YAY! You found chapter two of my firstest ever fic. Just to let anyone who actually enjoys this know: I have the third/last chapter written – just not typed so be patient.
Again, I don't own CCS, no matter how much I wish I did.
Chapter II
Walking to Sakura's house was very dreary. Aside from calling her dad, Sakura had not said a thing. Tomoyo tried light conversation, but it sounded too forced, and was not helping the cause.
Tomoyo knew Sakura was down in the dumps thinking about loosing her precious cards. She also knew that she had struck a chord by mentioning it, although she really didn't mean to. She just wanted her friend to think about consequences. She would never do anything to make her sad
Sakura thought to herself, "Tomoyo's right. What's going to happen if I lose the cards? I love being a card captor. I don't want to think to a time when they won't be a part of my life."
"Then again, there's nothing I can do about that. My destiny is to collect all of the Clow cards that I let loose, and I must meet it by any means necessary. I can't afford to develop emotional attachments with the Clow cards. And I can't develop a moral conscience about making a new card. They're just things ; not human beings."
Sakura wanted to believe everything she was saying, but in the pit of her stomach she knew that they were just empty words. She could never really prepare herself for what she was going to do. But she had to do it, regardless of consequences; ready or not.
Tomoyo couldn't stand Sakura not talking to her for another moment. Her house was beginning to come into view; and Tomoyo wanted to settle this once and for all.
"Sakura listen. I am so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean to upset you, believe me. I just said what was on my mind. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. Please forgive me."
"Don't worry about it Tomoyo.," Sakura said with a smile, "I wasn't that upset. I just needed some time to clear my head and think about some things. I understand why you said what you did, and I am totally OK with it."
"So are we good now?"
"We are more than good."
The two girls hugged just as they came to Sakura's house. Before they could ring the doorbell the door flew open and Sakura's dad along with Touya rushed out.
"Oh Sakura", her dad hugged her, "Are you OK? When you called I was so worried. Do you need to go to the doctor's, or do you want to sleep? Just tell me what you need."
Sakura stared at her dad for a moment, "Actually dad I think I'm OK."
Touya took one look at her and laughed. "To be perfectly honest not only are you a monster but, you look like one too!"
"Touya!" Fujitaka exclaimed.
"Don't call me monster!" Sakura yelled back.
Tomoyo just giggled. She knew that this was normal behavior for the two siblings. Touya cared for his sister more than any other brother cared for any other sister. She knew that he called her 'monster' out of affection more than anything else.
"Well, dad, since I'm not in pain or anything Tomoyo and I are gonna go up to my room and hang out for a little while; OK?"
Her dad looked a bit stunned, "Sure honey, just call downstairs if you need anything."
"Yup dad. See you in a bit."
The two girls sped up the stairs and went into Sakura's room. However, before they could actually make it inside the doorway the came face to face with Kero-chan.
"Aaah!" The two girls yelled in surprise.
"Sakura are you OK?" Kero looked her once over, " Tomoyo, what did you do to her?"
Tomoyo looked a bit confused so Sakura answered the question for her.
"Tomoyo didn't do anything to me. I feel off of Touya's bike on the way to her house. Besides how did you know that I hurt myself?"
"You left your door open when you left so I could hear your dad talking to you when you called."
"Oh."
"I was worried I was going to have to ask that Li kid to capture the last card because you were out of commission."
"Ha, Ha, Ha. Very funny Kero. Besides I think I know how to beat the Earthy card."
"Oh really? Tomoyo, is this true?"
"Yup. Sakura has come up with a plan that will help her capture Earthy. However it is a bit unorthodox."
"All right, Sakura, what's your plan?"
"Well, when I was unconscious I got around to thinking…"
"Huh?"
"OK, well I wasn't really thinking, I was sort of having a dream. It was all dark and then this voice started calling to me. Saying 'Help me Sakura' and 'Only you can save me…you have to bring me to life', it was all kind of creepy. Anyways, when I woke up in Tomoyo's bathroom-"
"-Which by the way is still a mess and I am going to be in trouble later."
