"Sakura-chan! You're bleeding!" Tomoyo exclaimed as she ran up to Sakura.
"I am?" Sakura blinked confused and then looked down on herself. "Hoe!!"
It was true. She was bleeding, but from cuts. She was covered with many small cuts that bled and her wrists were distastefully decorated with blue and purple bruises and gave off a sharp pain when she tried twisting them a bit. She was sure that there was another huge brilliant blue bruise on her stomach where Xiao Lang managed to kick her there several times. And a punch or two to boot. So when she tried to sit down on the unforgivable pavement ground to rest while Tomoyo and the others ran/flew to her, her stomach protested against it.
On the bright side, she was able to land a kick of her owe to Xiao Lang's head. Though she suspected that he probably gave her that shot. At least she surprised him a bit when she back-handed him during their sword fight. But then he counter attacked her and she ended up falling to her butt. Oh how that hurt.
She made a mental note to her then: never, ever piss Xiao Lang off. Ever!!
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Tomoyo asked as she took out a handkerchief from her purse and began to wipe away some of the dirt from her cuts.
Wakari helped her stand up and Yue and Kero waited for her to answer. Well Yue waited, Kero just kept asking her questions and making rude gestures to Xiao Lang.
"Are you sure you are okay? That doesn't hurt too much does it? Do you want me to go up there and show that Chinese gaki a thing or two? I'll scratch him and throw fire so hot at him so bad that he'll never know what hit him!! Are you sure you're okay Sakura-chan? Do you want me to go get water? Or something to eat? Sweets could do wonders for you right now. And while you have the Sweet Card-"
"Enough Cerberus," Yue said. He was getting tired of his brother's chattering. "Give Sakura-san room to breathe and then she'll answer you questions."
"But first, let me heal her," Meilin said from behind Yue.
He moved aside to let her go to his master, but kept a close eye on her. Neutralist or not, he still felt wary of the supposedly dead Chinese girl. Tomoyo and Kero made room for her too but Wakari still stood by Sakura since he was holding her up.
A bright red orange light came unto Meilin's hands and then she cupped her hands to Sakura's face. Sakura felt a warmness coming for Meilin's hands and her body started to feel the warmth too. She liked the feeling. She also could feel her body heal itself and her skin's discoloration go back to normal.
When her body was completely healed, she felt sorry for the warmness to be gone so soon.
"Thank you Meilin," she bowed to the other girl.
"You welcome. But as Neutralist, it is my job to heal you from cuts and bruises after the battle part of the Trial," Meilin said. She bowed back to Sakura as well, but not as deep.
Meilin then flew off to the other coordinates as Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun flew back down after talking with their master to Sakura and the others.
"Sakura, their going to start their discussing about your performance now and then Xiao Lang will decide whether you passed or not," Ruby Moon said.
"You mean that they are not going to openly discuss this with us?" Kero angrily asked. He didn't want them to argue about Sakura's fight privately. He wanted to hear what they had to say about her. Especially Arman.
"Eriol-san said that it is better that they discuss this within themselves because people like you would interfere and interject to whatever they say," Spinel Sun said.
"What?! I would not interject with what they would say!" Kero yelled.
"You would also disagree with everything they say."
"I would not!"
"Would too."
"Would not!"
"Would too."
"Not!"
"Too. You're doing it right now."
Realizing that arguing with the other sun guardian would prove pointless, Kero started to grumble to himself as the others sweat dropped.
"Remember Kero, expect the unexpected."
"Shut up!!"
----- Xiao Lang and the others -----
"Adherenters, you may begin first," Xiao Lang said to Eriol and Touya, nodding in their direction.
They were still several feet in the air. But instead of being spread out and floating like they were before, they were much closer. Too close for comfort in Eriol and Touya's case since Armen was floating right next to them. Touya had to swallow the urge to punch the Fallen before starting.
"We think that Sakura has done exceptionally well in the battle. She has managed to keep up with the Head for a good part of it and she has learned to use some strategic moves during the duration of the battle," Touya said.
"She also had to cope with the problem of having to use her staff to unleash a Card's power and have been able to just call the Card instead of unsealing it with her Staff of the Stars," Eriol added.
"Commencer, what say you of this?" Xiao Lang nodded to Armen.
Armen had a thoughtfully expression on his face. He wanted to say what he thought carefully. And he didn't want to leave anything out.
"I say," he began, "that they are right."
This shocked both Adherenters. They didn't expect that from the Fallen. Touya had his mouth slightly agape. Eriol, being the more dignified person he was, stared at the Fallen vaguely astonished. Who would expect Armen to agree with something or anything that they had said? Even so, willingly.
"But only towards the end of the battle that she was able to increase her small but slightly considerable power to fit more accurately with that of the Head's largely decreased power," Armen finish what he left off with the one sentence thought that was incomplete.
Touya recovered from his shock and glared at the once Virtue. Should have really have known that the Fallen would not fully agree with them.
"But you admit that Sakura has grown in power during the battle," Eriol said finding a loophole in the Fallen's words.
"She has," he agreed. "But it was still small. She was more powerful when she was 11. At the age of 23 she is barely holding on to a little more than half that power longer than 5 minutes."
"You forget, it's because she hasn't been practicing as much as she should have," Touya growled.
"And that, is exactly my point," Armen said with a smirk.
