Disclaimers: Winged Guardian: Nope, CCS has never belonged to me and will
never
belong to me, either.
Battle of the Two Arch-Rivals
By Winged Guardian
Note
"..." stands for speech
[...] stands for thoughts (if any)
... stands for author's comments
'...' stands for the chapter's title
===============================================================
Chapter 4: 'Training'
Her heart was pounding like a hammer and she panted as silently as she could.
Hearing a rustle of wings, Sakura immediately rolled out of the way, sprinting to the nearest tree.
An arrow whizzed past her head, so near it was that she could feel the wind and hear the high whistle of it passing. She heard a faint sizzling sound and realized that the beautiful glowing moonlight-arrow shot one of her stray hairs.
[Oh, it's beautiful alright, and deadly and unbelievably dangerous.]
[I would appreciate its beauty better when I can take the time to do so, since I seem to be a little busy over here, trying to dodge these lethal arrows, which would only miss once in a blue moon. Blue moon, ha!] Sakura thought sarcastically.
The arrow missed hitting her by the merest of fractions.
Sakura cursed under her breath. [Man! Yue is good. Kero definitely wasn't kidding when he said that Yue was the best in this world. Yue really knows his stuff, not that I expected any less, from the Moon Guardian of the Sakura Cards, created by Clow.]
She swore as another arrow whizzed past her, "Where does Yue get all these arrows from anyway??!!! I swear, he must have an endless supply of them!"
Yue's sensitive ears picked up her voice and smiled at her words, amused. Raising his bow, he shot another arrow with deadly accuracy.
Sakura jumped out of the way, but she was not fast enough. She felt a searing pain in her left arm as the arrow grazed it.
She bit her lip and ignored it. Eying the tree, she came up a wild idea. She took a leap onto the lowest branch silently and jumped from branch to branch, with the grace and agility of a feline.
Peering through the leaves, she spotted Yue. Taking her time, she observed his position and angle. She closed her eyes to let her other senses intensify. She need not aim for her target was already in her mind. Smiling as it what Yue trained her for, she let her arrow loose.
Caught by surprise, the Moon Guardian almost got shot. However, thanks to his many centuries of practice and experience, he leaped into the air, Sakura's arrow speeding just slightly below his toes.
Yue hovered in the air and nodded his head in approval.
Sakura smiled. Approval from her stolid Moon Guardian was not easily won, she thought with a tinge of pride.
A familiar challenging smile appeared on Yue's lips, warning that he was about to shoot again.
A sharp intake of breath was heard(from the Card Mistress) as Sakura jumped to the ground, landing on her feet. She rolled out of the way just in time as yet another of Yue's glowing blue arrows narrowly missed her already hurt arm by a hair's breath.
And so, the whole shooting and dodging process happened all over again.
*^*^*^*^* After the training session with Yue
"Touya!" Sakura yelped, wincing in pain and he bathed her cuts and grazes with warm water, "It hurts!!!!"
Her elder brother ignored her protests and continued dabbing at her cuts with the wet towel.
Kero patted her head sympathetically, "Don't you worry. It'll get easier in time, with practice."
Yue bowed his head, ashamed, as his amethyst eyes reflected regret and pain, "I'm sorry, Mistress. I should have gone easier on you..."
Sakura shook her head vigorously and taking Yue's hand, she said gently, "Yue, it's alright. You did nothing wrong. I was the one who asked you not to go easy on me. If anybody, I'm in the wrong. After all, I've only got myself to blame."
Touya smiled at that. That was his kind and thoughtful Sakura, always defending others without thinking about herself first, always putting others' well-being before her own.
Yue slowly raised his head to look hesitatingly into Sakura's reassuring emerald eyes.
Sakura smiled at him gently and he saw that she meant it.
His mouth slowly curved up into a smile unconsciously at Sakura, bright, kind Sakura who always found it in her heart to care for others, no matter how distant they were.
She had broken through his icy exterior and the barriers he had built up over the years...
There was just something about her that encouraged people to open up to her, to trust her.
He knew because he was one of the many people who had fallen under her 'spell'.Not literally!! Over the time, he gradually grew to love and care for her the way Keroberos did. He had at first scoffed at Kerobero's attachment and obvious affection for Sakura and scorned Sakura because he thought her weak. But as time passed, his resentment dimmed, wavered and faded away altogether as he started to care greatly for her, as a friend, like what she had said after the Final Judgment.
