Author's note: Enjoy and please review. Thank you.
At the Kinomoto household, 12:00 at night.
Sakura was kneeing beside Syaoran, drying off raindrops from his face. "How did you find him?" Sakura asked Touya, who was sitting in a chair, watching Sakura tend to Syaoran.
"I didn't. He stumbled in front of the car. I almost ran over him." Touya sighed. " I figured it would be easier to bring him to the house then drive all the way to the hospital."
Sakura nodded, never taking her emerald eyes off of Syaoran's face. "Is he going to be ok?" she whispered. Her vision suddenly became blurry and she relieved that she was almost crying. She turned her head away from Touya, and wiped her tears, hoping Touya did not notice her emotion. He didn't.
Touya walked over and placed a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulder. "He seems ok. I think if we just let him rest, he will be fine." Touya said softly. Sakura looked up at him and smiled. The next hour passed fairly in silence. Touya had woken up Fujitaka who had come in and checked Syaoran. After checking Syaoran's temperature, he announced that the boy seemed ok. For the next half hour, he talked with Touya about the car ride, and then shrugged.
"We can't do anything until Li-kun wakes up..." Fujitaka said, yawning. The two men then tried to convince a very resistant Sakura to go back to sleep. It took the good part of the next hour into the night before they manage to get her to agree to get some rest, on condition that one of them would watch over Syaoran. Touya gave up his covers to Sakura for the night, and grabbed two more blankets. When the door to Sakura's room was finally shut, the Kinomoto men looked at each other and sighed.
"You go on to bed." Touya said as Fujitaka started to head for the living room. He looked at his son, then the living room, then at his own bedroom. The call for sleep seemed to have won over the argument, and he bobbed his head up and down. Touya walked into the living room as his father shut the door. Touya looked at the unconscious Syaoran, who chest raised and fell deeply. Touya covered Syaoran up again, and then sat himself in a chair facing the sofa.
"Stupid Gaki." Touya muttered, raising his voice just above silence. "You made Sakura sad. You made her worry."
Syaoran's response was another deep breath. "You know, Sakura has not been the same since you left...it was you, I'm sure of it. Some days I can't really tell myself whether Sakura is really happy or faking it." Touya sighed. "She sometimes has this...look...in her eyes. That's when I can tell she is thinking of someone." he grinned as he watched Syaoran chest move up and down. "You know, you aren't half bad when you are like this. I could get to even liking you if you never moved. That way you would stay away from my sister." he paused.
"...but she won't stay away from you. I know that. You know, I would rather she hang out with you then with that Hiyoshi guy. He did not even have the guts to glare at me," Touya laughed. He got up from the chair, walked over to Syaoran, and leaned over him. Touya tucked in his blankets then he pointed his finger in Syaoran's sleeping face. "But if you ever try and hurt Sakura again by leaving without even writing to her, I will kill you, Gaki."
"...maybe I should start calling you Syaoran Bozu... nah, I'll only start doing that when you stop being such a little pisshead around me." Touya let out another small laugh and then settled back into his chair.
Kinomoto household. The next morning, very early
Touya woke up wondering where he was. His back felt very uncomfortable, and his clothes were stiff. Smells of hot food drifted up his nose, causing his eyes to open to a very disturbing scene.
Sakura was sitting on the sofa, next to the Gaki's body. She was leaning very far over him with washcloth and wiping his face gently. She cocked her head to one side and ran her other hand through the messy brown hair, letting her fingers entangle for a few seconds before extracting them. The expression on her face was unreadable; it was as if she was lost in other world.
Touya felt anger coming slowly up. Even when the Gaki was asleep, he was affecting her! "Sakura!"
She looked up, and blinked a few times. "Huh?" Sakura's expression showed that she was confused. "What's wrong, Touya?"
Touya looked at her. It was as either she did not remember what she did seconds ago, or she was playing dumb. He guessed dumb.
"What were you doing with the Gaki?!"
She looked at him with big, innocent eyes. "What are you talking about?"
Touya bit his tongue from lashing out at his sister for being that close to the Gaki. He instead stomped his feet and went to the table. Fujitaka raised an eyebrow at Touya, who ignored it. "Hey, Kaiijuu, aren't you gonna eat?" Touya called back.
Sakura shook her head and continued to look at Syaoran.
"She already ate."Fujitaka said as he tossed a green apple to Touya. "I've already checked Li-kun and he seems to be fine. We'll just give him time to wake up." he glanced at his wristwatch. "I'm late."
As Mr. Kinomoto opened the door, a familiar face popped up. "Tsukishiro!" a surprise Fujitaka said.
Yukito stepped in smiling gently, and bowed his head. "Good morning. I heard To-ya was back from the university."
