Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura. It is owned by the wonderful ladies of CLAMP.
Chapter 4: A journey begins
"Eriol-sama! Eriol-sama!" yelled the chestnut haired boy as he ran into his mentor's chambers.
"Good morning, Syaoran-kun." greeted the sorcerer politely.
"The Emperor chose me! He selected me for the mission to track down the Princess of Kinomoto!" cried Syaoran enthusiastically.
"Yes, I am aware. Congratulations Syaoran-kun, it is a very important task and also a great honour that you were chosen for it. I am sure you will do your best."
"Hai. I promise that I will not fail. I want nothing more than to prove myself worthy to both my Mother and the Emperor. I know that my Mother will worry but I am both old and strong enough to take care of myself."
"Yes, but you will not only be taking care of yourself now. As the Emperor has all ready said, you must make sure that no harm befalls the Princess before the chamber is finally opened."
"Yes, if anything happens to her then the whole plan will be ruined, and I won't let the Li clan down, the Kingdom is depending on it."
Eriol smiled softly. "I am sure you will do great."
Syaoran blushed slightly. "A-arigatou, sensei. It is because of your training that I have been able to come this far. I promise to make you proud."
"I am sure you will. Well I suppose that you'd better get going now, no telling what trouble the little Princess is getting into without her mighty protector by her side."
"She'll be able to hold her own till I get there."
"I hope you're right." replied Eriol trying to suppress a chuckled. Syaoran blinked in confusion.
"I will leave now."
"Good luck, Syaoran-kun."
"Farewell sensei, I shall return soon." He replied before leaving.
Eriol smiled as he watched his young student leave.
"Bye, bye Syao-chan!" cried Nakura as she ran out from the other room once Syaoran had left.
"So it has begun. Both have left on their journey." stated Spinal sun as he floated beside his master.
The reddish haired girl pouted. "Aww I wanna go on a journey too! It's so boring being stuck here all the time!"
"Don't complain." said Spinal Sun who could not be bother listening to his fellow guardian's whining.
"Yeah but the only time that we have been out in the real world was the time when we went to visit the Mizuki shrine with Master!"
"Do not fret Nakura, it will not be long before everything is finally in place, and then you will be able to go out into the real world, but until then please be patient." He said in a gentle voice.
"Yay!" She wrapped her arms around her master, smiling once again.
"Are you sure the boy will be able to handle the task expected?" asked the floating cat-like creature. "He is strong but…"
"Syaoran-kun has a lot of hidden strength that he has of yet been able to summon. Soon that power will emerge. I have faith in him. He is my student after all." replied Eriol with wink.
"Yeah Suppi-chan don't be such a worry wart!"
"There's not wrong with being cautious and stop calling me Suppi-chan!"
"Aw but it sounds so cute." She argued playfully.
"That is not my name!" he retorted growing angry.
"I know that. It's your cute nickname!"
"I don't care for any nickname. Call me by my real name!"
"Aw, Suppi you're so boring!"
"There you did it again!"
Eriol passively stared out of the window. "Good luck Syaoran, for you will need it."
Sakura had accepted the Inn keeper's advice and was preparing to leave. She had spent all of yesterday thinking things over, yet still nothing made sense. She also couldn't help worrying what had become of her family. Apart of her all ready knew, but still there remained a part that refused to even think about it. It was now very early in the morning and they had decided to leave at this time since the Mimura-san had said it was best to do so before any of the other lodgers were up.
She hadn't been able to get much sleep last night and had spent a long time just sobbing into her pillow praying that she wasn't being too loud as to disturb Tomoyo. When she woke up this morning she found that she had extra time to spare before needing to get up and be ready to meet Mimura-san. Surprisingly enough though Tomoyo was all ready up and dressed. Sakura feared that perhaps she had awoken her last night and she was unable to get back to sleep because of it. Either that or it was nerves. Who wouldn't be frightened in going on a treacherous journey such as this? However when Tomoyo saw her awake she greeted her warmly and offered to help her get ready. She didn't seem nervous at all, or either she was just very good at hiding it. Sakura on the other hand was terrible when it came to hiding her emotions.
Given the extra time they had, Sakura got Tomoyo to cut her hair to just about shoulder length. If she was going to be roaming the lands with hundreds of soldiers after her, then it was definitely better to look as un-princess like as possible. Although Tomoyo claimed that it was a shame to cut off such beautiful long hair, Sakura was quite pleased with it. She had always wanted short hair but her Mother had made her keep it long. Besides the fact that she liked it, it was suited better for journeying and wouldn't get in the way if she were running which unfortunately she would be doing a lot of.
"Sakura-chan, it's time to leave." stated Tomoyo after she had finished making the bed. Sakura nodded and quickly lifted up her backpack.
Closing the door gently, they quietly crept down stairs to the kitchen trying not to wake any of the tenants up and then stood beside the back door where the Inn keeper had told them to wait.