"Shit," Touya muttered.
"Isn't this one of the main reasons why we are all here tonight? Wasting our time on this girl who was too selfish to trade in time to practice becoming stronger and have more control of her magical abilities with a 'normal life'. What is so great about a normal life anyways? It's boring. No excitement. No unexpectenty. No nothing. Just the same boring routine, every single day."
Touya growled low in his throat. Eriol held his staff so tight that his knuckles turned white.
"It's... what does these humans on another country say... oh yeah. Same shit different day."
Before Touya could lash out on Armen, Xiao Lang interrupted him, "Armen, your point."
"My point is Head," stressing the word Head, "Is that Sakura is not the type of person to grow stronger on training alone. She seems to only grow dramatically stronger when she needs to. Am I right, Eriol?"
Xiao Lang looked to Eriol. Eriol having knowing this with first hand experience from making Sakura go through tests to make her turn the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. He nodded yes to confirm what Armen had said.
"We can't always make problems where Sakura has to fix it magically to increase her power. That would be more wasted time on us as well as power where we could be using it on something more productive." Armen finished.
"Neutralist, what do you think of Armen's point?" Xiao Lang asked Meilin.
"I agree with Armen," she answered.
Touya looked at the young woman in disbelief.
"Even when she was capturing Clow Cards, she never practiced her magic. She only used her magic when she needed to do battle with the Clow Card. She also does not know any other spells or history about magic. Only from a non- mage point of view," Meilin said.
"Exactly my point!" Armen cried out in triumphed. "It's obvious that Sakura does not want to have magic nor does she even care. So why bother letting her keep the Cards? Their power and potential would be desecrated in her care."
"She does however take good care of them. The Cards love her!" Touya defended his little sister.
"That may be so, but are they willing to stay with her even though they will most likely end up in the back of a shelf covered with dust?" Armen challenged Touya.
"Eriol, you are the half reincarnation of Clow Reed. What is your opinion on this matter?" Xiao Lang asked.
"The reason why reincarnation chose Sakura was because of that reason. He knew that Sakura would take good care of the Cards," Eriol answered with a smile.
"Come now half-soul, tell us the full reason why he chose Sakura as Master of the Cards," Armen said with a smile of his own.
Eriol's smile faltered. "He had also hoped that she would unlock their full potential once more."
"And has she?"
"You already know the answer to that question," Eriol growled. Armen had worn his patience thin.
"I wouldn't be asking these types of questions if you just answered the earlier questions with a full answer," Armen smile brightly. Oh he was enjoying this.
Now Eriol wanted to join in with Touya to shot him several times. Or was it cutting the once angel to a million pieces? Well whatever it was he just wanted to join his half son in killing the dark angel. Dark scenes of Armen dieing painfully was playing in Touya's head. Of that Eriol knew. Now if only they had enough power to actually carry out their wish.
"Careful Touya. Only the dead would avoid those wonderful scenarios that you keep playing in your head," Armen cheekily said.
Oh how much Touya wanted a gun right now. A sword would do perfectly as well.
"But Head, you must also take into consideration that Sakura was able to grow in power over time without practicing when she was 10. There is a good chance that she is still able to do so," Eriol said in a finial attempt to swing things into their side.
Xiao Lang looked at Meilin who said, "You were there the whole time when she was capturing the Clow Cards. He is right. She was able to grow in power by solely capturing the Cards."
Eriol mentally sighed in relief. Meilin may not be backing them up 100%, but give her something to work with and she could be a powerful ally in their cause.
"Yes, but the same reasons still apply. She would only grow in strength if she has a good, solid reason to grow strong," Armen said.
"Isn't saving other life a good enough reason to grow in strength?" Touya challenged him back. He smirked for finally having the upper hand to which he knew that the Fallen had nothing to deny that reason with.
"But correct me if I'm wrong, didn't Clow Reed give Sakura a great deal of her power?" Armen raised one of his eye brows.
Touya narrowed his eyes. 'Fuck you,' he thought.
Armen made a low evil laugh. "The Cards were practically a gift from Clow Reed himself!"
Xiao Lang and Meilin locked eyes. Then he turned towards Armen and both of them nodded their heads.
"Is there anything more to say?" Xiao Lang asked the four.
Armen shook his head with a sly smile. Touya and Eriol shook their heads too in defeat. They didn't know what else to say. And Xiao Lang was about to make his decision. Meilin had a thoughtful look on her face.
Finally she said, "She has great potential."
Xiao Lang nodded his head before closing his eyes and positioned his body as if to mediate. The others floated away a few feet from him and landed on the ground gently. Eriol and Touya quickly moved a few feet away from Armen once they were on the ground. Meilin remained next to Armen. Armen just smirked in satisfaction.
"By the way half-soul, does your fiancé know what your real age is?"
"Real age? What does that bastered mean by that?"
"It's a long story..."
----- Sakura and the others -----
"Look, some of them are going down," Tomoyo observed.
"Do we go to them?" Sakura asked and moved a step forward towards them.
Eriol turned his head towards them and shook his head in a no.
"I guess not then," Wakari said a bit confused. "Hey, what's he doing?" he pointed to Xiao Lang.
"It appears that he is mediating," Yue answered.
"Mediating?! At a time like this?" Kero exclaimed in disbelief.
