I apologize profusely for not updating this for a year. ;; School was horrible and the usual excuse of being busy will not suffice, I know. But maybe this chapter'll make up for it (hopefully).
phoenixember, you have a point there but in the anime, Fujitaka really DOES call Sakura "Sakura-san" and Touya "Touya-kun". I swear! And it's really not that strange because anyone can call anyone by "-san" or "-kun". It doesn't automatically mean that they're distant. Thanks for your comment, though! I hope you like the rest of the story!
Everyone else, I read every single one of your reviews and love every one and try to learn from them! Thank you for reading, commenting, and supporting!
It seems that a number of people are confused about the two Sakuras thing. I will try to explain it without spoiling. There are two Sakuras. One from the past (1803) and one from the present. They are very alike so the ghostly gang (Syaoran, Meiling, etc) keep getting reminded of the past Sakura. And that's all I can tell you guys. XD Very soon, there will be an explanation… HOPEFULLY. And actually… unless I can figure out a kink in the plot later down the line quickly, I may be in some deep trouble. Anyway, on to the story!
Disclaimer: It belongs to THEM.
Key:
Narration
Thoughts, dreams, flashbacks
EMPHASIZED WORDS
… … … … scene change
Spells, incantations, etc.
Japanese/
-san - honorific for respect or default among peers
Otou-san - father
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Spirited Away
Chapter Seven: The Magic Begins
Sakura once again awoke to the sound of quick, quiet conversation. But this time, it was not being held by beings who had supposedly been dead for 200 years. It was just Touya and Sakura's father, Fujitaka. They appeared to be deeply immersed in the topic so Sakura allowed her eyes to become used to the bright sunlight pouring in behind silken curtains. Her eyes roamed the mint green shades of her room and the mysterious scent of her covers made her feel peaceful and happy. She sighed and smiled.
Then Touya glanced over at Sakura and upon seeing her precious emerald eyes open, turned his father around to notice as well.
"Sakura-san!" Fujitaka's voice sounded very fatigued and tense as he strode over to Sakura's bed and gently brushed a few stray strands of auburn hair away from her face. Sakura saw the fear for her safety in his warm brown eyes and the tremble in his hands and instantly felt very guilty for rushing out on them. Even Touya still looked jumpy and there were dark circles under his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Otou-san," Sakura apologized sincerely, "I didn't mean to worry you."
"Ah, it's fine, Sakura-san," Fujitaka held her hand tenderly and sighed in relief, "When Touya came back with you unconscious, it was surely something to worry about!"
"But Sakura," Touya asserted with a suspicious gleam in his eyes, "You must be an ultra-humongous klutz to fall like that. And what did you trip on anyway? It's not like there are rocks lying around everywhere on that road. It's all pavement."
"AH… Onii-chan, that's err… that is," Sakura frantically tried to think of an excuse. She hadn't even been wearing roller blades and falling that severely was quite ludicrous. And if she claimed she had tripped on a leaf pile… well, Touya would just laugh at her.
"This man!" Sakura blurted out. But then quickly covered her mouth. What was she saying?
"A man…?" Touya raised his eyebrow dangerously.
"He um… ran into me while I was rushing home and… erm… I fell down!" Sakura chuckled without conviction.
But it worked like a charm because any male that comes in contact with the sister of Touya Kinomoto pisses Touya off to no end, no matter how strange the circumstances are; and that male will face horrible and life-threatening consequences.
Touya cracked his knuckles, "So this man… what did he look like, Sakura?"
Fujitaka tried to calm Touya down and said, "Now, Touya-kun, it's not the right solution to resort to violence here…" But Touya only glared more menacingly, and his father sighed.
"I couldn't really see his face, you know," Sakura continued, digging an ever more deeper hole, "since he knocked into me from the back!"
"Then why were you lying on the ground face up? Shouldn't you be face down?" Touya suddenly simmered down and questioned cynically. For some reason, her story seemed to make less and less sense as she told it.
