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Cherri Ookami and Crystal Megami dateline on October 26, 2003
Cherri: Hey there, ya'll. We know we've out for a little while, but whatever. Anyways, wanna start? *Cough*
Crystal: You okay?
Cherri: I might be a little down, but I am SO not out.
Crystal: You have been coughing all day and missed almost 2 weeks of school. Take a rest.
Cherri: Get off my case and let's go! ^_^ *Cough*
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Disclaimer: I have not owned many things in this lifetime. That proposes me to say, I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura! Sadly, never have and never will. -_-
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Chapter Nine of I Found A Puppy!
Reality Check and Guilt Trip
By: Cherri Ookami and Crystal Megami
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[Aoia Angel Center]
"Hey, Midako! Get the phone will ya?"
"Yeah, yeah! WHOO!" said as voice ignorantly
{Midako Yukina spun in her velvet chair and shot an Eagle pencil at the wall and threw a glass ball at the wall. It didn't shatter, but it did shoot off the side and flipped the phone onto Midako's desk. The sound of a vase shatter filled the room.}
"Midako, was that my purple vase? I got it for my 124th birthday." A voice called from afar
{Midako stared at the foot of her desk and saw a shattered vase.}
"Nah! It's fine." She said as she spun her chair and her attention to her phone call. "Yellow. This is Midako, 3rd angel office #5. How may I attend to your inquiries?"
"Miss Midako, I have to speak to you."
"You are. Who is this anyways? And how do ya know my name?"
"Let me say this. I am Yoiko Aoyama. I am the assistant of Nuriko Aoyama. Mr. Nuriko would like to talk to you."
"Okay. Put him on." Midako said as she got a cigarette and lit it with a white flame. Out came, not smoke but, apple-shaped bubbles.
"Mrs. Midako..."
"What the hell? No, no. I am only 165. I ain't married." Midako said in disgust.
"Okay... Miss Midako, do you remember a boy named Syaoran Li and the wish you granted?"
"Yup. I watch him time to time. Really good kid."
"I know. You have to eliminate him."
"I must be going deaf. Did you say eliminate?!"
"Hai, I did. You see, he did not fulfill his end of the wish contract, formed on March 65, 125 B.C. He was supposed to do at least 1 omen to keep his life."
"Omen?"
"Hai. He was supposed to save a life or save something from a natural travesty. It seems he tried to KILL a one Kyotori Mizuno (That's his full name. Weird ne? It sounds kind of girlish.). That, my dear, took a little trouble onto our hands. The Elders council, Chapter 5487 has decided that he is a threat to anyone near him."
"No! You can't! He's a really good person inside. You just need to dig deep inside!" Midako said as she slammed her fist to her desk.
"Well, we do not want to waste our time digging. We want him gone."
"No way! That Kyotori kid had it coming. If it weren't for him, Syaoran himself wouldn't have been in danger and if he hadn't been in danger, we wouldn't even have this problem!" she retorted
"Miss Midako, I am appalled that you have the guts to demand such things to such an authority! Do NOT quibble over such a stupid subject! If you do not shape up and destroy that child, I believe you will be discharged!"
"Discharged I will be then! I just won't let you harm an innocent child that did nothing more than defend himself! And about the quibbling, look who's talking! I am not going to let you destroy anything as long as I am here!"
"That won't be for lo..."
{She said as she slammed the phone onto the receiver.}
{The red angel (Red as in her hair, uniform, eyes, earrings, etc.) stormed out of the office and jumped off of the cloud. Her wings sprouted from her back and she flew over the Tokyo Tower, knowing in her own mind that if she didn't do that horrid job, they would find a way to do it themselves, even if it meant manipulating other people.}
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[Tomoeda Complex 25102. Namely Syaoran's apartment]
{A young man swayed to the cupboard and struggled to open his medicine drawer. His mind was dazed and nothing seemed straight. When he looked at the [WARNING: Keep out of reach of children!] sign, he saw [WUPMLMG: Yood act ur toush ur slidrum!] which made him think more. (Which of course is bad.)
{He tripped on a phone wire, making him slam to the floor and making his table crack in two. He sighed struggled to stand up. Suddenly, a *snap* echoed through the room.}
{He tried to see what it was, but the pain in his head weighed him down.}
"Syaoran! Get up!"
"Huh? Wah? Where am I?"
"You're on the floor, kid. I need you to do me a favor."
"I don't even know whom I'm talking to!" he yelled from the floor
"It's Midako, the angel who made you who you are!"