"Kero-chan, maybe he is deciding whether Sakura-chan passed or failed," Tomoyo soothed the lion guardian.
"He most likely is," Ruby Moon said.
"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Tomoyo asked her seeing her best friend fidget.
Sakura smiled. "Hai. I'm fine. I guess I'm just a bit nervous about Xiao Lang's decision."
"Don't worry Sakura-chan. I'm sure that you've passed. And with flying colors. I mean, you should've seen the way that you fought. You were like bam! And boom!" Kero flew up a bit and did a kick in the air with one of his paws. It was a very comical sight seeing a lion kicking and then punching with his front paws.
"Hoe..." Sakura said in embarrassment. "Kero-chan, I'm sure I wasn't all that good."
"But you were Sakura-chan," Kero flew back down. "Beside with the way Xiao Lang feels about you, I'm- mmmhhh."
Spinel Sun clasped Kero's month with his two front paws. Sakura just looked confused. "With the way Xiao Lang feels...?"
"He means with the way Xiao Lang feels about the friendship between you two," Tomoyo answered. Sakura seemed to accept this.
Wakari looked at both Tomoyo and Kero suspiciously. Then he looked to Xiao Lang's folded form in meditation and then to Sakura.
"Sakura, do you still feel tried?" Wakari asked in concerned.
"A little bit yes. But then that no," she answered.
"You magic is completely spent though. It would take you a few days to recover your full strength," Yue commented.
Sakura said a hai in understanding.
'Though she was still weak during the battle,' Ruby Moon thought to herself.
----- Xiao Lang -----
She has great potential.
That's what his dear cousin had said. That's what Eriol had said. Not in exact words, but that's what he meant. That's what many people had said.
It was a fact that Sakura had great potential. No one could dispute that. Not even Armen could deny that. But what also a fact was that Sakura did not have a great deal amount of power. Potential but no power. It was like never really trying to do something. Say bicycle riding. A person could probably bike if he or she tried to. But if the person didn't even try, then the potential to bike very well went to waste.
Such a sad road fate made. But then again, it was pain that made a person grow and not happiness. So did Sakura grow?
Well she grew in knowledge from books. In wisdom, she is about the same as she was five years ago. Tomoyo grew in that department. Besides, Sakura was almost always happy. Xiao Lang kept track of her as he kept track of everyone in Japan.
He knew that Chiharu and Yamazaki were married by the age of 20. They were one of the few couples to stay together for almost all their life and finally get married. Chiharu is now very pregnant with a baby boy and Yamazaki still tells lies. Rika married their fifth grade teacher at 18. (AN: I forgot his name. Sorry.) That was a shock to many people. But they still are happily married and with a 2 year old girl. Rika is pregnant again with a boy this time. She doesn't know it yet though.
But back to Sakura. Should he pass her? She did grow from a small one to a bigger one in the battle. But it was still small. If she had fought the demons years ago, she would have died. She hasn't even chosen a successor yet. But the main point is that she did grow. Her power grows when she needs it to grow. That is her potential.
But should he fail her, he would have to take the Cards away. Not only would Sakura be unhappy but so too would the Cards. The Cards did love her. But they also know that they need to be with a master who not only takes good care of them but also can unlock their full power. They were much more than power in cards. They were actual spirits created by Clow. And as spirits, they should be free and used. For them to be used makes them happy because they like to help. And when they help, they are free.
Pass or fail? Both has its pros and cons.
To pass is to make Sakura and all her friends happy as well as the Cards and her guardians. But the Cards would continue to be weak and not use to fulfill their purpose. Both they and Sakura would feel as if something had been missing in their lives. Something that they didn't do. A need to do something will overcome them. But they would not know what to do. A restlessness would be in their every shadow. A longing for something that happened in the pass that they could not go back to. Not even the Time Card would be able to bring them back in the pass to change events. The Time was meant for the Master to go back into the pass and learn the whys and hows.
To fail them is to make Armen happy and everyone else sad. Xiao Lang didn't know Armen very well. But he did know why he hates innocents. Not only was Armen once a Virtue (a second class angel) but he was also once an angel of the innocent. And as being an angel of innocence he himself was innocent. And he felt such sorrow and compassion for another Fallen who was badly hurt. He tried to heal the Fallen and as a reward, was turned into a Fallen himself. The Fallen didn't do anything dishonest since the Fallen was unconscious, but Armen did not expect the Fallen to have a safety fall back spell to any that touch the Fallen.
If any other demonic or other fallen angels that were as powerful or weaker then the Fallen that touched the said Fallen if the Fallen was not conscious, then they would become unconscious as well. But if any holy beings that was as powerful or weak then the cataleptic dark angel would turn dark or evil. Their light would turn dark. So unfortunately, Armen touch the knocked out Fallen and he himself turned dark. And the reason he hated innocent is because he used to be one of them. He saw how weak they were with their compassion. And with all their compassion and no real knowing of evil, they were easy prey. Because to be innocent is to know no evil.
Xiao Lang himself did not favor innocents. But he does know how powerful they can be. It was only too bad that they were not powerful when you needed them to be. Only when all else fails did their powers show. But then, once they used that power, they would no longer be innocent. How the wheel turns.
Xiao Lang made a decision and then unfolded himself and landed gracefully down to the ground.
"Show off," he heard Armen say lowly.