"And besides, a few scratches can't stop me!" Sakura said, ignoring Touya's snort and the pointed look Touya gave her scarred and abused body.
"Yeah! That's the spirit Sakura!! Way to go!!!" Kero cheered her on.
"Baka Kaijou..." muttered Touya, under his breath.
Sakura smiled sweetly and promptly made him regret his words. A stifled cry of pain was heard as Sakura's foot came in contact with his toes. And Sakura just continued smiling angelically.
*^*^*^*^* Firey
"Concentrate," Keroberos urged Sakura for the tenth time.
"I'm trying..." Sakura said through gritted teeth.
She reached out once again, for the Sun power, concentrating the heat radiating from the sun and the bright and blinding light the sun gave off. She could almost feel the hot and scorching strength and power... She welcomed the sudden rush of warmth all over her body. Suddenly her eyes flew open and they were no longer the sea of green they used to be.
Now, they were a blazing fiery crimson color with flecks of gold.
Sakura had fire in her depthless burning eyes. Bubbles of gold were rising up and breaking upon the surface of the bottomless well of fire.
Sakura gave the candle a hot golden glare.
There was an immense soundless explosion as the intensity of her gaze and Sun magic melted the whole candle as flames danced around them.
Firey smiled and rose up, joining her sister flame, reveling in the raging fire created by Sun magic.
Keroberos smiled proudly at Sakura, "I knew you could do it!!! Well done!!"
Sakura's eyes returned to their normal shade of emerald and she stared at the melted candle and the flames around them, stunned. [I did that??]
Keroberos saw what she was staring at and chuckled. "Now, all we have to do is to teach you how to control the Sun magic and let you have lots of practice so that you can do it faster." he said calmly, putting out the fire.
Firey circled her mistress and started teaching her control.
Both teachers were pleased as their student learnt fast, well and willingly.
*^*^*^*^* Earthy
"Now that you know how to call upon the Sun magic, do it again, only this time, think of the Earth when you have grasped the Sun Magic, instead of letting burn into a fire. It will be a bit more tricky but you ought not to have much of a problem." Keroberos instructed Sakura.
Sakura closed her eyes and reached out for the familiar scorching Sun magic and felt a wave of heat go through her body. Instead of picturing the leaping flames, her magical senses built up an image of Earthy, mixed with feelings and the aura of the solid, brown earth. The flames cooled down and she felt the firm, reassuring, comforting, warm and rich brown earth which most plants survived on. She slowly opened her eyes and they reflected the Earth. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of calm, steady and soothing clear amber. Slowly, her clear amber eyes began to glow golden and the ground shook and started rising steadily. Only when it reached the height of a small mountain did Sakura stop.
Both Earthy and Keroberos smiled and started teaching her how to determine the area to be raised and how to create pits and earthquakes.
By the end of the three hours, Sakura had learnt how to create canyons, steep cliffs and even mud statues just for the sake of learning.
When Sakura yawned for the umpteenth time, Keroberos smiled at the young lady of seventeen fondly and exchanged amused glances with the Moon Guardian and the Sakura Cards.
"Go to sleep," Keroberos instructed as Yue scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to her room. "We will wake you up at moonrise."
*^*^*^*^* Windy
"You will find it relatively easier to control Moon magic as unlike the Sun magic, it is gentle and mild. Now relax and tune your magical senses alert. Reach out for the Moon magic like you did with the Sun magic..." Yue said quietly.
Sakura closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the serene silence. Reaching out for the Moon magic, Sakura felt a gentle and peaceful white glow fill her slowly. She drank in the moonlight and her fair skin seemed paler and the gentle moonlight bleached her hair to such a light shade that it seemed golden. Her expression was peaceful and took on a calm and tranquility. Sakura radiated with an unearthly beauty.
Yue smiled at his mistress. Sakura was indeed very suited for Moon magic, even more than he had thought.
Sakura opened her eyes. Yue let out an inaudible gasp when he saw the amazing color of her eyes. Her almond-shaped eyes were liquid silver. Yue stared at her in wonder.
Recovering himself, Yue smiled and said, "Now, concentrate on the air around you. Feel the gentle breeze caressing your cheeks and blowing your hair back."