"Oh. I would help ya, but I feel like I need more help."
"I see. Now, let me help you up." She said as she lifted his body onto her feather. (Her mode of transportation. If you know Inuyasha, think of Kagura.)
"What is it now?" he fumed
"Excuse me! I AM TRYING TO PROTECT YOU! If you think for one second that I am going to help a bratty child, you have probably gone insane! Now, I have to tell you something."
"What is it?" he asked weakly
"The Aoia District of Heaven chose to discharge you from this realm."
"Ne?" he said as he lifted his head onto the fluffy part of the feather and moaned painfully
"They are going to send undercover angels to eradicate you. That is what I am here for. That is also why my clothes are ripped."
{Syaoran tried to structure his vision to see the torn remnants of her red IAGA uniform. They were scarlet red, but the bloodstains were still visible and her white gloves were blood red.}
"What did they do to you?! Are you alright?"
"Oh? You care?"
"'Course. You might be the most annoyingly idiotic person in the universe, but you did save my life."
"Arigato, Li-sama. Now, I need to tell you this. They are pinning your death to the event of you trying to harm Kyotori Mizuno. They believe you are 'a threat to anyone who goes near you'. What a bunch of psychos."
"How does that help?"
"Well, you need to know this also. The Aoia District is not bad. They are just controlled by a bad person. Unfortunately, he can use many ways of manipulation to get to you. This is the favor I need of you: Nurkio Aoyama uses people to do his bidding. He will use your good heart against you. I can almost guarantee that he'll try using Sakura Kinomoto in this..."
"You know about her?"
"Yeah. I've seen you with her. You must really love her."
"I do... I... hold on. What was that favor?"
"Oh, yes. You have to inform her about your identity."
"It'll be hard."
"Hai. I know it will be, honey, but think about it. What do you think will happen? If she doesn't know, Nuriko could use her love for you to come in and kill you on the spot."
"Okay, I'll try."
"Now, I want you to also inform the Uragiru group. They could be very strong allies. They would understand. They witnessed the power of Kyotori, the heir of the Fire Youkai, but I knew the heir of the Li throne could..."
"The wah?"
"Li throne. You are heir to the Kingdom of the Li Clan. Your father came from a wondrous family. I couldn't tell you this, but..."
{Just then, a man had come through the window and grabbed the angel's feather, dropping the two onto the floor.}
"You, Midako Yukina, are now discharged from the Aoia."
"Nobody gives you that authority! I only take orders from Tanuki Aoia herself!"
"I do not care. This is an order straight from..."
"Let me guess! Nuriko ordered you! Well, tell this to him from me: Screw you!" she said as she shot an arrow at the thief, making him burst into flames. Her feather withered to the ground, but she jumped onto it and grabbed Syaoran's collar along with her.
{They flew over Tomoeda and Midako conjured a whip of fire. She stared at Syaoran, who looked terribly ill. She frowned slightly and whispered to him.}
"I want you to rest for now. I am going to take you to your first home. I know someone will help you."
"Sakura?" he said weakly as he reminisced about the love and warmth he felt there. What was there now? He felt like he was in an asylum of darkness, never knowing who was in the shadows and if anyone would catch him if he fell. He was actually happy that this trouble amounted to Sakura's care.
"I guess you do remember your first home. I will explain to Sakura. Just take it easy."
"Okay, ne-chan." He said as she smiled at the fact of knowing he would make a good big sister.
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[Kinomoto Residence]
{Sakura Kinomoto looked at the sky through her bedroom window. She looked at her math assignment and saw a feather drift from the sky.}
'That looks like some big kind of feather.'
{As it descended from the soft blue sky, it grew larger and larger. Sakura's eyes widened as she saw the feather stop in mid air.}
*Knock, knock*
"Oro?" Sakura said as she looked back
"Let me in, onegai." A voice called from her window
{Sakura opened her window and felt the rustle of cold, mid-winter wind come into her room. Midako lowered her angel feather and let Syaoran rest on the floor.}
"Please allow me to introduce myself, Mistress Sakura. I am Midako Yukina. I am an angel."
"A what?"
"An angel, you know those things you humans put on Christmas trees?"
"Yeah, but why are you here?"
"You know this boy?"
{She looked down and saw the limp, and barely conscious figure that was Syaoran.}
"Syaoran! Did you do this?"
"Nah. I have to tell you something. Do you remember having a puppy?"
"Yeah, but that was when I was 5."
"I know. He was he. No! He was it. No, no. Aww! Darn! Here! Syaoran was your puppy."