He just ignored the Fallen and motioned for the coordinators to come closer to him.
"I still can't see how you were able to keep a young body," Touya said quietly to Eriol as he walked towards Xiao Lang.
"I have made my decision," he began.
"Took you a while," Touya muttered.
Xiao Lang ignored this as well. So he continued, "My decision has some draw backs. Touya, Eriol, listen closely. This concerns you two greatly."
----- Sakura and the others -----
"Well it's about time that the Chinese gaki made up his mind," Kero complained as he and the others walked to where the coordinators were.
"Kero-chan, don't be mean," Sakura scolded him.
"You have to admit, he did take a while," Wakari sided with Kero.
"Thank you!" Kero said gratefully.
"Well at least we didn't have to wait until morning," Sakura said thoughtfully.
"It's been a while since morning," Tomoyo thoughtfully answered. "It's been a really long night. I'm surprised that it isn't morning yet!" she looked at her phone to check what time it was. "That's funny, the clocked stopped at 8:35 P.M."
"That's about the same time as the sun set," Ruby Moon and Yue said in unison.
"When Meilin made the barrier, time must have stopped as well," Spinel Sun commented.
"Very powerful that Meilin is," Kero praised the Chinese woman.
When they got to where the coordinators where, Xiao Lang said, "Kinomoto Sakura, please step forward."
Sakura timidly stepped forward a couple of step. At least they weren't floating in the air anymore.
"Kinomoto Sakura, the battle between you and myself had been fruitful. You have great potential and with time, your powers can grow on their own," Xiao Lang said.
Sakura sighed in relief as did her friends. That gave big hints that she passed. Right?
"As in my decision, Sakura you have passed," a big whoop and cheer came from Sakura's friends.
"I passed?" Sakura asked as if she didn't quite make out what he had said.
"Yes Sakura. You passed." Xiao Lang said blankly.
Touya and Eriol did look happy. But not as happy as Sakura thought that should be.
"But before we or they congratulate you," Xiao Lang said before the others could run up to Sakura and hug her. "There are some terms that you have to comply with."
"What? Terms?" Kero asked confused and angered again. "But Sakura passed your stupid test!"
"She passed yes. But not with fly colors," Armen smirked.
"You must agree with the terms before I can tell you what they are. But do not worry, for they are reasonable terms," Xiao Lang said to Sakura. "Do you accept?"
Did she accept? Would she accept? If she didn't accept then that would mean that she would fail. She didn't want to fail. And Xiao Lang said that the terms were reasonable. The Sakura Cards came out of the Sakura and began to encircle around her in comfort and as if to help her say either yes or no. So what could go wrong?
"I accept," she finally said. The Cards went to Sakura's outstretched hands.
"The terms go as follows," Xiao Lang began. "One, Sakura would not choose the next successor."
"What?!" Kero yelled out but was immediately clapped shut again by Spinel sun.
Yue looked over to Eriol who only shook his head in agreement to what Xiao Lang said.
"Second term. Since Sakura did not fight the demons when she was destined to, she will have to fight another set of demons. Some of them would be the same as those who my family fought. The more powerful ones. Third term is that a third of the power that Clow Reed gave to you when you were 10 will be taken away. So you will have to grow tremendously to fight head on with the demons. And remember to repair the veil as well. That means that you must learn and master several spells as well. Fourth and last term is that you will fight the demon when you are 18 years old," Xiao Lang finished.
"18 years old? But we are 23 now," Tomoyo said in confusion.
"What you dear little wolf means is that you all will go back in time and start over," Armen explained.
"All over? We have to go back to school and start over from stretch? That's not fair! We worked hard to get ourselves to where we are!" Wakari complained.
"Well that's just too bad for you. Besides, it's not like you all will remember anyways," Armen said.
"Our memories? They will be taken away?" Yue asked.
"Yes. When you go back into the past, it would not be right for you all to remember what happen with everything up to this point. So we must take your memories away," Meilin explained.
"So all of this would be like it never happened," Sakura said softly. The Cards pulsed a soft pink color for comfort and understanding. Sakura hugged them close to her.
"Yes. Only Eriol and Touya will remember what happened. But only vaguely," Meilin waved to the said men.
"Why do they get to remember, ever if it is vaguely, and we don't?" Wakari asked.
"So they can't act as guides for Sakura. It would do no good if all of you remembered. If you all did remember, it would prove nothing. We want Sakura to do this on her own and not because we really want her to. This has to be for herself," Meilin explained.
"But you will have a sense of need to want to improve in our magic. Because we will only take away your memories so you would not consciously know them. Only in your dreams," Xiao Lang looked at her.
Next thing Sakura knew was that a blackness was covering herself and her friends.
She heard a soft and gentle voice within her say, "You have two years to prepare Sakura. Good luck."
Then she heard another voice that was rougher and had a dangerous edge to it say, "Yes, Sakura, good luck. And hope that you won't meet up with me again. Because if you do, it won't be a pleasant meeting."
A faint laugh was heard and a green light was seen. Then all was black again and Sakura woke up to the sound of her alarm clock ringing.
"Hoe!! I'm late!!" was heard through out the house.
------------------------------------
AN: sorry for the late update. There's still another chapter left. All Syaoran lovers must read. And I hope that none of you will kill me because he may be in pain in it. ::ducks behind a huge rock:: but I love Syaoran!!!!