Sakura felt the cool air around her. The mild and refreshing wind was good-natured and gentle, wild and free all at once. She felt the nature of the air and knew that just because the air was genial, that did not mean that it was weak. In fact, the wind had great destructive force if it chose, judging by hurricanes and tornadoes. Sakura smiled. The element air was very akin to her own nature.
Sakura's eyes took on a hint of azure, becoming an exquisite silvery blue as she called upon a whirlwind.
Yue smiled and wrapped his wings around Sakura as the wind simply passed. Moon magic cannot work against one of her own. His student learnt fast.
Windy laughed softly and twirled around in the wind, and the wind gradually subsided.
They began teaching Sakura how to control the force and the speed and direction of the wind.
*^*^*^*^* Watery
"Reach out for the Moon magic as you have done before," Yue instructed, "It shouldn't be hard to summon Water. The only setback is that Water is unpredictable, like how the waves of the sea can be gentle and lap away at the sandy beach one moment, then another moment, the sea can suddenly turn stormy and crash down upon the shore, attacking the rocks furiously. So be careful, Sakura."
Sakura nodded and closed her eyes as the familiar white glow of Moon magic filled her again. Her magical senses recalled the aura of the blue, crystal clear water, the shock as she plunged into the deep icy waters, the touch of the cerulean liquid against her skin, the whisper and gurgling sound of running water and the force of a powerful waterfall crashing down, foam splashing everywhere. For a brief moment, it felt as if she merged with the water as one, running rapidly, crashing upon the rocks playfully and sweeping things along. She could feel the power running in her veins. Sakura opened her eyes which were a startling shade of aquamarine blue with flecks of silver. She created a tidal wave.
Yue nodded in approval and made the wave disappear before it swept them away.
Sakura smiled a little sheepishly and asked, "I would have to learn control, wouldn't I? So that I won't get a storm when I'm only trying to get a glass of drinking water."
Both Watery and Yue nodded yes to her question and started teaching her that.
===============================================================
Winged Guardian: Each training session lasts for three hours(with breaks in- between) and Sakura started at 6am, despite being the sleepyhead she is. That means that she slept at around 5 to 6 and was woken up again at 8pm to train in Moon magic. WoW...pretty tight schedule...but then again, she has to use whatever tine she has before the Black Star strikes.
Please review and hope you enjoyed reading my fanfic!
Winged Guardian
Heart_given_Wings@hotmail.com
Battle of the Two Arch-Rivals
By Winged Guardian
Note
"..." stands for speech
[...] stands for thoughts (if any)
... stands for author's comments
'...' stands for the chapter's title
===============================================================
Chapter 4: 'Training'
Her heart was pounding like a hammer and she panted as silently as she could.
Hearing a rustle of wings, Sakura immediately rolled out of the way, sprinting to the nearest tree.
An arrow whizzed past her head, so near it was that she could feel the wind and hear the high whistle of it passing. She heard a faint sizzling sound and realized that the beautiful glowing moonlight-arrow shot one of her stray hairs.
[Oh, it's beautiful alright, and deadly and unbelievably dangerous.]
[I would appreciate its beauty better when I can take the time to do so, since I seem to be a little busy over here, trying to dodge these lethal arrows, which would only miss once in a blue moon. Blue moon, ha!] Sakura thought sarcastically.
The arrow missed hitting her by the merest of fractions.
Sakura cursed under her breath. [Man! Yue is good. Kero definitely wasn't kidding when he said that Yue was the best in this world. Yue really knows his stuff, not that I expected any less, from the Moon Guardian of the Sakura Cards, created by Clow.]
She swore as another arrow whizzed past her, "Where does Yue get all these arrows from anyway??!!! I swear, he must have an endless supply of them!"
Yue's sensitive ears picked up her voice and smiled at her words, amused. Raising his bow, he shot another arrow with deadly accuracy.
Sakura jumped out of the way, but she was not fast enough. She felt a searing pain in her left arm as the arrow grazed it.
She bit her lip and ignored it. Eying the tree, she came up a wild idea. She took a leap onto the lowest branch silently and jumped from branch to branch, with the grace and agility of a feline.
Peering through the leaves, she spotted Yue. Taking her time, she observed his position and angle. She closed her eyes to let her other senses intensify. She need not aim for her target was already in her mind. Smiling as it what Yue trained her for, she let her arrow loose.
Caught by surprise, the Moon Guardian almost got shot. However, thanks to his many centuries of practice and experience, he leaped into the air, Sakura's arrow speeding just slightly below his toes.