"What do you mean?"
"You see, he used to live in a little orphanage or to him it was. He lived with the kids you met when Syaoran met Kyotori, or to you, Kyo. Those kids went through hell from that little orphanage. Now, he ran away from there and wished to leave from that place. The angels granted him this wish and he found refuge in you. I had to take him away, because the spell doesn't last too long. As he grew older, he missed you. He went to Tomoeda to see you and to protect you, just how you protected him. The bad news is that the Aoia Angel Society wants to eliminate him."
{She paused and leered into her eyes.}
"Do me a small favor, will ya?"
"What is it?" (Have you noticed that people have used that phrase a little too much today? O.o)
"I need you to take care of him. It will only be a few days until I find a more su..."
"I'd be happy to, but what happened to him?"
"I dunno. I just found him that way."
"Can't you care for him?"
"Hai, I can, but you see he needs you, not me. He trusts you, not me. He loves you, not me. And if you can try to understand, the head of the association can use humans as puppets. If you are here to protect him, he'll be fine. I am going to his old allies and to tell them of this news. For now, please take care of him. I can't do it, because the whole damn army would probably be looking for me. I just lost me spot on the Aoia and if they catch me... there would be no hope. I have to go!"
{Midako leapt onto her feather and floated out. "Good luck!" Was all she uttered before she took her voyage away.
"I can't believe they want to kill you, Syao-kun." Sakura said as she put a pillow under his head and ruffled his hair.
{She felt the heat on his forehead and leapt out the door. She ran downstairs and found that it was so much quieter when her father and brother were on trips. She entered the empty kitchen and ran cold water into a bowl. She grabbed a towel and ran back up.}
"Sakura?" said a weak voice in the corner
"Hai. Daijobu desu ka?" Sakura asked as she walked to Syaoran's limp body
"Hai. Umm... where am I?" Syaoran asked dazed
"You're in my room, but you probably remember what it looked like. Am I right?"
"Huh?"
"I guess you do... Oishi." She said with a benign smile on her face
"You know, huh? Well, you must think of me as some stupid pervert for staying in your room, right?"
"No, no. Just as long as you weren't curious back then."
"Nah. I wasn't. What did Mida tell you to do?"
"She said for me to take care of you. It really seems like you need it. What happened anyway?"
"Well, I think that coconut thing you got me yesterday was a bit of a bad idea."
"Gomen ne. I didn't know."
"Just stop. Don't be sorry. We all know what that'd amount to. I'll be fine."
"Okay."
"Do you mind singing to me? I don't remember my mother or what happened to her, but I knew she always sung me to sleep."
"Okay."
{Sakura started to hum and started to sing a beautiful tune of Beautiful Dreamer. That was a sure success. His eyelids drooped and fell over his amber eyes. She gently laid his head back onto the pillow and crawled onto her own bed. She smiled at the sunset red orange sky with snow falling down and sighed lightly.}
"Will you protect me, Syaoran?"
{Syaoran's eyes fluttered open.}
"Sure. If you really want me to, I will." He said in his usually weak manner
"I hope they don't catch you. I always liked you."
"Thanks. I never thought that I would ever feel this way. I thought I would be secluded forever."
"You weren't alone though. You had friends."
"I know, and I shouldn't be angry at them for waking Aki. I mean, they helped me out and everything, right?"
"Right. Go to sleep."
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(Should this be a dream or should I just skip onto the next day? Nah. Never mind. It isn't important anyway.)
{The winter sunrise broke through the icy windowpane as Sakura's eyes fluttered open and looked down. She peered and saw Syaoran sleeping on the floor, safe and sound.}
*CRASH*
{A man leapt through the windowpane and snapped invisible strings onto Syaoran's body. He pulled and grinned evilly. Sakura jumped up and...}
"Let go! Leave him alone!" she screamed
"No way! It is your fault he cannot fight for his own life."
"Tokida, take the boy! I'll take care of the girl." Said a man as he went through the broken window and created a cloud of smoke
"Okay, Kiyoi!" Tokida called as he tugged on Syaoran's strings and motioned for a Joi to shackle Syaoran
"Let *Cough* him go! *Cough, cough*" she yelled
"Sakura, wake up."
"Leave us alone!"
"Nani?"
{Sakura sat up and saw Syaoran, who looked very tired, but much better than before. Sakura stared at Syaoran for a while and tears welled up in her eyes. She laid her head on his chest and he lowered his head and looked fairly confused.}
"What happened, Sakura?"