"I am?" Sakura blinked confused and then looked down on herself. "Hoe!!"
It was true. She was bleeding, but from cuts. She was covered with many small cuts that bled and her wrists were distastefully decorated with blue and purple bruises and gave off a sharp pain when she tried twisting them a bit. She was sure that there was another huge brilliant blue bruise on her stomach where Xiao Lang managed to kick her there several times. And a punch or two to boot. So when she tried to sit down on the unforgivable pavement ground to rest while Tomoyo and the others ran/flew to her, her stomach protested against it.
On the bright side, she was able to land a kick of her owe to Xiao Lang's head. Though she suspected that he probably gave her that shot. At least she surprised him a bit when she back-handed him during their sword fight. But then he counter attacked her and she ended up falling to her butt. Oh how that hurt.
She made a mental note to her then: never, ever piss Xiao Lang off. Ever!!
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Tomoyo asked as she took out a handkerchief from her purse and began to wipe away some of the dirt from her cuts.
Wakari helped her stand up and Yue and Kero waited for her to answer. Well Yue waited, Kero just kept asking her questions and making rude gestures to Xiao Lang.
"Are you sure you are okay? That doesn't hurt too much does it? Do you want me to go up there and show that Chinese gaki a thing or two? I'll scratch him and throw fire so hot at him so bad that he'll never know what hit him!! Are you sure you're okay Sakura-chan? Do you want me to go get water? Or something to eat? Sweets could do wonders for you right now. And while you have the Sweet Card-"
"Enough Cerberus," Yue said. He was getting tired of his brother's chattering. "Give Sakura-san room to breathe and then she'll answer you questions."
"But first, let me heal her," Meilin said from behind Yue.
He moved aside to let her go to his master, but kept a close eye on her. Neutralist or not, he still felt wary of the supposedly dead Chinese girl. Tomoyo and Kero made room for her too but Wakari still stood by Sakura since he was holding her up.
A bright red orange light came unto Meilin's hands and then she cupped her hands to Sakura's face. Sakura felt a warmness coming for Meilin's hands and her body started to feel the warmth too. She liked the feeling. She also could feel her body heal itself and her skin's discoloration go back to normal.
When her body was completely healed, she felt sorry for the warmness to be gone so soon.
"Thank you Meilin," she bowed to the other girl.
"You welcome. But as Neutralist, it is my job to heal you from cuts and bruises after the battle part of the Trial," Meilin said. She bowed back to Sakura as well, but not as deep.
Meilin then flew off to the other coordinates as Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun flew back down after talking with their master to Sakura and the others.
"Sakura, their going to start their discussing about your performance now and then Xiao Lang will decide whether you passed or not," Ruby Moon said.
"You mean that they are not going to openly discuss this with us?" Kero angrily asked. He didn't want them to argue about Sakura's fight privately. He wanted to hear what they had to say about her. Especially Arman.
"Eriol-san said that it is better that they discuss this within themselves because people like you would interfere and interject to whatever they say," Spinel Sun said.
"What?! I would not interject with what they would say!" Kero yelled.
"You would also disagree with everything they say."
"I would not!"
"Would too."
"Would not!"
"Would too."
"Not!"
"Too. You're doing it right now."
Realizing that arguing with the other sun guardian would prove pointless, Kero started to grumble to himself as the others sweat dropped.
"Remember Kero, expect the unexpected."
"Shut up!!"
----- Xiao Lang and the others -----
"Adherenters, you may begin first," Xiao Lang said to Eriol and Touya, nodding in their direction.
They were still several feet in the air. But instead of being spread out and floating like they were before, they were much closer. Too close for comfort in Eriol and Touya's case since Armen was floating right next to them. Touya had to swallow the urge to punch the Fallen before starting.
"We think that Sakura has done exceptionally well in the battle. She has managed to keep up with the Head for a good part of it and she has learned to use some strategic moves during the duration of the battle," Touya said.
"She also had to cope with the problem of having to use her staff to unleash a Card's power and have been able to just call the Card instead of unsealing it with her Staff of the Stars," Eriol added.
"Commencer, what say you of this?" Xiao Lang nodded to Armen.
Armen had a thoughtfully expression on his face. He wanted to say what he thought carefully. And he didn't want to leave anything out.
"I say," he began, "that they are right."
This shocked both Adherenters. They didn't expect that from the Fallen. Touya had his mouth slightly agape. Eriol, being the more dignified person he was, stared at the Fallen vaguely astonished. Who would expect Armen to agree with something or anything that they had said? Even so, willingly.
"But only towards the end of the battle that she was able to increase her small but slightly considerable power to fit more accurately with that of the Head's largely decreased power," Armen finish what he left off with the one sentence thought that was incomplete.
Touya recovered from his shock and glared at the once Virtue. Should have really have known that the Fallen would not fully agree with them.
"But you admit that Sakura has grown in power during the battle," Eriol said finding a loophole in the Fallen's words.
"She has," he agreed. "But it was still small. She was more powerful when she was 11. At the age of 23 she is barely holding on to a little more than half that power longer than 5 minutes."
"You forget, it's because she hasn't been practicing as much as she should have," Touya growled.
"And that, is exactly my point," Armen said with a smirk.
"Shit," Touya muttered.