"Anyways, when I woke up I started to think that maybe it was a Clow card that was talking to me. And if that was true I wouldn't have to "bring it to life" because it has already been created by Clow Reid."
"Uh-Oh" Kero started, "I can see where this is going."
"Can I please finish before you pass any judgment?"
"Continue."'
"So I thought that the entity who was talking to me had yet to be created, and was waiting for me to do so. And I remembered what you said this morning, about affecting one card with another. So I just put two and two together and figured I should create a card to help with fight against earthy."
"And which card would that be?"
"The Improve card."
"Improve?"
Tomoyo interjected, "That's exactly what I said at first."
Sakura glared. "Yes, Improve. I'm going to use the Create card to make a card that will increase the powers of my other cards so that I will be able to defeat Earthy. Besides Kero, it was you who gave me this idea."
"I did?"
"Uh-huh. When I asked you if there was a way to make my cards stronger you didn't answer me right away, and you came out with that whole 'affect one card with another' speech."
"That is true Sakura. I did have a feeling that you were going to utilize the create card to help you in your quest. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but once fate has decided what it wants to do with you, all you can do is let nature take its course. No matter how you feel about it."
"Wait a sec. Kero, you don't think I can do this?"
"Sakura I have no doubt in your abilities; I know that you can do this. I think a better question would be do I think you should do this. Then my answer would be a bit hesitant."
"But you just said all that stuff about the fates, and how it's written in the stars or whatever. Now you don't think I should do this? That's almost contradicting yourself…as a matter of fact it is contradicting yourself."
"Sakura don't get mad at me. What's "in the stars" as you so nicely put it, I don't always agree with. If I see that sometime in the near future you plan on bungee jumping off of Tokyo Tower, I certainly don't think it is a good idea. However I know something is going to make you do it whether I like it or not. And the same applies here. I do not agree. I feel it is immoral and unfair to the cards. But I know you are going to do it anyways."
Sakura looked stunned. Kero sounded so harsh to her. He said outright that he doesn't like her idea; that it was wrong. Usually he backed her up, or tried to help her. This time he just yelled. She had felt good a mere ten minutes ago. She had come up with what seemed like the perfect solution, but she seemed to be the only one who thought so. She pushed away the hurt she was feeling, and took a deep breath.
"Well Kero, you're right about one thing: nothing you can say or do will change my mind. But it isn't because of some fates; it's because I believe that I am right. And if you'll excuse me, I half to make a trip to the bathroom." And with that she stormed out of her room, but not before taking something out her bag.
"Whoa." Tomoyo said, "What was wrong with her?"
Kero sighed, "It's like I said nothing I can say can stop her from continuing with her plans. On the contrary, just about everything I said made her more sure of herself."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, because she came up with plan all her own she feels like she has to prove that she was right in every single way possible."
"What does she need to prove? Look how far she's come already. Her progress has been amazing. She has grown not only in her magic, but she's become more intelligent and more mature. Although she wasn't acting too mature just then."
"You are absolutely right Tomoyo. She doesn't need to prove anything, at least not to me or you. But she I think she still feels a bit inferior to that descendent of Clow Reid."
"You mean Syoaran?"
"Yes. Since he has arrived here, he has given Sakura a hard time about the cards. The reason he does that is because he feels that he should have been the one capturing and restoring the cards to their rightful place. In a sense he feels inferior to Sakura."
"Wow, Kero I never thought of it that way. Do you think we should go get Sakura now?"
"No, she'll come around in a little bit. Right now I think she just needs space to breathe."
"I guess so, I just hope she doesn't stay too mad for long."
"Knowing Sakura it will only last a few minutes."
"Kero, I was wondering…Sakura was telling me about her experience with Light and Dark…"
"Yes, I heard about that."
"Well, she said that they spoke to her directly, knew her name and all. Told her about a challenge that would come from Yue, and how they wanted her to be their master."
"Where exactly are you going with this Tomoyo?"
"Do the cards have a mind of their own, or was it Sakura dreaming?"
"Tomoyo, those cards can think and feel as much as you or I can."
"Well, do you think that the cards will be angry at Sakura if she goes ahead with her plan?"