Touya stepped into the hallway. He and Yukito stared at one other, sending messages without the need of spoken words. There were a few seconds of silence before Fujitaka said a quick hello and good-bye to Yukito and rushed out to his car.
Yukito stood in the doorway for a few more seconds before Touya coughed a come in. Sakura stood up and smiled when she saw the two men return. Yukito was surprised to see Syaoran and a quick story of what happened was told.
"He'll wake up, I promise." Yukito said in a reassuring voice to Sakura, who returned to tending Syaoran.
"Come on, lets' go outside." Touya said and waved his hand towards the door. Once out of Sakura's hearing, Yukito and Touya sat down on a pair of old, wooden chairs.
A few minutes of silence passed before Yukito spoke. "She really does love him, doesn't she?" he said in a soft voice, eyes looking at the sunrise.
"What are you blabbing about?" Touya spat.
"Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun." he paused. "She loves him. I doubt she knows it herself, but I can see it...in her eyes."
"You're insane. She's not ready for that." Touya said, anger growing in the pit of his stomach. "And that Gaki is not the one for her."
Yukito only shrugged. "I think you know it too. You are afraid that you will lose her, aren't you? That if Syaoran-kun loves her back-"
"Shut up."
Yukito stood up and kneeled next to Touya, looking up at him. "I just want you to remember that, while you may not always have Sakura, I am always here for you, my friend."
Touya looked back into Yukito's eyes. He knew, deep down, in the back of his mind, that what Yuki was saying about his sister might have a grain of truth. Maybe even more then a grain. Through Yukito's words invoked anger in him, his reassurance calmed him greatly. He nodded, finding words difficult to say.
"Is this why you came? To remind me I will always have a friend?" Touya asked.
Yukito nodded. "I heard from Kero that Syaoran was here. I felt that you would have needed me."
Touya smiled. He felt...something, when he was with Yukito. Reasurance? Confidance?He did not know nor care. Yuki was somehow always able to tell when to take Touya's words at face value,and when to look for the hidden meanings. Maybe it was this fact that made it so easy for Touya to be around him. "Do you...wanna grab a coffee?" he said suddenly.
Yukito looked up and smiled. He looked back at the house. "What about Sakura-chan?"
" As long as the Gaki stays unconscious, she's fine." he growled. Yukito smiled again and led the way back inside the house. Sakura looked up from watching Syaoran, a questioning look in her eyes. "I'm...we're going out for a few hours." he thrust his head towards Yukito, who still had a small smile.
Sakura looked from Touya to Yukito. "Hai.Where are you going-"
A loud noise interrupted the last part of Sakura's sentence when two slender figures came rushing into the room. A tall boy with glasses and blue hair walked in front a girl with long black hair. All five in the living room looked at one another.
"Eriol-kun? Tomoyo-chan? What are you doing here?" Sakura said as she jumped up from beside the couch, and stared at the two newcomers. Tomoyo and Eriol glanced at Sakura, then at Touya and Yukito, then at Syaoran.
"My apologies, Sakura-san, but-" Eriol started.
"We need to talk." Tomoyo finished.
Yukito raised his eyebrows but said nothing. 'Trouble has started again?' he questioned himself. He glanced at Touya and figured the matter could wait for a few more hours since Eriol and Tomoyo weren't jumping up and down screaming that there was a monster or something similar.
"Whatever. Kaiijuu, don't burn the house down." Touya said and headed for the door. "Where do you want to go, Yuki?"
"A new place, downtown. I'll drive." Yukito replied, bowing to the three teenagers and went with Touya. Sakura sat back down on the couch next to Syaoran, unconsciously placing her hand on top of his. "What is it?" she asked.
Tomoyo bit her lip and looked at Eriol to start. The boy pushed his glasses up to the top of his nose and began. "Someone is looking around for you, Sakura-san." he paused and sat down on the chair opposite Sakura and Syaoran. " I don't know who this it is. They are trying very hard to hide their aura within themselves. I happened to have become aware of this...thing, for lack of better word," Sakura opened her mouth to say something but Eriol put up his hand.
" I don't know if ...it...is a person. Or a magician. Or something we have never come across before."
"How do you know if the...thing...is looking for me?" Sakura interrupted.
Eriol shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really. Like I was saying, I became aware of this thing when it passed very close by me. I was walking down the street when a car crash happened, and it let out some sort of energy."
"What energy?"
"That's the scary part. I've never felt it before. Neither has Clow. Anyways, after it let out this energy, the thing turned to me and-"
"How did you know it was not human?" A new voice said loudly, causing three heads to turn toward the stairs. Kero floated down, a confused look on his face. "I was getting some food. What about this thing?'
