Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. Now, leave me alone before I set a Life-Eater on you!
A/N: I want to thank people for reviewing my work…though not a lot did…now on with the story.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
By: Anonymous
Chapter 2: In the Alleys
Sakura stared at them trying desperately not to roll her eyes. They were doing it again. Tomoyo, Rita, Nikki and Chelsea were all huddled in the living room with thousands of ancient looking books around them.
" Guys—" Sakura began.
" Sakura," Tomoyo said not really listening to her best friend," don't get mad at us…we have been searching through the books for hours…and it is not our fault if we haven't found a weakness of the Night lord—"
" But—"
"—and we have not even bothered to wake you up…I mean I know it's a Saturday and all and it is afternoon…and—"
" It's what?"
"—that every book talks about the defeat of all the things he has ever faced and that he is really cruel…and—"
" Tomoyo, listen to me…" Sakura said, " why the hell didn't you wake me up?"
" Well, it wasn't really her fault…Kaho let you sleep in…" Rita said interrupting, " she said something about deserving it…"
" And besides," Chelsea said, " you were complaining from a few weeks ago that your entire body was aching immensely and Kaho thought it was a really good idea if you gave your body a little rest…"
" What's the time?" Sakura asked annoyed.
" Four-fifteen," Nikki said flatly.
" You should have woken me up guys…I need to train before I go on my usual patrol…" Sakura said urgently as she put her waffles inside the toaster waiting for it to get ready.
" So," Sakura continued on, " who is coming with me tonight?"
" Kaho is…" Nikki said.
Sakura frowned. Kaho hardly went out on a hunt with her.
" And Sakura?" Tomoyo asked concerned, " are you sure you are alright…you are sweating a lot right now and you look sort of pale…do you need us to go on the patrol with you…we can definitely handle a few—"
" No Tomoyo, I'll be fine…" Sakura said unconvincingly. Tomoyo and the triplets hadn't look very convinced. Sakura forced herself a smile. That worked.
" I am going to get changed," Sakura said quickly, " I have to get ready for the hunt…you guys keep searching for the landlord thingy alright?"
" It's Night Lord…" Chelsea said grinning. Sakura grinned back.
" See if I care…" she said cunningly.
Sakura went up the stairs and opened the door to her room. She slumped on her bed and sighed. She couldn't risk telling them the real reason that she was so badly sweating. The real reason was very, very different. The real reason was because of a –dream.
Sakura hadn't really known what her dream meant. But it was downright frightening. She had only seen flashes of it. There had been a man…and a woman…a gleaming knife…a raging fire…a terrifying howl…a thousand voices that spoke like one…and there had been blood…the woman's blood. That was scary but that wasn't why she had been sweating.
The dream had been very vivid and it was so bright that Sakura had actually felt the pain of a searing pain up her body. The pain was unbearable and she had bitten her bed sheet to try and control this pain. She didn't know where her body began or where it ended. Sakura had finally done the only thing she could've done and slapped herself real hard. That had woken her up.
Sakura had been seeing this dream for two weeks now. But today—today it was so much clearer and so much more painful.
Sakura snapped out of her trance. She looked at her clock—5:36. Sakura got up and undressed herself. She locked the door and opened the washroom door. She turned on the shower full speed and felt savage pleasure in feeling the hot water go down her bare shoulders. She examined her cheek where she had slapped herself. It looked really red although Sakura couldn't tell if that was for the fact that she had slapped herself for every single day of the week to wake herself up from the dream, or if that was for the hot, hot water.
Either way, she didn't care. After a few minutes, Sakura turned the water tap off and got out of the washroom in a pink fluffy towel. Sakura went and opened the window feeling the cool breeze make its way through her skin. The sun was setting down and the sky was blood red promising a hard and dangerous night for Sakura. She closed the window and dressed up in khakis and a sleeveless shirt.
"NOOOOOO!" Sakura almost jumped. That sounded like Rita. Sakura stopped drying her hair and went out of her room to see the commotion.
"What's going on?" Kaho asked sharply.
Rita was red from shock. So were Tomoyo, Chelsea and Nikki. They all looked as though they were being boiled.
" What is going on?" Sakura asked looking extremely aggravated. There was a look of worry on everyone's faces.
" OK, is anyone going to tell me or am I-"
" No, Sakura, it's not that…there was a book called Sayonara of Enchantments and—well it is a really powerful book and I thought it might have been useful but—but now I can't find it…" Tomoyo said quivering.
