Title: Beneath the Cold Layer

A/N: ummm… yeah… I realized this is a bit confusing… so I just hope it actually flows.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Italicized – Thoughts/flashbacks

Chapter 3

My head. Sakura felt as if a jackhammer had rammed into her skull, splitting her cranium into two. She tried to lift her eyelids upward, but it wouldn't budge open. Around her, she could hear bits and pieces of voices gently comforting her ears.

"Maybe we were too hard-core on her. If he didn't came there in time, then we would've had lost her." Yue?

"But the thing that troubles me is that how did they know that we were there?" And what's Kero doing here? Where am I? "I mean, they shouldn't have already rounded up teams and groups so soon. How did they spread the word so quickly? And who the hell was that guy?"

Heaving a sigh, "I don't know. All I found out was that a group of kids just-" But Yue was cut off when he heard a soft groan coming from beside him. Yue and Kero immediately knelt down next to their master.

Prodding gently, Yue asked, "Sakura? Are you okay?" Receiving another small groan, he repeated his question again.

"Not so loud." Her voice was hoarse and rough. My head. It hurts. Licking her lips, Sakura brought her wrists to her temple and laid them there for a moment. Still not opening her eyes, she asked, "Where am I?"

"We're at Yukito's house. Since Yue couldn't technically bring you to a hospital, he thought this was the next best thing."

"Kero?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened?" The last thing Sakura had a memory of was a foreign vampire smirking right in front of her face right before a blast of sheer white lightning brought her to unconsciousness. She remembered a sense of helplessness surging throughout her body when she couldn't grasp anything in front of her even though it seemed as if it was an arms reach away. Sakura sighed. And the power. The power radiating from him was so strong. So strong it terrified her.

"You were being choked to death." That one statement brought chills down her spine. I was about to die?

Yue continued, "Kero was knocked out," Sakura could hear a scoff from the little beast beside her, "and one of the vampires got a hold of you. I tried to get closer, but I was caught up in some sort of spell." Magic? "I didn't realize what it was at first, but then I later discovered that it was a small dose of black magic."

"Black magic?" I'm so confused. Now there's another source we have to deal with?

"I'm guessing it is black magic. I'm not really certain, however. Kero and I were looking it up while you were sleeping. I wouldn't worry about it though. Your main priorityare the vampires." Vampires. How I loathe that word. Sakura realized she had made a face when Kero asked oddly off to the side, "Got an itch?"

"So then happened?"

"The spell they had used made me lose the feeling of my legs. I couldn't reach you in time, but then someone else came into view."

"Someone else? I thought no one knew about the vampires except us."

"That's what I would like to know." Sakura could hear the suspicious tone in Kero's voice.

Hearing a sigh, Yue continued, "I'm not sure as well, but we can't think too dark of him. He did save Sakura in time."

"But that's suspicious enough!" Kero retaliated. "Who knows what he would ask for in return!"

Too loud! Quelling down her annoyance, Sakura questioned, "Do you know who he was? If he saved me, then we should at least thank him."

"There's no need for gratitude. This is not a place for acknowledgment and gifts." Sakura heard Kero mutter hastily next to her.

"Kero-"

"He's right though." Yue softly interrupted her. "We have to take extreme precaution. We don't know who that person was, but if we find him again, then we'll ask him questions." With that said, no one said a word afterwards.

Sakura tried to calm her breathing. Her chest felt tight from remorse and pain, and her body ached everywhere. She could hear the soft humming of the air conditioner running in the background and feel the warmth from the sunlight lightly caressing her cheek, and somehow, this relaxed her.

"Do I still have to do this?" came her weak response, disrupting the silence. Not receiving an answer, Sakura held back the burning desire to complain. Even though it would make her seem like a child, she wanted to express the deep anguish that was lodged tightly in her throat. But I am a child! I'm not ready for this!

After a few minutes passed, Kero asked carefully, "You okay?"

"Just sore." Drawing a deep amount of air into her lungs, Sakura breathed out slowly. "How do I look?"

"Look down." I can't. I can't move my head. The pain is too much.

"I'll look at it later." Hesitating a little, Sakura asked warily, "Does it look bad though?"

Sensing a bit of uneasiness, Sakura asked again with a little bit of force when no answer was formed, "Does it look bad?"

"It doesn't look bad!" Kero's answer was too abrupt. Sakura waited for him to continue. "It's just.. a bit damaged is all."

"You have a bruise on you forehead. A black eye, a busted lip, numerous scratches on your arms and legs, a swollen ankle, and one of your rips were close to being broken." Rely on Yue to put it to her bluntly.

"If you still want to go to the hospital, I can take you there, but they would probably want some answers." Sakura could barely hear him. "I took care of the major injuries, so you just need to rest for a while until you get your strength back."

How ugly must I look?

"Sakura?"

I can't fight, I can't kill, I can't do anything right. Sakura could start to feel the futile burning near the corner of her eyes. I can't move my head. I can't open my eyes because it hurts. I can't feel my toes or my legs as well. This is not me. I didn't want this. I did not ask for this. I'm a cardcaptor, not some kind of slayer. There were too many burden placed on my shoulders before, I don't want to add another weight onto it again.

Sakura felt a tiny paw touching her shoulder. "Sakura? Does your eyes hurt?" Shit, did they saw my tears?

"What? No... Why?"

"Because you've been staring at the ceiling since the beginning."

What? But I haven't opened them yet.

"Sakura?"

Panic instantly paralyzed her feeble body.

"Sakura?"

I can't see.

Who expected this? Not me.. well.. kind of.. bWAhahaa. I know there were not a lot of actions in this chapter, but more info right? Ha ha.. this chapter was more of a tint glimpse of reality for Sakura, and yeah.. But, like always, excuse my grammar mistakes, I know there are a lot of them, and as for the progression of this story, I'm kind of getting tired of it. It seems like this story is going down in the drain… down… down… waay down….. So, don't expect a quick update anytime soon. I'm neither really excited nor am I content with this story as of now, and I'm not sure if this chapter actually flowed as well, so hmm… But I would just like to thank those who reviewed, you made my day on that, so yeah, thank you Truly Hypo, Wings of Jade, Onigiri Momoko, and Sinequa! .:throws out flowers and chocolates:.

Toodles!