Identity's Past
by AlterEthereal
Syaoran returned to find his princess, but discovered that she has been missing in action for years. Now, a mysterious, distant girl has arrived in the city... could his princess be right under his nose?
Oh, Spring Break! Glory be unto thee! ^_^ Anyway, I threw something unexpected into this chapter... it's... humor?! No way!!! lol. Also, before we get this thing underweigh, I'd like to thank all the reviewers... *ahem* Tramie, Sheruke, and orlha! You guys rock my socks. We should all get together sometime and have ice cream cones and giggle and stuff like that. mmm... ice cream... *hits self with frying pan* NO!!!! NO ICE CREAM!! JUST CARROTS AND CELERY!!! *cries* Anyway, enjoy! ^_^
Zuri: *sobbing*
So: what's the matter with her?
Anaru: *whispers something in So's ear*
So: ooooh... *smirks*
Zuri: it's not funny you guys!
Alter-chan: *appears wearing a cashmere scarf* oh, but it is!
Leif: *strolling in casually* hey guys. what's up?
everyone: O_O
everyone but Zuri: HEY! YOU TOTALLY RUINED IT!!
Leif: *blinks* ruined what?
Alter-chan: that's it. you're doing disclaimer.
Leif: O_o but i... oh nevermind. DISCLAIMER: Alter-chan doesn't own CCS, sadly for her.
Alter-chan: T_T yes, yes...
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Chapter 13: Bittersweet
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And it was everything Sakura wanted--to hear him say those words, to feel his lips caress her own, to taste his sweet, cinnamon breath… but it was bittersweet. A fresh set of tears came to her eyes.
The passion faded, and Syaoran stared into her emerald eyes with his searching amber ones. "Why are you crying?"
"You shouldn't be here… you could die!" Her voice was filled with both panic and worry. "And without the Star Cards, I wouldn't be able to protect you… or anyone…" she averted her gaze.
"Someone speaking of protection shouldn't cry for nothing," he replied calmly, reaching into his coat pocket.
Sakura's eyes widened at what he extracted. There, in his safe hands, was the thin deck of pink cards, each with a yellow star in the center and a small sun and moon gracing its ends.
"But how did you…?" she gasped in disbelief.
"Strangely enough, I used a card that you created." He pulled the card from the bottom and flipped it over, revealing the picture of a tiny red heart with wings and a crown, all above letters that spelled "The Hope."
"But I… I thought it was destroyed!"
"Lost, not destroyed. I found it when I went looking for you."
"You... looked for me?" She blushed slightly.
"Sakura… of course. I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night knowing that I hadn't done everything in my power to find you. In fact, I still had trouble sleeping even after I practically tore the world apart looking." He turned his attention back to the subject at hand, replacing the card at the bottom of the deck. "When I activated the card, I wasn't quite sure what would happen, but it looks like it tapped into my deepest hopes and made them a reality. You see, my deepest hope was that I would be able to save you and the Star Cards."
"And that you did." She added, rather softly.
Syaoran raised her chin with a gentle finger. Sakura secretly loved staring into his wild, amber eyes. She felt like she could get lost in those pools of melted gold, especially when they gazed back at her so lovingly. "I'm glad," he murmured, "that you're alright. You have no idea how much I missed you. Even when you were right in front of me."
He kissed her again, almost desperately. She began to realize just how lucky she was: she'd been blessed with not one, but two first kisses, both of which were given to her by the boy she loved most. As Sakura, she felt free to express her love for the messy-haired boy, but as Artemis, she was restricted by duty. Even then, however, she wasn't able to contain what she felt for him. When he had kissed her, she had once again felt that overwhelming, wonderful freedom that made her happy to be Sakura Avalon. Unfortunately, that bliss only lasted a short few moments before the realization kicked in that she was not Sakura Avalon.
Now, bliss would be allowed to run its full course.
~*~
The next hour or so was spent with Sakura's "children." Syaoran wondered for a moment with amusement if that would make him their father, but then dismissed the topic with a small smirk and a chuckle, neither of which Sakura seemed to notice. She released each card in turn, while the boy looked on at the delighted girl before him. He watched her viridian eyes glisten with joy as she beheld the cards she had grown to love and care for, wondering how she had dealt with being apart from them. She must've made a lot of sacrifices to be with her family and friends, he decided. Did those people really mean that much to her?
Suddenly, Syaoran remembered a certain image he had seen in the dream the night before: "The Lonely." That card was not a part of the original collection, he knew, so it had to have been created during the time she spent here.
"How long were you down here, Sakura?"
At first, the auburn-haired girl seemed slightly taken aback, that being the first thing he'd said in a while. She recovered quickly, however, and seemed to think it over for a few moments before giving him a reply.
"I guess I was down here for around four and a half years. Why?"
"You must've been lonely."
She shrugged. "I survived."
There was an overly-haughty tone in her voice that Syaoran knew meant that she was trying to seem tough, which he found rather cute.
"How long was it before you found that village?
"A few months, maybe. Actually, we landed pretty close to it… it's only about a days walk from here."
"Really…" he mumbled distractedly, watching her pull The Sleep from the deck. A not-so-grand thought struck him. "You know, Sakura, if we get some rest now, we can probably get there sometime tomorrow, ahead of that robed guy you were with in the library. Doubtless he's trying to get there, too."
Syaoran could just see the light flicker on in her head as she caught on to what he was saying. "Then maybe we should just walk on through."
"No, we'll probably both need our strength when we get there, so overdoing it isn't an option. But we will need to get on our way as soon as possible."
"I see your point," she replied, tucking the cards away at her waist the way she always had. She strolled over to a waiting Syaoran, who promptly lay down and shut his eyes. He felt a warm body lie down beside him and sniffed the familiar scent of the hair that grazed his nose. She snuggled up against him, and he responded by wrapping his arm around her waist as only a lover could.
"Goodnight... Sakura," he whispered.
And soon they slept, bodies pressed against each other for warmth--and perhaps a little for something else.
~*~
After a while, Sakura slowly came to consciousness in the cave.
It was all a dream? She wondered for a few moments whether meeting the sapphire-eyed boy, the village, and even Syaoran was all just a big, elaborate play in her subconscious and she was really still searching for signs of life in the tunnels after the battle with the old man. Then, however, she realized that the reason her body felt hot wasn't because she was with Syaoran in the "dream," but because there was hot breath on the back of her neck. She groggily opened an eye, and noted the arm around her midsection, breathing a sigh of relief. She also blushed madly.
She rolled herself over, being careful not to disturb the arm around her--for some odd reason, she liked it there--and found herself face to face with intense, amber eyes.
"GAAAHH!!!" she jumped back about ten feet. "Y-You've been awake?" she stammered. Syaoran, meanwhile, had burst into laughter and was trying hard not to go into convulsions.
Once the boy managed to calm himself down a bit, he wiped his wet eyes with a forearm and looked up to see a scowling woman above him. "I swear, Sakura, waking up with you in my arms is the greatest thing in the world. Not to mention the funniest."
~~~~
Zuri: *runs over and practically squeezes Leif to death* YOU'RE NOT DEAD!!!
everyone but Zuri and Leif: -_-;
Anaru: no, but he will be pretty soon, it looks like.
Zuri: Leif...?
Leif: X_x
So: *sarcastically* it's a bunny, it's a bunny...
Alter-chan: lol. well, lets hope that Leif recovers before next chappie, shall we? in the meantime, please review! ^_^
~AlterEthereal