New part. New faces, old faces, new story line? No idea. I'm following my head.

Updating might get a little slower because I'm kinda sick right now and I'm not sure if my parents are going to let me on the computer as much. But I'll keep writing and I'll post as soon as I can! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. Or the phrase "going to hell in a hand basket". That one belongs to my humanities teacher!

The Bells – Part Two

Chapter Eight: The New Beginning

"Sakura, wake up! It's time for school!" a sing-song voice called directly above her. Sakura turned over and her green eyes fluttered open. But they weren't as bright as before. A new dullness covered them.

Tomoyo stood above her, with her black hair fanning out in soft waves behind her. Sakura smiled at her friend and she left the room.

Sakura raised herself up off the bed and looked at herself in the mirror. Her green eyes looked back at her but they had lost something. A sparkle of mischief? A love? She couldn't figure it out. She turned away and pulled on her uniform like she did every morning, and walked out of her bedroom.

The smell of breakfast attacked her nostrils and she stalked into the apartment's tiny kitchen. Meiling was already at the table grumbling and Tomoyo was at the stove. None of them could remember how they got the place. But it was being paid for by someone and they just kept living there. Maybe for their whole lives, they had been living there but none of them remembered any events from before a year ago. Meiling and Tomoyo were seniors and Sakura was a junior now, and people at the school had seemed to know Sakura so they just played along to learn things about themselves. Then it just became an everyday thing to them.

"We need to leave now. The bus will be here soon," Meiling said as she put down her fork. Tomoyo nodded and grabbed all of their stuff to pass out while Sakura grabbed a piece of toast. Tomoyo had always acted like their mom since they could remember. Always there and ready to do everything, from pushing them out the door to school or drying up tears. They each had a part to play and always felt connected to the other two by some unknown string.

The three walked outside and over to the bus stop. When it pulled up, they got on, but not before Meiling noticed a man on a motorcycle riding up to the bus. She always had an eye for faster vehicles and none of the three could explain why. But she really didn't pay much attention to them usually. Until this one, because he kept following every turn the bus made and finally ended up at the school with them.

"Who's the mystery boy?" she whispered and nodded in his direction as they exited the bus. Sakura and Tomoyo glanced over their shoulders at different times to see who Meiling was talking about.

He was a boy not but three years older than Meiling and Tomoyo and four years older than Sakura. A mop of brown hair lay over his head and face and two piercing amber eyes seemed to be looking for something. Then his gaze landed on the girls.

Sakura happed to look over right as he began walking towards them from where he had parked his motorcycle. "Girls, we have company," Sakura muttered. "Split up," she added as he did not seem to be changing directions. They all rose to their feet and walked in different directions.

Sakura didn't dare look back over her shoulder, but she saw people's surprised faces as she walked by and knew he was following her. She turned a corner and caught his eye. She was starting to get scared and that wasn't something she was known for doing very often. 'What does he want with me?' she thought to herself. She ducked into an empty classroom and stood with her back on the wall. He must have seen her because a second later the door opened. 'Oh my god, I'm gonna die,' she thought as she clenched her eyes shut.

"Sakura," he said. Her eyes popped open. How had he known her name? But his voice sounded oddly familiar. Maybe he had been on the radio, but Sakura doubted it. She knew she had known him before. She just couldn't remember from where.

"What the hell do you want with me? Who are you?" she said forcefully. She noticed that her voice had quivered with fear but he didn't seem to. A look of despair crossed his eyes but it was soon replaced by anger. She gasped inwardly. How had she been able to read his feelings?

"Who the fuck are you to pretend like you don't know me?" he hissed. She swore she saw fangs but they were gone as fast as they had appeared.

"What the hell are you talking about? I've never seen you before in my life!" Sakura felt bad about yelling at a complete stranger but then she reminded herself that he was, well, a complete stranger. A complete stranger that just happened to be following her.

"I still love you, Sakura. Even if you don't seem to love me," he whispered. Sakura's eyes flew to his face instantly. He had his face to the floor and she couldn't see his eyes. But before she could say anything else he turned on his heel and left. What the hell was that?

Sakura emerged from the room a minute later. The man was nowhere in sight. She walked alone to her locker. She had started doing the combination when two arms encircled her. 'What the hell is up with this guy?' Sakura thought to herself.

"Go away, Himitsu," she spat.

"You still don't remember me?" he whispered in her ear. She shivered violently. She would have rather have the stranger confessing his love to her than this creep.

She slammed her locker shut and turned around when his arms left her. He was smirking at her as usual. His light greasy blonde hair covered his greedy blue eyes. She could tell he was only after the money they had made to keep going. Tomoyo had made a fashion line over the summer that had spread quickly. It had brought in millions of dollars that they put in the bank for safe-keeping and college funds. Then Sakura was a part-time model to keep money coming in for food and other necessities. But Akito Himitsu was not getting his greasy paws on their money.

He took her prolonged silence as an invitation. He leaned in closer to her to steal a kiss and Sakura's open palm flew to his face. He stumbled backwards gripping his face where a small red hand print had started to form.

"I told you to leave me the fuck alone," she said through gritted teeth. She stalked off towards P.E., her first period class. Sakura was on the cheer squad and they practiced during first period P.E., so Sakura went to the locker room to get on her workout outfit.

The class passed quickly as the squad practiced their cheers and then the half-time performance for that Friday. But Sakura couldn't concentrate. 'Who was that man?' He plagued her mind during class until something very unusual happened.

A large gust of wind blew through the gym. But the doors were closed so a gust of wind shouldn't have been inside. The teachers called for the gym to empty and Sakura stood in the circle in the middle of the gym, in a daze, as people pushed past her.

Suddenly the gym was quiet. Everyone was gone. Sakura remained in the middle of the gym. She stared ahead blankly. A necklace appeared around her neck. As if she was in a trance she took it from her neck and chanted a small incantation. The key-shaped pendant on the necklace glowed in a sphere of light and turned into a staff as the chain disappeared. She grabbed the rod forcefully.

"Windy! Return to the form you were meant to be!" a strange but familiar voice resounded from Sakura's throat. The 'wind' swirled around Sakura for a second before a card appeared and it turned into a woman before disappearing into the card. Sakura grabbed it. Then another presence stirred and Sakura's trance broke.

"Where am I? What is this?" Sakura wondered out loud as she stared at the card and the staff in her hands. "The Windy," she read. A woman arose from the card and faced Sakura.

"Card Mistress," the woman said. "I am your faithful servant, Windy, and I will do whatever you have me do," the woman said. Sakura just stared at her. Then she felt the stir again.

"There is another present?" Sakura asked. Windy nodded and Sakura closed her eyes to pinpoint the source. Then her eyes snapped open.

"Erase! Return to the form you were meant to be!" Sakura yelled as she faced the bleachers. A woman dressed in plaid arose and flew into another card that appeared.

Sakura looked at the two cards wide-eyed. What were these things? She didn't notice that all of a sudden the gym was filled with students running out the door again.

"Sakura, let's go!" a girl with light brown hair in two braids said as she grabbed Sakura's hand. Sakura recognized her instantly as Chiharu and her knees unlocked. They ran together out the door and into the locker room. The squad coach came in a few minutes later to tell them to get back into their school clothes. The gym would be closed until the end of the day.

Some of the other girls sighed in relief but Sakura could only think about what had happened. What the hell was going on? Her world seemed to going to hell in a hand basket and there was nothing she could do about it.