" So? When I go out to patrol tonight, I'll ask some of the Life-Eaters if they know who Nighty Mighty is, alright?" Sakura asked still not getting the reason for so much tension. The sun had already set and Sakura decided it was better to dress up.
She was really glad Tomoyo didn't ask her about the type of battle gear she was going to wear.
" Oh—Sakura, wait I almost forgot…" Tomoyo said getting an intelligent smile on her face.
So much for forgetting, Sakura thought to herself. She followed Tomoyo dreading the excitement that was emitting off Tomoyo. God, what was wrong with this woman? She was really, well, energetic and—and so cheerful and—well, it just didn't suit her. Sakura was a very different sort of person.
Unlike most of the slayers, her grades were really good and Sakura wasn't the type to go all dreamy every time a cute guy passed her. She didn't believe in the whole vampire-and-slayer relationships for quite a number of reasons—a) she wasn't a slayer, b) vampires hardly came near her (they would run away if she let even a sight of herself be seen), c) most of her time was cut off by all the work she had to do and the list could unexaggeratedly go on and on.
Her time was extremely packed and Sakura, being the perfectionist in everything that she was always divided her time into three main segments. The first segment was her university courses that she was taking and surprisingly passing with flying colours earning a second rank out of 500 students. How in the world, she got into honor roll was one even Sakura had to think sometimes. She hardly had time to study at all considering the second segment- bank accountant job she did part-time to earn the credits. And then, there was of course the usual patrolling time (third segment) where she protected the city from bid, bad and vicious Life-Eaters.
Sakura sighed again. This was because Tomoyo was taking out an extremely hideous looking thing that Sakura dearly hoped wasn't her battle gear.
" Tomoyo…I don't know how to say this…but—uh—what—is that?" Sakura said with the look of deep disgust.
" Oh, your new battle gear!" Tomoyo replied smoothing some of the wrinkles.
Sakura could only stare at the thing Tomoyo was holding. Out of all the clothes Sakura had to wear, she would never have chosen that one but considering the pleading look on Tomoyo's face, Sakura was not going to get her way.
" Uh, yeah—where is the rest of it?" said Sakura with something close to an enraged smirk.
" Sakura, relax…" Kaho said calmly, " I told Tomoyo to make you that battle gear…it helps you stretch more and gives you more flexibility…we call it…"
" Flexibility 3000!" Kaho and Tomoyo said together rather dramatically.
Sakura's actions were something a fly would be addicted to as her mouth was wide open and her mind wondering how a person who she thought to be mature turn so—so immature in the matter of a dress.
Sakura took the battle gear and went upstairs towards her room. She closed the door and began undressing again. Her thoughts began working again. She was never the sort of person who was boy-crazy or a popular person or someone who was cool. She would lie if she said that studying was the most boring thing ever. Sakura loved studying science—strange since at night, science was mocked with the appearance of Life-Eaters. Sakura valued her principles and loved getting everything just right. She was an excellent computer hacker when needed but the thing she liked most about herself was her independence. Her parents gave this house to her since they were considerably wealthy when alive. The house had the twenty year pension already paid so Sakura could live in peace for eight more years before having to worry about it—if she lived that long. Slayers' and Eradicators' life definition was-short and brutal.
Sakura put her pocketed belt on as usual and opened her drawer to take out her specially carved stakes. She looked at herself in the mirror and felt like killing Tomoyo. The battle gear was stretchy all right but it was very, very, very tight. The battle gear was a two-piece. The bottom part was tight and low-cut and obviously black. The material wasn't leather but Sakura suspected it was nylon and to Sakura, the pants looked suspiciously and slightly transparent. But Kaho was right. They were comfortable and—
-Sakura executed a high kick—definitely flexible and stretchy. They were soft too. The top part of the battle gear truly bothered Sakura. The top didn't meet the bottom. In fact, it was far from the bottom. The top was half-sleeve and made of the same material as the bottom but instead of meeting the pants, they were tight and stuck to her upper body making an upside-down U shape right below her chest. The result—her whole front was visible showing off her creamy white skin. Sakura groaned. She could kill Tomoyo later.
Sakura tied her hair into a high messy, ponytail.
" Sakura! We are getting late for the patrol…" Kaho screamed from down the stairs.
" Coming…geez…" Sakura growled in frustration. She could think later.
