.
"Keep your voice down, little girl, you wouldn't want me to make things worse for them, would you?"
Oh, shit a very frustrated Sakura thought He's got me between the sword and the wall. What the hell am I to do know?
He patiently waited until she thought her way through it. He was not about to be beaten by this minor drawback. So he had been a bit too self-confident, and his slip resulted with her finding her key, but what? The girl seemed to be too tormented to realize she could use her powers against him. Neither she had the energy to do so, he reasoned.
But in his moment of reflection he had missed a sparkle of brilliancy and triumph in Sakura's eyes. The moment he wasn't looking, she got her key out and said the familiar chant, with left him immobile.
"Key conceling the power of the star,
reveal thy true form before me,
By our contract,
I, Sakura command you!
Release!"
A bright light filled the room, and he simply couldn't believe it. The little bitch had more of a manipulating, clever brain than he had imagined.
Sakura, on the contrary, feeling the tiniest bit proud of herself in a long time, raised a card, determined to end with this once and for all.
"Light Card, release and dispell!" she cried
Light didn't even had to be told what to do, but inmediatly irradiated an intense light, erasing all the darkness. And finally, with a determination and strength that surprised even Sakura, directed herself to the dark figure responsable for so much pain.
As the sweet feeling of victory warmed Sakura, the last energy she had was drained from her, and she felt herself falling, and falling...
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"What do you mean, we can't find her?!" a very upset Chinese boy asked, as rage took upon him.
"My little descendant, if you'll just calm down a bit and let me explain-"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EXPLAIN? I want her back, I'll do anything to save her, JUST TELL ME HOW!"
Eriol sighed. It was just like Li to yell and not listen, he probably just thought Eriol was having a blast making him nervous. He attempted once again to explain.
"Listen to me. We do NOT know exactly what we are facing. From what you've told me it's definitley a dark force of some kind, but I don't know much more. It must be a very strong one, if it managed to do all that and even erase Cerberous memories"
"I give a damn about what you think, just tell me how to find her!"
"Are you even listening to me?! I've just told you that I don't know exactly what this force is, so I can't tell you how to find it. We can't act now, we need a plan, more researching and-"
"NO! Enough waiting, I need to do something! I can't just stay here arms crossed when who-knows-what-kind-of-shit is doing who-knows-what to Sakura!"
Eriol really was getting mad at him. Did he think Eriol didn't want her back too? He was just trying to save her without getting everyone killed! He was just about to give him a smart-ass retort, when a weak voice was heard, barely above a whisper.
"Please, stop it" Tomoyo pleaded, tears in her eyes "We won't get anywhere fighting"
Eriol watched amazed, as Syaoran's furious look softened as he directed it to Tomoyo and said soflty "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just...."
"I know" she replied quietly, and squeezed his hand.
Now what is this about? Eriol thought with an unfamiliar feeling of...jealousy? Was he actually jealous of Li because he was holding hands with Tomoyo? He was sure he had gotten over it. Sure he had closed that chapter in his life. What's wrong with me?
Just then Syaoran turned and faced him, his fingers still interwined with Tomoyo's.
"What were you saying?"he asked, a silent apology in his eyes. Eriol, for once decided to let go, and accepting the apology, he continued.
"I was saying, that I still don't know much about this force, so if we want to find her, we need to elaborate a plan, to get her out safe and sound."
"And what might that plan be? Anything on mind?"
"There is actuallyone thing. A book. A very old book with ancient spells, and a lot of information on this kind of things. Focused in the dark arts, you know. We'll probably find something on this force"
"Ok, so where's this book of yours?"
"That's actually the problem"
"What do you mean?"
"The book's lost somewhere deep in Earlington's forest, in Africa. We need to find it first" Eriol said as he watched, trying to guess what their reactions might be. Syaoran seemed to be deep in thought Probably wondering if I have a better plan Eriol thought. Tomoyo on the other hand, had lowered her head, and was staring at her feet sadly. Eriol felt something tug at his heart, and he wondered what that might be. Not taking his eyes off Tomoyo, he started wondering what would have happened if circumstances had led him down another path...
Just then, Tomoyo looked up.
"Let's go" she said simply "It's our only chance"
"I agree" said Syaoran
"I hope you understand what this means" Eriol replied "It won't be easy. I haven't got the slightest idea where in the forest this book might be, I only suspect it's there, because that forest is known to be the portal between our world and the world controled by darkness. So there are big chances, that even if the book is there, we'll have a hard time finding it. It's a really dangerous place."
"I don't care, I'm going" said Syaoran, but then directed Eriol a look, slightly moving his head in Tomoyo's direction. Eriol caught the message inmediatly.
"I want you to come, your magic will probably be useful. But it's not a safe place for someone who doesn't have magic..." he said, and both boys looked at Tomoyo.
"I know what you're trying to do, but it won't work" said Tomoyo, her eyes steady while her voice faltered a bit. "You can't leave me behind. I won't let you"
"Tomoyo..." started Syaoran calmly
"No! Do not patronize me! I know you think I'll be more burden than help, but I give a damn. I for once, will not get out of the way! Sakura is as important to me as it is to you, and you will NOT leave me behind in this! I don't care if I die."
"We do, Tomoyo" said Syaoran softly.
Eriol was genuinely surprised. When had Syaoran developed all this soft side? And why, just why, was he using it with Tomoyo? It seemed like some things had been going on while he was gone. This time he was sure a streak of jelaousy run through him.
Tomoyo turned and faced Syaoran.
"I know you do, Syaoran. But you have to understand, I can't wait here with nothing to do. I barely lost it before, and I even had you then" she punctualized this last part.
"Tomoyo..." started Syaoran
Tomoyo stood in tiptoe as she kissed him softly on his front. "Thanks for understanding. I'll be fine" When they finally unlocked their eyes, Eriol spoke up, his voice not the usual calm tone.
"Pack" he said sharply "We are leaving tomorrow, first thing on the morning"
Syaoran nodded to Eriol, gave Tomoyo a quick hug, and left the house, while the other two mantained their position in Tomoyo's living room.
Silence fall between them as they were left alone, none of them wanting to speak. They both knew that past issues still remained unsolved, and that they would have to work them out. Eventually.
"So...are you spending the night here, Eriol-kun?" Tomoyo asked.
Eriol looked at her eyes, at those deep, beatiful violet eyes. "If you'll let me" he said with his characteristic corteous tone.
"Of course, come with me and I'll get a room ready for you"
With that she turned around and started walking through a hallway. Eriol followed. It's time we work out our tangled story. Mabye then there'll be a future he told himself. And with that thought, all the problems that overwhelmed even a brilliant mind like his, seemed to be a bit less serious. Amazed at the effect this incredible woman had on him, he allowed his spirits to lift just a tiny bit. They were on the way to save Sakura, and he now had a second chance to make things right with Tomoyo.
Not all hope was lost.
Eriol smiled.