"I had a bad dream."
"O...kay. You okay now?"
"Mhmm. How do you feel?" Sakura asked as she put a shaky hand on Syaoran's head
"I'm okay. Don't worry about me. I really don't want you to be burdened by the likes of me."
"No, no. I'm okay with it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. My otou-san took my onii-chan on a trip. I wanted to go, but someone needed to stay. I..."
*CRASH*
"SYAORAN LI!"
"This just really isn't my day, is it?" Syaoran said as he stepped from the bed and headed downstairs
"You mean 'our'."
"Oro?" he said, turning.
"Whatever you have to face, we face it together." She said, following him
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[Tomoeda Complex 25102, Next door]
"Got any threes?" said a bored voice
"No." said another
"You're supposed to say 'Go Fish'."
"Ahh... fish. I sure could go for some fish right about now."
"Shut up. We're all hungry!" the bored voice went as she threw a pillow
"I was j..." went a sarcastic tone
"Lemme guess. I was just sayin'. Well then stop saying!" she went with irritation
"Fine."
"Aya!" went an angelic voice
"What is it, Shi?"
"Where is the butter?"
"We don't have any. Hokaru used it on his toast." Ayanami groaned
"Aww. I was going to use it for me mashed potatoes."
"Use milk. They're both made from cows."
"Kenji drank all the milk."
"We can't keep living like this." Rei said as he walked into the apartment
"Hey, you damn moochers! You guys are eating off of my salary." Hokaru said indignantly
*CRASH*
"Aww! Look! Now we need to pay for the hole in the roof!"
"What hole... who are you?" Rei asked defensively
"Midako Yukina. Pleased to meet ya. Nice skylight! It's very... techno." She said, stepping off her feather
"What? You made that hole..."
"Skylight." She corrected
"Whatever! The point is that you made it, you pay for it!" he raised.
"Forget it. I'll fix it." She said as she let out a miniscule golden spider, which wove a web making it look brand new
"Hey, can I borrow?" Hokaru asked
"Shh!"
"Fine."
"What do you want?" Rei asked in a mild tone
"I need to inform you about your neighbor."
"Oh, we know already." Kenji said
"You do?! Who blabbed?"
"We figured it out. He was really good at hiding his secret."
"Well, that explains so much. Thanks. So, will you look out for Syaoran then?"
"What does he have anything to do with it? I thought you meant Mr. Kabachi. He keeps boa constrictors on his geranium garden." Rei stated soundly
"Ugh. Poor plants. Anyways, I just want you to look out for him."
"Why? What happened?" Shi asked, pushing the boys to the ground
"People are going out to kill him."
"Don't worry. We'll be his advanced guard."
"Perfect. You'll need ammo. Okay. I only have 3. Who can aim well?"
"Ooh! I can! Pick me!" Ayanami said happily
"Okay. You can have the arrows."
"Yeah!"
"Now, who can cut a 4 inch cut of steak in one slice?"
"I can!" Hokaru said.
"You CAN?"
"Yeah. I can. I do it at my JOB."
"Okay. You can have the Kodachi."
"All right!"
"Lastly. Who can shoot?"
"I'm good at that." Kenji piped
"It seems we are done. The rest of you will have to stay on guard. I have to go."
{Midako leapt onto her feather and flew out the window.}
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[Back to the house we go at about 6:00 evening]
{Sakura stared at Syaoran, who looked back at her.}
"I have to leave."
"Nani? No. You can't! They'll catch you!"
"I don't care," he said solemnly "Look at this."
{He pointed down and she stared at a group of rocks with notes attached. It was like this. Die... hand... !... or... the... over... boy. Sakura stared, baffled, but Syaoran rearranged them. Hand... the... boy... over... or... die... !}
"Oh. No! Don't listen! They just want to get you."
"Even so..."
"Don't leave, onegai. Let's just go to sleep."
"Okay." He said as he followed Sakura upstairs
[A few hours later.]
{Sakura was sound asleep as was Syaoran. The moon shone through the window's glass and cast a milky shadow over the houses across them. A cloaked figure floated at Sakura's window and let out a cold, mirthless voice.}
"Tisk, tisk, tisk. You shouldn't have ignored me. Sleep well, humans, for tomorrow is your last day."
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Well, that was pretty short, but I kind of wanted to rush this one. If you need anything like a summary, look below:
Eat, drink, and be happy! Now comes the day Syaoran bashers have come to love. It's time for Syaoran's decision and what do you think will happen?
---Chapter 10: One Last Night