Within a few minutes, Sakura and Kaho, who wore battle gear ready for fighting, were all out in the streets embracing the air that was coming towards them at incredible speed.
" Getting pretty cold huh?" Kaho said after a few minutes of surprising silence.
" No…sorry—wait, what?" Sakura asked looking perplexed.
" What happened?" Kaho asked looking a little worried, " are you alright…I mean you never zone out on patrols…so it is a little strange…"
Sakura allowed herself a silent snort. Never zoned out? Boy, Kaho knew as much about her patrols as she knew about dating and that was considerably low.
" Nothing, really…" Sakura smiled, " it's just that…well something…just doesn't feel right…that's all…"
Kaho seemed to get overexcited by this, " No, Sakura, it could be anything…we should be ready…"
" Kaho, relax…it's just this really sharp idea and—"
" –-they usually happen to be right…look, Sakura, if you're worried about the Night Lord, then well don't…he is powerful and no matter what the other girls say…we can beat it…I just don't know how yet…"
" Kaho…tell me the truth…" Sakura stared at Kaho. The good thing about Kaho was that her face was like a window to her thoughts. Unlike Sakura, who was well enough in this position to master the art of deception, Kaho, from the lack of training, had everything—thoughts, feelings, emotions—written on her face like a book.
Like for example, right now, Sakura merely stared at Kaho whose face was swelling every minute. Her eyes were darting from here to there and her lips were put up in a conservative frown.
" Well? Sakura said impatiently.
" Sakura…I am so sorry…I guess I—I should have told—listen, there is a prophecy about the Lord…except it isn't like anything I have ever read before…I don't know but there were strange things in the prophecy that, well, it makes me wonder if—" Kaho suddenly stopped.
Sakura knew why. The uneasy feeling that she was being watched was now stronger than ever. But now, Kaho could sense it too. Sakura guessed being a slayer once, helped now.
" Sakura—" Kaho began.
"—I know, Kaho…it's coming…we should—" Sakura's mouth went dry, and her body, for the first time-somehow, her body felt vulnerable. If Sakura thought someone was watching them, she was most certainly wrong. Someone wasn't watching them, whoever it was, was watching—her and her only.
Sakura readied her body into attack mode as her hands automatically reached for her stakes. Her stomach sank into an icy and bottomless hole. The stakes weren't there. Well, one of them was, the other wasn't. Sakura mentally kicked herself for that. How could she have forgotten such an important weapon? Her mind recalled back to the events of the moments before she went out on her patrol. It probably dropped when she executed that high kick. She couldn't quite remember the reason behind not properly zipping the side-pocketed belts. What did it matter now? Her mind jerked back to reality as she found herself running.
" Wait, Kaho…why are we running?" Sakura asked all of a sudden.
They stopped. The ground suddenly began shaking. What the hell? She exchanged horrified glances with Kaho. Something was coming from below them. The ground continued to shake as trees began swaying and the gravestones that they were passing began to sink. A hand dug out of the ground and that same action multiplied as more hands began coming out. Vampires…not exactly good but not quite bad. Sakura smirked. Life-eaters were much stronger than vampires. She took out her single stake as Kaho took out holy water and a huge stake from God-knows-where.
Sakura lunged first as she flipped and did a powerful 360 degrees kick and dusted ten vampires with one slash. But the problem was that more were coming out—an action that Sakura wasn't used to. Life-Eaters hardly did that…Kaho looked at her realizing they were outnumbered.
" We need to ditch…" Kaho said flatly and they ran, the vampires at their heels, " the vampires are pretty strong for their usual amount of power and they're a lot of them…that hardly happens…unless of course they're—summoned…of course…"
"Er…Kaho…you mind letting me in on your secret…" Sakura said as they ran past the dark alleys of Tokyo.
" Yeah, see…humans…all die at different times. It is not possible for vampires to sire at the same time unless they are summoned by Vampire Kings…but this wasn't a work of a king because a king's vampires are very weak…it had to be someone stronger than that…" Kaho stopped speaking and slowed down as they entered a more isolated part of the city.
" And? Who do you think it is?" Sakura asked wanting to badly fight someone.
" Well, I don't know…I mean you hear a Life-Eater speak in fear of the Night lord and well, Life eaters are pretty strong…so if they are scared of the Night Lord…then it makes me wonder just how powerful he is…and now this strange summoning all of a sudden and mind you…just before the vampires attacked…we both sensed someone watching us…and well, I don't know…let's just…"
Sakura unexpectedly felt very drowsy and faint, which was strange since her job didn't require that. There was a strange familiar sensation in herself—a sense of familiarity that seemed to build up every time the Night Lord's name was spoken…it was strange since she barely even knew the guy.