"Isn't this one of the main reasons why we are all here tonight? Wasting our time on this girl who was too selfish to trade in time to practice becoming stronger and have more control of her magical abilities with a 'normal life'. What is so great about a normal life anyways? It's boring. No excitement. No unexpectenty. No nothing. Just the same boring routine, every single day."
Touya growled low in his throat. Eriol held his staff so tight that his knuckles turned white.
"It's... what does these humans on another country say... oh yeah. Same shit different day."
Before Touya could lash out on Armen, Xiao Lang interrupted him, "Armen, your point."
"My point is Head," stressing the word Head, "Is that Sakura is not the type of person to grow stronger on training alone. She seems to only grow dramatically stronger when she needs to. Am I right, Eriol?"
Xiao Lang looked to Eriol. Eriol having knowing this with first hand experience from making Sakura go through tests to make her turn the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. He nodded yes to confirm what Armen had said.
"We can't always make problems where Sakura has to fix it magically to increase her power. That would be more wasted time on us as well as power where we could be using it on something more productive." Armen finished.
"Neutralist, what do you think of Armen's point?" Xiao Lang asked Meilin.
"I agree with Armen," she answered.
Touya looked at the young woman in disbelief.
"Even when she was capturing Clow Cards, she never practiced her magic. She only used her magic when she needed to do battle with the Clow Card. She also does not know any other spells or history about magic. Only from a non- mage point of view," Meilin said.
"Exactly my point!" Armen cried out in triumphed. "It's obvious that Sakura does not want to have magic nor does she even care. So why bother letting her keep the Cards? Their power and potential would be desecrated in her care."
"She does however take good care of them. The Cards love her!" Touya defended his little sister.
"That may be so, but are they willing to stay with her even though they will most likely end up in the back of a shelf covered with dust?" Armen challenged Touya.
"Eriol, you are the half reincarnation of Clow Reed. What is your opinion on this matter?" Xiao Lang asked.
"The reason why reincarnation chose Sakura was because of that reason. He knew that Sakura would take good care of the Cards," Eriol answered with a smile.
"Come now half-soul, tell us the full reason why he chose Sakura as Master of the Cards," Armen said with a smile of his own.
Eriol's smile faltered. "He had also hoped that she would unlock their full potential once more."
"And has she?"
"You already know the answer to that question," Eriol growled. Armen had worn his patience thin.
"I wouldn't be asking these types of questions if you just answered the earlier questions with a full answer," Armen smile brightly. Oh he was enjoying this.
Now Eriol wanted to join in with Touya to shot him several times. Or was it cutting the once angel to a million pieces? Well whatever it was he just wanted to join his half son in killing the dark angel. Dark scenes of Armen dieing painfully was playing in Touya's head. Of that Eriol knew. Now if only they had enough power to actually carry out their wish.
"Careful Touya. Only the dead would avoid those wonderful scenarios that you keep playing in your head," Armen cheekily said.
Oh how much Touya wanted a gun right now. A sword would do perfectly as well.
"But Head, you must also take into consideration that Sakura was able to grow in power over time without practicing when she was 10. There is a good chance that she is still able to do so," Eriol said in a finial attempt to swing things into their side.
Xiao Lang looked at Meilin who said, "You were there the whole time when she was capturing the Clow Cards. He is right. She was able to grow in power by solely capturing the Cards."
Eriol mentally sighed in relief. Meilin may not be backing them up 100%, but give her something to work with and she could be a powerful ally in their cause.
"Yes, but the same reasons still apply. She would only grow in strength if she has a good, solid reason to grow strong," Armen said.
"Isn't saving other life a good enough reason to grow in strength?" Touya challenged him back. He smirked for finally having the upper hand to which he knew that the Fallen had nothing to deny that reason with.
"But correct me if I'm wrong, didn't Clow Reed give Sakura a great deal of her power?" Armen raised one of his eye brows.
Touya narrowed his eyes. 'Fuck you,' he thought.
Armen made a low evil laugh. "The Cards were practically a gift from Clow Reed himself!"
Xiao Lang and Meilin locked eyes. Then he turned towards Armen and both of them nodded their heads.
"Is there anything more to say?" Xiao Lang asked the four.
Armen shook his head with a sly smile. Touya and Eriol shook their heads too in defeat. They didn't know what else to say. And Xiao Lang was about to make his decision. Meilin had a thoughtful look on her face.
Finally she said, "She has great potential."
Xiao Lang nodded his head before closing his eyes and positioned his body as if to mediate. The others floated away a few feet from him and landed on the ground gently. Eriol and Touya quickly moved a few feet away from Armen once they were on the ground. Meilin remained next to Armen. Armen just smirked in satisfaction.
"By the way half-soul, does your fiancé know what your real age is?"
"Real age? What does that bastered mean by that?"
"It's a long story..."
----- Sakura and the others -----
"Look, some of them are going down," Tomoyo observed.
"Do we go to them?" Sakura asked and moved a step forward towards them.
Eriol turned his head towards them and shook his head in a no.
"I guess not then," Wakari said a bit confused. "Hey, what's he doing?" he pointed to Xiao Lang.
"It appears that he is mediating," Yue answered.
"Mediating?! At a time like this?" Kero exclaimed in disbelief.