Yue hovered in the air and nodded his head in approval.
Sakura smiled. Approval from her stolid Moon Guardian was not easily won, she thought with a tinge of pride.
A familiar challenging smile appeared on Yue's lips, warning that he was about to shoot again.
A sharp intake of breath was heard(from the Card Mistress) as Sakura jumped to the ground, landing on her feet. She rolled out of the way just in time as yet another of Yue's glowing blue arrows narrowly missed her already hurt arm by a hair's breath.
And so, the whole shooting and dodging process happened all over again.
*^*^*^*^* After the training session with Yue
"Touya!" Sakura yelped, wincing in pain and he bathed her cuts and grazes with warm water, "It hurts!!!!"
Her elder brother ignored her protests and continued dabbing at her cuts with the wet towel.
Kero patted her head sympathetically, "Don't you worry. It'll get easier in time, with practice."
Yue bowed his head, ashamed, as his amethyst eyes reflected regret and pain, "I'm sorry, Mistress. I should have gone easier on you..."
Sakura shook her head vigorously and taking Yue's hand, she said gently, "Yue, it's alright. You did nothing wrong. I was the one who asked you not to go easy on me. If anybody, I'm in the wrong. After all, I've only got myself to blame."
Touya smiled at that. That was his kind and thoughtful Sakura, always defending others without thinking about herself first, always putting others' well-being before her own.
Yue slowly raised his head to look hesitatingly into Sakura's reassuring emerald eyes.
Sakura smiled at him gently and he saw that she meant it.
His mouth slowly curved up into a smile unconsciously at Sakura, bright, kind Sakura who always found it in her heart to care for others, no matter how distant they were.
She had broken through his icy exterior and the barriers he had built up over the years...
There was just something about her that encouraged people to open up to her, to trust her.
He knew because he was one of the many people who had fallen under her 'spell'.Not literally!! Over the time, he gradually grew to love and care for her the way Keroberos did. He had at first scoffed at Kerobero's attachment and obvious affection for Sakura and scorned Sakura because he thought her weak. But as time passed, his resentment dimmed, wavered and faded away altogether as he started to care greatly for her, as a friend, like what she had said after the Final Judgment.
"And besides, a few scratches can't stop me!" Sakura said, ignoring Touya's snort and the pointed look Touya gave her scarred and abused body.
"Yeah! That's the spirit Sakura!! Way to go!!!" Kero cheered her on.
"Baka Kaijou..." muttered Touya, under his breath.
Sakura smiled sweetly and promptly made him regret his words. A stifled cry of pain was heard as Sakura's foot came in contact with his toes. And Sakura just continued smiling angelically.
*^*^*^*^* Firey
"Concentrate," Keroberos urged Sakura for the tenth time.
"I'm trying..." Sakura said through gritted teeth.
She reached out once again, for the Sun power, concentrating the heat radiating from the sun and the bright and blinding light the sun gave off. She could almost feel the hot and scorching strength and power... She welcomed the sudden rush of warmth all over her body. Suddenly her eyes flew open and they were no longer the sea of green they used to be.
Now, they were a blazing fiery crimson color with flecks of gold.
Sakura had fire in her depthless burning eyes. Bubbles of gold were rising up and breaking upon the surface of the bottomless well of fire.
Sakura gave the candle a hot golden glare.
There was an immense soundless explosion as the intensity of her gaze and Sun magic melted the whole candle as flames danced around them.
Firey smiled and rose up, joining her sister flame, reveling in the raging fire created by Sun magic.
Keroberos smiled proudly at Sakura, "I knew you could do it!!! Well done!!"
Sakura's eyes returned to their normal shade of emerald and she stared at the melted candle and the flames around them, stunned. [I did that??]
Keroberos saw what she was staring at and chuckled. "Now, all we have to do is to teach you how to control the Sun magic and let you have lots of practice so that you can do it faster." he said calmly, putting out the fire.
Firey circled her mistress and started teaching her control.
Both teachers were pleased as their student learnt fast, well and willingly.
*^*^*^*^* Earthy
"Now that you know how to call upon the Sun magic, do it again, only this time, think of the Earth when you have grasped the Sun Magic, instead of letting burn into a fire. It will be a bit more tricky but you ought not to have much of a problem." Keroberos instructed Sakura.