Sakura looked over at Kaho whose mouth was hanging open…about five to six Life-Eaters were standing there smirking. Sakura groaned. This was not her day.
" That's it…I have had enough of you guys…" Sakura yelled as she lunged for them…but Kaho interjected.
" No! I'll handle them…you look sort of weak to me…you run and I 'll—"
" No! Kaho, I can do—"
" No, you can't…you can't" Kaho said urgently.
Sakura nodded and with the weak assurance that Kaho would survive, Sakura ran through all the shortcuts of Tokyo.
After a few minutes, she stopped running gasping for breath. Sakura smiled. That was a good run, but as the reason for the run came back, the smile went back to the frown it always was. She should've never left Kaho there alone. Sakura punched the air in the alley bitterly. She had to go back there.
Kaho was her lifetime friend. Sakura couldn't bear to think what would ensue if any harm came to her Watcher.
Sakura tightened her fists until they were white. She walked towards the entrance of the alley in order to get out when suddenly…she stopped and wheeled about. Sakura's eyes widened. There was that feeling again. There were sudden footsteps, light and graceful promising yielding strength and danger. Sakura stepped back. Something was coming from the shadows. She tried to sense but whatever it was, possessed strong spiritual and magical powers too as its aura was blocked.
Sakura had a foreign feeling inside of her and before soon, she realized that she was scared. No one had been able to block out her powers and it scared her that this being could. The footsteps stopped.
" Who are you?" Sakura asked calmly. She was slightly panicked but that creature didn't need to know that.
There was no answer, only a mysterious wind howled around the alley smoothly going against Sakura's body. Sakura's grasp tightened around her one stake and Sakura was about to lung when she suddenly realized that it was not there.
And before she could do anything, strong arms encompassed her waist. It was nothing but sheer instinct that allowed Sakura to make her next move. She kicked both her legs high up in the air, staggering the arms and soon had done a strong flip and landed right in front of the dark figure.
" You have grown stronger than the last time, I have met you-" a deep, mature voice said amusedly.
Sakura's whole body felt like it was covered by ice. That voice! She had heard it before. Common sense told her that she had never met this guy before but something told her that the voice was unerringly familiar. But Sakura couldn't quite see him.
The clouds, which had covered the sky, had opened revealing a slice of the moon. The moonlight showered from that single slice, but that was enough. Sakura had seen the face of the eerie figure. Her eyes had widened again and her body felt like it had sunk even lower in the ice. Her lips became very dry and for the first time, her body was uselessly numb and paralyzed. Somehow, the sight was vaguely familiar.
The man was devastating in looks. He had rebellious chocolate-colored manes and his eyes were a ocher colour that pierced through Sakura's very soul. He was now wearing a black casual shirt that had a few buttons open revealing his gorgeously muscled torso. He work brown pants that hugged his legs and on top of that was a long trench overcoat. That man was now smirking and Sakura had a shrewd idea of who it was.
The man approached her. Sakura was frozen—an action that was rare. The only time she had been frozen was that night when her parents had been killed. The man came closer and closer until his body was so close to her own that Sakura felt as though her body would burst. The man bent his upper body lower for his face to reach her neck. Sakura silently gasped. He was a vampire. Great, now her reputation had gone even lower. What would people say if they found out that a vampire killed the Great Eradicator?
Sakura closed her eyes. She was going to be killed. Her mother had once told her that when someone was about to die, they could see their whole lives pass by them. Strange, Sakura couldn't see anything except the man's annoyingly gorgeous face. The man's hands encircled her waist and before soon, his face was at her neck. Sakura bit her lip. She was going to die…she couldn't believe it…she was going to die. She was going to miss so many people, her cousin, her—
Something was damp on her neck. She let out a small gasp. The man wasn't feeding on her-he was kissing her. The man put feathery kisses on her neck and licked it with his tongue sometimes nibbling it, but certainly not biting it. Sakura's body now burned. She had to get away from this man before more surprises popped out.
Sakura kneed him and pinned him towards an alley wall in a swift motion.
" Who the hell are you?" Sakura asked angrily.