Eriol's eyes glazed over as he described his encounter. "It's eyes. They have no feeling. No color, other then gray. The aura didn't feel human. I couldn't even tell if it was a female or male."
Kero nodded his head slowly, soaking in the words. "
" It turned to me and looked at me. Then I felt my chest get heavy. Its' desire to have something was passed through it to me. I think I became a vessel for it."
"What sort of vessel?" Kero asked.
Eriol looked at Sakura, who was looking back at him with wide eyes. Then he glanced at the sleeping Syaoran on the couch. "It wanted me to deliver this...message. I could tell it wanted to have Sakura, though it did not know who or where she was. The desire to have you, Sakura-san, is so great. I had to warn you about this creature."
Sakura nodded, and gripped Syaoran's hand tightly. "We could really use you, Syaoran-kun," she whispered. "Tomoyo-chan. What are you doing here?"
Tomoyo looked at Eriol. "I was walking over here when I saw Eriol-kun run past me. I had to ask what was wrong," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "What's going to happen, Sakura?"
Sakura looked at her. She shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing will happen to me." She patted Tomoyo's shoulder. "All I have to do is keep a look out for this thing. It doesn't know where I am, right, Eriol-kun?"
Eriol shook his head, causing his glasses to slip down his nose. "No. It has no idea. But you aren't the only one it wants..."
Sakura and Tomoyo both stopped moving and looked at Eriol. "Who else does it want?"
Eriol stared deep into Sakura's emerald eyes. "It wants the one that is connected to you."
Sakura let out a small 'eep!' before she turned bright red. "How...how did...how did you.." she stuttered, unable to make a full sentence.
"Hoe? What's this, Sakura?" Tomoyo said, her sadness suddenly gone, video camera out. Sakura blushed even redder.
"The one who is your true love. I believe a part of him is inside of you now, eh?" Eriol said, slightly mockingly. Sakura glared at him.
"How did you find out about that?!" She finally shouted. Tomoyo kept the video camera aimed at Sakura's face. Eriol grinned.
"I have my ways. The 'One's may have never interested Clow too much, but I find the subject quite entertaining." he cocked his head to one side. "You don't know who he is, do you?"
Sakura shook her head, not trusting herself to say what she was thinking about Eriol at the moment. He let out a long sigh.
"I guess we just have to wait and see, won't we? But," a serious tone of voice replacing the merry one, " we must find out who he is soon. I don't know how long it will be till this creature finds you and your 'one'."
Sakura nodded, her face still blushing crimson. Eriol then looked at Syaoran and let out a small 'oh', as if he just noticed the person sleeping. "What is my cute descendant doing on your sofa, Sakura-san?"
Tomoyo looked at Syaoran, and filmed him. Sakura rolled her eyes, and began to tell the story of how he got there.
"Interesting," Kero said at the end of Sakura's telling.
"What, Kero-chan?"
"The brat's appearance right when something is looking around for you. They could be related."
"Maybe. But until sleeping beauty wakes up, we won't know." Eriol said and patted the top of Syaoran's head. "I am terribly sorry for making this visit come to an end so soon, but my services are required at home." Eriol said.
"Where are you going?" Tomoyo called after him. Eriol looked back and flashed a bright smile.
"I am going to see if I can find anything in my library about this creature. Tata, ladies."
Sakura waved him off and went back to the sofa and sat down beside Syaoran. When she looked up, the lens of a camera was inches away from her face.
"Tomoyo! Don't you think you have enough footage of me?" Sakura asked and pushed the camera out of her face.
"Yes, but not one of you and your true love!" Tomoyo squeaked. "You are so kawaii, Sakura!"
Sakura glared at her friend. "I don't even know who it is! I haven't even met him!"
"That's not necessarily true." Kero said as he stuffed a large cookie in his small mouth. "You might have met him before now but did not know it at the time." Tomoyo eyes sparkled with happiness as she whipped the camera back into Sakura's face. Sakura threw a large pillow at Kero, who went sailing across the room from the impact.
"Hey!" he shouted.
"Answer me this, Kero-chan. If you can hardly remember your days with Clow, how do you know so much about this 'One' stuff? What if you are making all it up?" Sakura said.
Kero pushed the pillow off himself and grabbed another cookie. "I read some magicians' papers. They sometimes send them across the ocean and I intercept them. And you know that I would not make it up." Kero said hotly and floated back up the stairs.
"I wonder who the 'one' for you is." Tomoyo thought out loud. She put down the camera and looked sternly into Sakura's eyes. "But if he ever hurts you, tell me. I'll fix him." she said with a quick nod of her head.