"Kero-chan, maybe he is deciding whether Sakura-chan passed or failed," Tomoyo soothed the lion guardian.
"He most likely is," Ruby Moon said.
"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Tomoyo asked her seeing her best friend fidget.
Sakura smiled. "Hai. I'm fine. I guess I'm just a bit nervous about Xiao Lang's decision."
"Don't worry Sakura-chan. I'm sure that you've passed. And with flying colors. I mean, you should've seen the way that you fought. You were like bam! And boom!" Kero flew up a bit and did a kick in the air with one of his paws. It was a very comical sight seeing a lion kicking and then punching with his front paws.
"Hoe..." Sakura said in embarrassment. "Kero-chan, I'm sure I wasn't all that good."
"But you were Sakura-chan," Kero flew back down. "Beside with the way Xiao Lang feels about you, I'm- mmmhhh."
Spinel Sun clasped Kero's month with his two front paws. Sakura just looked confused. "With the way Xiao Lang feels...?"
"He means with the way Xiao Lang feels about the friendship between you two," Tomoyo answered. Sakura seemed to accept this.
Wakari looked at both Tomoyo and Kero suspiciously. Then he looked to Xiao Lang's folded form in meditation and then to Sakura.
"Sakura, do you still feel tried?" Wakari asked in concerned.
"A little bit yes. But then that no," she answered.
"You magic is completely spent though. It would take you a few days to recover your full strength," Yue commented.
Sakura said a hai in understanding.
'Though she was still weak during the battle,' Ruby Moon thought to herself.
----- Xiao Lang -----
She has great potential.
That's what his dear cousin had said. That's what Eriol had said. Not in exact words, but that's what he meant. That's what many people had said.
It was a fact that Sakura had great potential. No one could dispute that. Not even Armen could deny that. But what also a fact was that Sakura did not have a great deal amount of power. Potential but no power. It was like never really trying to do something. Say bicycle riding. A person could probably bike if he or she tried to. But if the person didn't even try, then the potential to bike very well went to waste.
Such a sad road fate made. But then again, it was pain that made a person grow and not happiness. So did Sakura grow?
Well she grew in knowledge from books. In wisdom, she is about the same as she was five years ago. Tomoyo grew in that department. Besides, Sakura was almost always happy. Xiao Lang kept track of her as he kept track of everyone in Japan.
He knew that Chiharu and Yamazaki were married by the age of 20. They were one of the few couples to stay together for almost all their life and finally get married. Chiharu is now very pregnant with a baby boy and Yamazaki still tells lies. Rika married their fifth grade teacher at 18. (AN: I forgot his name. Sorry.) That was a shock to many people. But they still are happily married and with a 2 year old girl. Rika is pregnant again with a boy this time. She doesn't know it yet though.
But back to Sakura. Should he pass her? She did grow from a small one to a bigger one in the battle. But it was still small. If she had fought the demons years ago, she would have died. She hasn't even chosen a successor yet. But the main point is that she did grow. Her power grows when she needs it to grow. That is her potential.
But should he fail her, he would have to take the Cards away. Not only would Sakura be unhappy but so too would the Cards. The Cards did love her. But they also know that they need to be with a master who not only takes good care of them but also can unlock their full power. They were much more than power in cards. They were actual spirits created by Clow. And as spirits, they should be free and used. For them to be used makes them happy because they like to help. And when they help, they are free.
Pass or fail? Both has its pros and cons.
To pass is to make Sakura and all her friends happy as well as the Cards and her guardians. But the Cards would continue to be weak and not use to fulfill their purpose. Both they and Sakura would feel as if something had been missing in their lives. Something that they didn't do. A need to do something will overcome them. But they would not know what to do. A restlessness would be in their every shadow. A longing for something that happened in the pass that they could not go back to. Not even the Time Card would be able to bring them back in the pass to change events. The Time was meant for the Master to go back into the pass and learn the whys and hows.
To fail them is to make Armen happy and everyone else sad. Xiao Lang didn't know Armen very well. But he did know why he hates innocents. Not only was Armen once a Virtue (a second class angel) but he was also once an angel of the innocent. And as being an angel of innocence he himself was innocent. And he felt such sorrow and compassion for another Fallen who was badly hurt. He tried to heal the Fallen and as a reward, was turned into a Fallen himself. The Fallen didn't do anything dishonest since the Fallen was unconscious, but Armen did not expect the Fallen to have a safety fall back spell to any that touch the Fallen.
If any other demonic or other fallen angels that were as powerful or weaker then the Fallen that touched the said Fallen if the Fallen was not conscious, then they would become unconscious as well. But if any holy beings that was as powerful or weak then the cataleptic dark angel would turn dark or evil. Their light would turn dark. So unfortunately, Armen touch the knocked out Fallen and he himself turned dark. And the reason he hated innocent is because he used to be one of them. He saw how weak they were with their compassion. And with all their compassion and no real knowing of evil, they were easy prey. Because to be innocent is to know no evil.
Xiao Lang himself did not favor innocents. But he does know how powerful they can be. It was only too bad that they were not powerful when you needed them to be. Only when all else fails did their powers show. But then, once they used that power, they would no longer be innocent. How the wheel turns.
Xiao Lang made a decision and then unfolded himself and landed gracefully down to the ground.
"Show off," he heard Armen say lowly.
He just ignored the Fallen and motioned for the coordinators to come closer to him.