Sakura closed her eyes and reached out for the familiar scorching Sun magic and felt a wave of heat go through her body. Instead of picturing the leaping flames, her magical senses built up an image of Earthy, mixed with feelings and the aura of the solid, brown earth. The flames cooled down and she felt the firm, reassuring, comforting, warm and rich brown earth which most plants survived on. She slowly opened her eyes and they reflected the Earth. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of calm, steady and soothing clear amber. Slowly, her clear amber eyes began to glow golden and the ground shook and started rising steadily. Only when it reached the height of a small mountain did Sakura stop.
Both Earthy and Keroberos smiled and started teaching her how to determine the area to be raised and how to create pits and earthquakes.
By the end of the three hours, Sakura had learnt how to create canyons, steep cliffs and even mud statues just for the sake of learning.
When Sakura yawned for the umpteenth time, Keroberos smiled at the young lady of seventeen fondly and exchanged amused glances with the Moon Guardian and the Sakura Cards.
"Go to sleep," Keroberos instructed as Yue scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to her room. "We will wake you up at moonrise."
*^*^*^*^* Windy
"You will find it relatively easier to control Moon magic as unlike the Sun magic, it is gentle and mild. Now relax and tune your magical senses alert. Reach out for the Moon magic like you did with the Sun magic..." Yue said quietly.
Sakura closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the serene silence. Reaching out for the Moon magic, Sakura felt a gentle and peaceful white glow fill her slowly. She drank in the moonlight and her fair skin seemed paler and the gentle moonlight bleached her hair to such a light shade that it seemed golden. Her expression was peaceful and took on a calm and tranquility. Sakura radiated with an unearthly beauty.
Yue smiled at his mistress. Sakura was indeed very suited for Moon magic, even more than he had thought.
Sakura opened her eyes. Yue let out an inaudible gasp when he saw the amazing color of her eyes. Her almond-shaped eyes were liquid silver. Yue stared at her in wonder.
Recovering himself, Yue smiled and said, "Now, concentrate on the air around you. Feel the gentle breeze caressing your cheeks and blowing your hair back."
Sakura felt the cool air around her. The mild and refreshing wind was good-natured and gentle, wild and free all at once. She felt the nature of the air and knew that just because the air was genial, that did not mean that it was weak. In fact, the wind had great destructive force if it chose, judging by hurricanes and tornadoes. Sakura smiled. The element air was very akin to her own nature.
Sakura's eyes took on a hint of azure, becoming an exquisite silvery blue as she called upon a whirlwind.
Yue smiled and wrapped his wings around Sakura as the wind simply passed. Moon magic cannot work against one of her own. His student learnt fast.
Windy laughed softly and twirled around in the wind, and the wind gradually subsided.
They began teaching Sakura how to control the force and the speed and direction of the wind.
*^*^*^*^* Watery
"Reach out for the Moon magic as you have done before," Yue instructed, "It shouldn't be hard to summon Water. The only setback is that Water is unpredictable, like how the waves of the sea can be gentle and lap away at the sandy beach one moment, then another moment, the sea can suddenly turn stormy and crash down upon the shore, attacking the rocks furiously. So be careful, Sakura."
Sakura nodded and closed her eyes as the familiar white glow of Moon magic filled her again. Her magical senses recalled the aura of the blue, crystal clear water, the shock as she plunged into the deep icy waters, the touch of the cerulean liquid against her skin, the whisper and gurgling sound of running water and the force of a powerful waterfall crashing down, foam splashing everywhere. For a brief moment, it felt as if she merged with the water as one, running rapidly, crashing upon the rocks playfully and sweeping things along. She could feel the power running in her veins. Sakura opened her eyes which were a startling shade of aquamarine blue with flecks of silver. She created a tidal wave.
Yue nodded in approval and made the wave disappear before it swept them away.
Sakura smiled a little sheepishly and asked, "I would have to learn control, wouldn't I? So that I won't get a storm when I'm only trying to get a glass of drinking water."
Both Watery and Yue nodded yes to her question and started teaching her that.
===============================================================
Winged Guardian: Each training session lasts for three hours(with breaks in- between) and Sakura started at 6am, despite being the sleepyhead she is. That means that she slept at around 5 to 6 and was woken up again at 8pm to train in Moon magic. WoW...pretty tight schedule...but then again, she has to use whatever tine she has before the Black Star strikes.
Please review and hope you enjoyed reading my fanfic!
Winged Guardian
Heart_given_Wings@hotmail.com