"Look." said Tomoyo pointing to the counter were there were two bowls and some bread. "I imagine these are us. Misumara-san said last night that we should eat something before we leave so as to keep up our strength."
Yet again she didn't feel much like eating but like the old woman had said she really did need to keep up her strength for the journey ahead, plus she had also mentioned that if she was too tired or worn out then her magic would not work.
"I guess I don't have much of a choice." She said to herself as she stood by the counter and started to eat.
It's strange, I feel much stronger since Misumara-san transferred some of her magic into me. She said that as time goes on I'll feel even stronger and learn more. But-but what if the magic doesn't work for me? This journey will be difficult… What if I'm not strong enough to handle it, I'm just a princess after all. But Kinomoto is counting on me. If I don't find those two guardians and open that Clow chamber thing then things could become disastrous. Oh, I wish Onii-chan where here, he'd know what to do.
"Sakura-chan, are you all right?" Tomoyo asked worriedly noticing that her friend continually kept phasing off.
"Oh I-I'm fine." replied Sakura, giving her a small smile.
Tomoyo returned the smile. "I am glad."
"Anou… Tomoyo-chan…."
"Yes?"
"You-you really don't need to come. I mean you don't have to come if you don't want to. It's going to be very dangerous and I would feel terrible if anything were to happen to you. I mean you have helped me out so much all ready. I mean if it wasn't for you then I would still be back in Kinomoto and the soldiers from the Li clan would have found me."
Tomoyo quickly shook her head. "Please don't concern yourself with that. I am glad that I have been able to help you, but I want to help you more. The journey would be awfully lonely by yourself, and if I were to stay here then I would worry about you too much to be at peace with myself, thus I am better off going with you. I may not know any magic but I would like to accompany you. Besides friends always stick together, ne?" she replied her finger pointing upwards and winking.
Tears filled her emerald eyes as gazed at the kind smiling girl. "To-Tomoyo-chan…" Instantly she threw her arms around her. "Arigatou!"
"Let's do out best and look out for each other." added Tomoyo happily.
"Hai!"
"With your wonderful newly discovered magical abilities you will be able to defend yourself against enemies and fight against the forces of evil, and I will be there right by your side ready with my pad to take notes."
Sakura blinked and stared for a moment in confusion. "Notes?"
"Hai, I asked Misumara-san if she had a notepad and she gave one to me. Now I will be able to record your amazing battles through my writing. And once the fighting ends and everything is back to normal, the people of Kinomoto will be able to learn of the dangerous and fierce battles their dazzling young Princess went through for their sakes and for their beloved country!" Stars shone brightly in her eyes. "Oh, it will just be so wonderful!"
Sakura sweatdropped, noticing the weirdness was returning back to the other girl. "To-Tomoyo-chan…"
"Are you girls ready then?" asked the Inn Keeper as she suddenly walked into the room.
Both nodded.
"Well you'd better leave now then. The sooner you leave, the less chance you have of being caught."
"Misumara-san, I want to thank you so much for everything you have done for me." said Sakura before bowing. "Is there any way I can possibly repay you?"
"You can repay me by retrieving the two guardians. The fate of the world is resting on your shoulders."
"Hoe? The-the world?"
"Yes, there's no telling how far the Emperor of Li will go with his plans of ruling."
Sakura looked ready to collapse. "So-so what you're saying is that fate of the entire world is down to me finding those guardians and opening the chamber thing?!"
"Ah, don't be so worried about it now." replied the old woman patting her encouragingly on the back. "I'm sure you'll do fine!"
"I think I'm going to be sick…"
"I imagine we'd better be going now then." The raven haired girl pointed out.
"Ha-hai…"
"Good luck to both of you!" the woman called out to them as they started to walk away, although not as loud as to wake the others who were saying in the Inn.
"Farewell Misumara-san!" they yelled, waving goodbye.
"Wait!" Sakura cried suddenly. "The spells you gave me, how do I use them?"
The old woman smiled softly. "You will just know." And with that she went back inside and closed the door.
"Ano…"
"We better take her advice and go quickly." suggested Tomoyo.
"Sakura nodded and swiftly they left.
The emerald eyed girl stared intently at the sun above. It was ironic how the sun could be shining so brightly above while below everything was in complete chaos. Although they had only left the Inn a few hours ago, Sakura's legs were all ready aching. She stopped and sighed. "I'm definitely not used to walking this much."
"Would you like rest of a little while?" offered Tomoyo who to Sakura didn't look in the least bit tired.
Sakura shook her head. "No, it's all right. Let's keep on going,"
"Hai."
She couldn't afford to sit and rest now, she had to carry on with her journey or risk being caught. Sadly she thought of her people back in Kinomoto. I am doing this for them, and my family.
As the hours raged on they continued to walk forward although they had taken many short breaks in between due to Sakura being constantly out of breath.