"I still can't see how you were able to keep a young body," Touya said quietly to Eriol as he walked towards Xiao Lang.
"I have made my decision," he began.
"Took you a while," Touya muttered.
Xiao Lang ignored this as well. So he continued, "My decision has some draw backs. Touya, Eriol, listen closely. This concerns you two greatly."
----- Sakura and the others -----
"Well it's about time that the Chinese gaki made up his mind," Kero complained as he and the others walked to where the coordinators were.
"Kero-chan, don't be mean," Sakura scolded him.
"You have to admit, he did take a while," Wakari sided with Kero.
"Thank you!" Kero said gratefully.
"Well at least we didn't have to wait until morning," Sakura said thoughtfully.
"It's been a while since morning," Tomoyo thoughtfully answered. "It's been a really long night. I'm surprised that it isn't morning yet!" she looked at her phone to check what time it was. "That's funny, the clocked stopped at 8:35 P.M."
"That's about the same time as the sun set," Ruby Moon and Yue said in unison.
"When Meilin made the barrier, time must have stopped as well," Spinel Sun commented.
"Very powerful that Meilin is," Kero praised the Chinese woman.
When they got to where the coordinators where, Xiao Lang said, "Kinomoto Sakura, please step forward."
Sakura timidly stepped forward a couple of step. At least they weren't floating in the air anymore.
"Kinomoto Sakura, the battle between you and myself had been fruitful. You have great potential and with time, your powers can grow on their own," Xiao Lang said.
Sakura sighed in relief as did her friends. That gave big hints that she passed. Right?
"As in my decision, Sakura you have passed," a big whoop and cheer came from Sakura's friends.
"I passed?" Sakura asked as if she didn't quite make out what he had said.
"Yes Sakura. You passed." Xiao Lang said blankly.
Touya and Eriol did look happy. But not as happy as Sakura thought that should be.
"But before we or they congratulate you," Xiao Lang said before the others could run up to Sakura and hug her. "There are some terms that you have to comply with."
"What? Terms?" Kero asked confused and angered again. "But Sakura passed your stupid test!"
"She passed yes. But not with fly colors," Armen smirked.
"You must agree with the terms before I can tell you what they are. But do not worry, for they are reasonable terms," Xiao Lang said to Sakura. "Do you accept?"
Did she accept? Would she accept? If she didn't accept then that would mean that she would fail. She didn't want to fail. And Xiao Lang said that the terms were reasonable. The Sakura Cards came out of the Sakura and began to encircle around her in comfort and as if to help her say either yes or no. So what could go wrong?
"I accept," she finally said. The Cards went to Sakura's outstretched hands.
"The terms go as follows," Xiao Lang began. "One, Sakura would not choose the next successor."
"What?!" Kero yelled out but was immediately clapped shut again by Spinel sun.
Yue looked over to Eriol who only shook his head in agreement to what Xiao Lang said.
"Second term. Since Sakura did not fight the demons when she was destined to, she will have to fight another set of demons. Some of them would be the same as those who my family fought. The more powerful ones. Third term is that a third of the power that Clow Reed gave to you when you were 10 will be taken away. So you will have to grow tremendously to fight head on with the demons. And remember to repair the veil as well. That means that you must learn and master several spells as well. Fourth and last term is that you will fight the demon when you are 18 years old," Xiao Lang finished.
"18 years old? But we are 23 now," Tomoyo said in confusion.
"What you dear little wolf means is that you all will go back in time and start over," Armen explained.
"All over? We have to go back to school and start over from stretch? That's not fair! We worked hard to get ourselves to where we are!" Wakari complained.
"Well that's just too bad for you. Besides, it's not like you all will remember anyways," Armen said.
"Our memories? They will be taken away?" Yue asked.
"Yes. When you go back into the past, it would not be right for you all to remember what happen with everything up to this point. So we must take your memories away," Meilin explained.
"So all of this would be like it never happened," Sakura said softly. The Cards pulsed a soft pink color for comfort and understanding. Sakura hugged them close to her.
"Yes. Only Eriol and Touya will remember what happened. But only vaguely," Meilin waved to the said men.
"Why do they get to remember, ever if it is vaguely, and we don't?" Wakari asked.
"So they can't act as guides for Sakura. It would do no good if all of you remembered. If you all did remember, it would prove nothing. We want Sakura to do this on her own and not because we really want her to. This has to be for herself," Meilin explained.
"But you will have a sense of need to want to improve in our magic. Because we will only take away your memories so you would not consciously know them. Only in your dreams," Xiao Lang looked at her.
Next thing Sakura knew was that a blackness was covering herself and her friends.
She heard a soft and gentle voice within her say, "You have two years to prepare Sakura. Good luck."
Then she heard another voice that was rougher and had a dangerous edge to it say, "Yes, Sakura, good luck. And hope that you won't meet up with me again. Because if you do, it won't be a pleasant meeting."
A faint laugh was heard and a green light was seen. Then all was black again and Sakura woke up to the sound of her alarm clock ringing.
"Hoe!! I'm late!!" was heard through out the house.
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AN: sorry for the late update. There's still another chapter left. All Syaoran lovers must read. And I hope that none of you will kill me because he may be in pain in it. ::ducks behind a huge rock:: but I love Syaoran!!!!