Sakura smiled at her friend. "Hai."
Later that day, in the Kinomoto house
Sakura sat next to Syaoran. For a few hours Tomoyo stayed with Sakura, until Tomoyo's mother called for her to come home. Sakura was then left alone in the house as she waited for her brother or her father to return.
Sakura reached out and grabbed Syaoran's hand. She took her free hand and outlined Syaoran's face, feeling the warmth of his skin. She sighed. Other then the steady rise and fall of his chest, he remain motionless. One could have guessed he was a statue.
His face was very peaceful, unaffected by Sakura's fingertips. Messy brown hair came just above his eyes, covering his eyebrows slightly. Sakura felt the need to continue to stroke his soft hair, for lack of anything better to do.
It felt nice, sitting close to him. 'He has grown so much,' Sakura thought. '...into someone very handsome.' Sakura blushed. She found herself drawn toward him, much more then to Hiyoshi.
Memories swam into her mind. She remembered Syaoran and herself fighting. How did that turn into a friendship? she wondered. Syaoran's red face and rare smile came into her thoughts. His hand reaching for her's, his calm voice. Thoughts about how he allowed her to use his first name drifted past.
'After all this time, I still have a crush on him', Sakura thought. It was the way he treated her that she liked. When they became friends, of course. 'Or,' Sakura thought, 'Was it before then? He always treated me like a rival. He almost always assumed I could do something, and not need his help'.
She sighed. Yet, he helped her many times. Pulling her up from the elevator, catching her when she fell, letting her call him by his name, were things that he only did for her.
Sakura's cheeks grew warm. A violet blanket passed over the sky as the hours ticked by. Sakura had moved to the floor, sitting up and watching colors blur on the television. Keeping her eyes only half open, Sakura's head was on the edge of the couch. The TV was not offering her the distraction she wanted, and she abruptly turned it off. Silence surrounded the house, and Sakura was left to ponder on the news that Eriol had brought her.
After she had caught all the cards and renamed them, Sakura had a glimmer of hope that all her hard work was over. The glimmer of hope had turned into a shinning beckon after the first two years had passed. Now, it was hard to imagine why anyone would want to deal with her again. What does this...thing...want with a young magician?
Magic. The word in general had been picking annoyingly at her mind lately. She, Kero-chan informed her, was the greatest magician in this age. Sakura, at first, was filled with a strong pride. Never before had she thought of herself as better than anyone, and for a few days, the thought greatly amused her. She was put back into her place, though, after she became, quite frankly, sick of herself. After the glee, being the greatest magician had put a toll on her mind. New questions were raised in her mind. The one that continually popped up was one she was not sure she was ready to answer it.
Did she have an obligation to help people with her magic? At first, Sakura's answer was always yes. Anyone that needed help, she would help. She soon realized that she had overestimated herself, as one often does when they are young. Whenever there was some sort of accident happened, Sakura's heart would begin to tear and her mind race. Where was she then? Why did she not notice something was wrong? What could she have done? Could she have gotten away from what she was doing to help?
Normally, she would spent the next day on her toes, eyes looking for any sign of trouble. This proved to be a great distraction, ripping her out of her routine. Later, as age grew, and wisdom began to make a small appearance, she tearfully admitted to herself that she could not help everyone. Every day, people were hurt, and some died, but that, she told herself, was the way life was. Everyone had to go, at one point or another. With such a great blow to her own beliefs and self esteem, Sakura tried to remake the damage she had done to her own life.
After a few weeks, everything was back to normal. Sleep had come a great deal easier. Life, friends, and school all began to move smoothly. The question still went unanswered, though, for Sakura's own heart would not allow it. Yes, it said, you do have to help all people. But, her mind would caution, at what point do you stop and help yourself? The weight of the subject grew unbearable, and until today, she had put it out of her mind completely.
With the arrival of the news of this creature, the questions returned. If this creature was good or bad, Sakura had no idea. If it grew to be hurtful to anyone, was it the course of life taking place, or was Sakura meant to stop it? If it was hurtful, did Sakura have an obligation to stop it, or to let to go free, doing whatever it was put down here to do? Of course, she reminded herself, she had no idea what it was put down here to do.
More questions pounded Sakura's mind. 'I won't be able to do this by myself,' she thought, pain dancing across her forehead. 'I need help. I need someone who will help me...'
Suddenly, the body behind her moved...
Author's note: Although this chapter is considerably less the first one, I thought it would be appropriate to look into Sakura'a mind and feelings. I would also like to thank my first reviewer, Animus, for lifting my spirits.
Author's note 2:Would you please be so kind as to review? Constructive criticism is greatly welcomed (and always needed), flames not. Thank you.