Kero hesitated. To be perfectly honest, he hadn't thought of what the cards' reactions would be exactly. He was mainly worried about Sakura, and her developing magic. He did give some thought about how it would be unfair to the cards, but not their feelings exactly. Now that he was thinking about it, he became a bit worried.
"Kero, you haven't answered my question yet."
"That's because up until you mentioned it, I hadn't given it a second thought. And now I'm worried that may have been a grave error."
Tomoyo turned a funny green color, "What do you mean by 'grave error'?"
"I mean that since the cards have a mind of their own, they have a will of their own, and they may show Sakura how they feel in their own way."
"That doesn't sound good."
"You're correct in your assumption. It's not good, and Sakura could put herself and everyone she knows in serious trouble. And that includes you and I."
"Well, maybe if we tell her what you think could happen, she'll forget about her plan."
"I highly doubt that, but it's still worth a shot."
Tomoyo looked around the room quickly, "Gee Sakura sure has been gone a long time for just a bathroom trip."
"You're right Tomoyo. I wonder what's…"
Before Kero could finish his sentence, a surge of power entered the room from down the hall.
"Oh, no. Tomoyo, where is the Clow Book?"
"Um…it was in Sakura's bag…wasn't it?
The two looked over at Sakura's bag, and found the book missing.
"Kero…"
"I think Sakura has gone ahead with her plan already. She hasn't written anything in Create yet, though. Quickly, let's warn her before anything bad happens."
"Right."
The two rushed out of Sakura's bedroom and turned toward her bathroom. They could see a shining light coming from beneath the door, and could hear the rustling of wind.
"Sakura!" Kero yelled. "Open the door!"
Tomoyo banged at the door with all her might, "Sakura please open up!"
Suddenly everything stopped. The noise quieted and the wind ceased to blow. No one moved or even breathed. No one, that is except for Sakura.
"It's finished."
The pause only lasted for a moment so when Sakura opened the door for her friends it seemed as though nothing had happened. Tomoyo and Kero stared in at Sakura, who was breathing hard, sealing wand in hand.
"Sakura…"
"It's too late guys," Sakura said as she held up something in her hand, "It's finished. I've gone ahead and done as I planned."
"Sakura…is…"
"What Tomoyo is trying to ask is if everything is OK."
"Well, look for yourselves."
Tomoyo and Kero moved in a bit closer and peered at the new card. For the most part it looked like one of the originals. The back was exactly the same, and the front had the same border. As for the image of Improve, it looked like a young girl. She had her hair in braid that fell over her right shoulder; a bit unorthodox for a Clow card, but it looked fine. Her eyes were closed, as usual, and she had an upside-down triangle on her forehead, the corners were three dots filled with a light pink color. The same symbol appeared on the long gown she had on. Her hands were clasped in the center, and she had a mysterious smile on her face. But the oddest thing about her appearance was that she had one wing, resembling that of a raven, on her left side.
Kero looked up at the beaming Sakura, and smiled at her. He was glad she was proud of herself, especially since everything seemed to be in order. Tomoyo, on the other hand, continued to stare at the card with a scrunched up face.
"Tomoyo, is something wrong?" Sakura asked her friend.
"Something's…changing…"
Kero and Sakura looked at each other oddly then moved closer to the card again. Tomoyo was right, something was changing, but it was hard to placer at first. Then it began to become more obvious what was changing. The card's mysterious smile was moving and shifting into a sad frown. Small silver droplets began to form beneath her closed eyes, and fall slowly onto her robe. The three gasped in unison.
"She's crying," Tomoyo said breathlessly, with a sad tone in her voice. Kero shook his head and turned his face away. Tomoyo, staring at the ground the whole time, handed the creation to its master. But Sakura just backed away from it with a look of sheer horror on her face.
"What have I done?"
With that she turned and walked out of the room. Tomoyo and Kero just looked at each other. Tomoyo turned to put Improve and Create back into the Clow book, which Sakura had left in the middle of the floor. She first put Create back, with no trouble at all, but when she went to put Improve in it, the book snapped shut and began to glow.
"Uh-Oh…"
And Improve was still crying.