In the moonlight, Sakura's face could be seen too…and her skimpy though highly stretchy battle gear. There was a flicker of recognition in the man's eyes but he smirked like never before.
" What happened, little vixen…scared?" He asked amused.
Sakura felt angry and in that one moment she let her guard down in anger that gave the man enough time to have the tables turned and pin her down. The man whispered in her ears.
" I—am—Syaoran!" he hissed and in that one swift motion, he bent down and kissed Sakura on her lips. It was a cruel kiss and not a sweet one either.
A pain, shot through her like lightening and Sakura suddenly saw visions. A woman…the man…the gleaming knife…a terrifying scream…a raging fire…someone whispering, "Kill Her!"… a knife touching flesh…a final scream…blood—the woman's blood…her face could not be seen…a cruel and high-pitched laugh—
Come out of it, Sakura…you don't have to watch this…a cool, and deep voice spoke.
Sakura opened her eyes and gasped opening her mouth, letting the man, Syaoran's tongue into her mouth as it roamed around tasting her freely. This man—he killed the woman…he was the man she kept dreaming about…
Sakura growled and with all her might pushed Syaoran to break the kiss.
" I am going to give you thirty seconds to run fast before you are dead…" Sakura said with cold fury.
" Thirty seconds…don't flatter yourself, Sakura…" Syaoran said.
Sakura froze. How the hell did he know her name? The dark world didn't know her by her birth name. So how—
Sakura pushed these distracting thoughts out of her head and lunged for Syaoran doing a fantastic performance of punch and block with some high kicks that Syaoran gracefully blocked. Sakura noticed that Syaoran only blocked attacks, never attacked her.
" You don't remember me?" Syaoran said sneering as he finally punched and Sakura blocked.
" Are you the—"
" –I am the Night Lord …but you are supposed to be the Eradicator…you don't look very calm…in fact you look like a lost bitch…"
Sakura did a 90-spin kick almost thrashing Syaoran's face…almost…
This guy seemed to know her every move. Sakura punched him and only managed to find air. She kicked and the same results occurred. This guy knew her weakness…almost as if—clunk!
Something fell on the ground. Sakura turned around and looked. It was her stake—her only stake on the ground a few feet away. Great, Sakura thought, how am I supposed to fight him now? There was only one thing to do. She had to run and Sakura prayed Syaoran hadn't seen the fallen stake. Sakura dashed for it and in an instant found herself on the ground touching the stake yet there was someone's foot on it.
Syaoran ushered her up taking her by the chin. Sakura didn't have time. She did a narrow flip and grabbed the stake readying it straight for the heart.
She had almost made it too…when a searing pain shot up through her body. Sakura did not know what it was. She did not know where her body began or ended. All she knew was that her body felt like a thousand hot knives were stabbing it.
" Why did you stop?" whispered Syaoran seductively.
Sakura dropped on her knees. The pain was so intense, Sakura was surprised she was still breathing. Her nerves were on fire.
" What the hell did you do?" Sakura whispered back through gritted teeth.
" Gienalum—the greatest witch to live—she did the spell…you cannot hurt me…otherwise…" Syaoran laughed.
" Alright…so now no one can hurt you…big deal, I will find—" Syaoran put his pointing finger on Sakura's lips to stop her from speaking.
" You do not understand me…" he said smoothly, "…I did not say no one can hurt me…I said you cannot hurt me…it is still the same because the only one powerful enough to kill me…can't…" Syaoran laughed pleasantly.
Sakura couldn't find anything very funny in the matter, so she remained silent. Syaoran walked towards the shadows and looked back at Sakura, his ocher eyes staring so passively. He left and disappeared into the shadows.
Sakura stood there perplexed for quite sometime before regaining her composure. That guy was seriously weird.
" Syaoran huh?" Tomoyo said staring at Sakura that night at one fifteen a.m. In fact, everyone in the living room was staring at her.
" What?" Sakura asked.
Kaho, who looked very worn-out from killing vampires, cleared her throat, " well, I know who he is…Syaoran Li…he is the Night Lord…"
" Yeah, I know…I don't care…" Sakura said not caring.
" You should…" Rika said with the three triplets in agreement nodding their heads.
" Why?" Sakura said still exhausted.
" Because…" Kaho said biting her lip, "…he was said to have loved an Eradicator one thousand years ago…"
" But there is only one—"
" You could be her reincarnation, Sakura…" Nikki said, " you could be…"
Sakura sat there looking as baffled as ever.