"Sakura-chan, the map that Misumara-san gave us indicates that there is a cross road up ahead. Which path shall we take?" asked Tomoyo as she studied the map in her hands.
"Um, well I guess we could continue walking straight."
"Is that where the guardians are?"
Sakura gave a small sigh. "I really don't know. I have no clue as to which way we should go. Misumara-san said that when near then I should be able to feel their presence but I don't feel anything at all."
"This creates a problem then." replied Tomoyo with concern.
"For all we know they could be in complete opposite direction from the way we're heading!" screamed Sakura in frustration.
"I suppose in away it is just like a treasure hunt."
"We don't have time for treasure hunts!"
The auburn hair girl let herself fall down on to her knees. "How did I get in this situation?! I just wanted to be a normal carefree girl and now this happens. I don't want the responsibility of the world on my shoulders!"
"I'm sure everything will turn out all right. We just have to do what Misumara-san advised us to do and keep our faith." spoke Tomoyo sad to see Sakura so dismayed.
"I know. But it's just so-"
"Well, well, well, what have we got here, eh, lads?"
Both girls instantly looked around to see a large man standing there grinning dirtily at them. Suddenly several other men appear from trees and bushes near by. Looking around Sakura realised that they were now at the cross roads. She had been so busy worrying that she hadn't even noticed.
"Oooh, I was expected one of them wandering cooks to come by next but I must say this is much better."
Judging from their ruffled appearances and scoundrel looks, they were no doubt thieves who hid away until some innocent unsuspecting person walked by and then would mug them.
"Now what would you two lovely young maidens be doing wandering out here all by yourselves?" asked the large man.
"Yeah it's dangerous out here you know." said another.
"And you just ran into it."
Sakura gulped and took a small step backwards but they were surrounding them.
"We just wish to travel through." Tomoyo spoke up trying to sound as calm as she could.
"You want through, eh? Well sorry my dears but that's gonna cost you."
"And I assure you that the price ain't cheap."
Tomoyo bit her lip and gazed up at the man apprehensively. "I am very sorry but unfortunately we will not be able to give you any money. You see we really need the small amount of money we have for our journey. It is very important so please would you be so kind as to let us through?" she pleaded softly, and bowed.
"Boss, what the hell is she talking about?"
The large man raised one of his eye brows and snickered. "So you can't pay us can you? Well then don't you worry about that, am sure there's another way you fine young ladies can pay, am I right lads?"
The men started to laugh and suddenly Tomoyo and Sakura felt themselves being grabbed by the men.
"What are you doing?!" cried Tomoyo.
"You have to pay us some other way don't you?"
Sakura screamed loudly only causing the men to laugh louder. "Stop! Help! Please someone help me!"
"No one can hear you from all the way out here!" laughed one of the men holding her. "You may as well save you breath, well at least until your payment begins."
No this can't be happening!
"I think I'm gonna start with this one." declared the leader grabbing Tomoyo by her chin.
"Tomoyo-chan!"
Holding her by her hair he pushed his lips into her face, Tomoyo unable to struggle due to the tight grip he had on her hair.
"No stop!" screamed Sakura struggling with all her strength to get free.
"Ooh I don't think this one can wait her turn." chuckled one of the men holding her.
"Give her over here then!" yelled another.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She had to do something! She had to save Tomoyo! Tomoyo had volunteered to come even when didn't have to but now she was the one who was in trouble!
'Let's do out best and look out for each other.'
Tomoyo-chan… How can I possibly find the guardians and save Kinomoto if I can't even deal with common thieves?
Sakura's eyes instantly shot back open as she heard Tomoyo's loud scream. She threw her head around in Tomoyo's direction to find that as well as kissing her the man now had his hand down her top. "Stop struggling you little bitch!"
At that moment Sakura felt immense fury erupt from inside her. "TOMOYO-CHAN!!!!!"
Suddenly the men surrounding her were all tossed backwards. "Leave us alone!" A green ball arose from Sakura's palm and she shot at the men causing them scatter and scream. She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that she must protect Tomoyo.
As she turned towards Tomoyo's harasser he instantly let go of her breasts. "You better let her go!"
"You-you're a witch!" shouted the man trembling in fear. He shoved Tomoyo aside and grabbed a near tree branch. Enraged he ran towards Sakura with it ready to strike her. But the moment he got within a meter of her he was thrown backwards. The rest of the men had all ready started to fun away and with one last attack she sent him cowering away like the rest.
A few moments later she fell to her knees, a strange dizziness coming over her.
"Sakura-chan!"
"I-I… did it." With that she blacked out.
Authors Notes: I hope this chapter was all right. And I apologise for any grammar/spelling mistakes. Thank you lots to heheangel kisses for reviewing last chapter. I wasn't sure whether to continue posting because I thought no one was reading. ;;
Anyway arigatou for reading, any feedback or advice on how I can improve would be greatly appreciated.