"AH that," Sakura felt nervous sweat break out on her back, "I… turned myself over to try to get up…"
"But why would you do that? Can't you get up easier the way you were?" Touya asked.
"Ah well—"
"I think that's enough, Touya-kun," Fujitaka interrupted and Sakura inwardly sighed in relief, "I'm sure Sakura-san does not have the energy to play 20 questions right now. You can ask her more later. But for now, Sakura-san needs to rest."
Touya looked like he wanted to say something but just "hmph-"ed and strode out of the room. Sakura's father followed and he gave her a small smile as he left, which Sakura returned gratefully. Both of them must have been extremely tired as well and no doubt went off to rest.
At the gentle click of the closed door, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and flounced backwards on to her pillow. As if on cue, Kero popped out from behind her pillow and latched himself to her cheek.
"Sakuraaaa! I thought you'd never wake up!" Kero yelled rather loudly and Sakura had to grab him around the face to silence him when she heard footsteps pass by her door. She sighed and let go when the door did not open.
But then a smile flitted across her face and she laughed, saying, "Thanks, Kero-chan, for worrying."
Kero flew over to her bedside table and landed next to a vase of flowers, proclaiming, "Hmph… what's a guardian for?" He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded to emphasize a point.
Sakura couldn't help but continue to giggle at the seriousness yet cuteness of his expression.
And then a presence suddenly filled the room that Sakura had become accustomed to by now. It felt no heavier than a slight dampening of her senses but she felt it, as if a feather had fallen in a pool of water, creating slight ripples to alert her. Then, right in front of Sakura's eyes, two figures came into focus like seen through the lens of a camera. In the sunlight, they looked exactly like normal humans, from the expression on their faces to the folds in their clothes. The golden trimmings glittered as if real. But a slight squint and the soft blurry voids could be seen where a corner of a table or a design of the curtain could be seen through them.
They stood there for a moment, as if feeling awkward and Sakura broke the tension by spreading a large smile on her face. Meiling's face lit up with happiness and she bounced over to the bed where Sakura lay, excitement radiating off her being.
"Kinomoto-san! You've finally awoken!" Meiling said giddily as she jumped up and down on the bed, creating small slight dents in the fabric.
"Ah, call me Sakura, PLEASE," Sakura put her hands together pleadingly, "All my friends do."
Meiling's mouth opened in a small "o" before she quickly recovered and smiled widely, saying, "Thank you, Sakura! I'll do that!" Great goddess, they are just so alike. She exchanged looks with Kero knowingly.
"Meiling-chan," Sakura suddenly looked worried, "How long have I been asleep?"
"A few days, I believe…" Meiling pondered. Sakura felt her stomach drop, she had missed so much school already.
"Four days," A voice gruffly asserted.
Sakura's eyes averted to the speaker in surprise. But she quickly lowered them, feeling incredibly awkward when she saw the unruly cinnamon hair and the deep, dark eyes. Syaoran was really very good-looking. Sakura felt something lodge in her throat and she could not say a thing.
"Yes, four days it was," Meiling broke the silence, glancing quickly from Syaoran to Sakura as a small sly smile tugged at her mouth.
At this, Kero asserted, "And Syaoran watched over you the WHOOOOLE—"
"Dammit you!" Syaoran yelled, making both girls jump. Kero just cowered and hid behind the same flower vase.
Meiling looked rather miffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "But it's true."
Syaoran groaned and ran a hand through his hair, making it even more messy. He suppressed the millions of emotions that surged within him at the sight of Sakura's lively form and her emerald eyes shining in the sunlight and opened his mouth to make amends but Sakura spoke first.
"Um… thank you, Li-kun," Sakura said in a soft voice, her fingers twisted the green comforter across her lap nervously, "Thank you for watching over me."
Syaoran's mouth open and closed a couple of times but no sound came out. However, a blush illuminated his cheeks. Meiling bit her sleeve and looked away. It was all she could do to keep from laughing. Kero had already collapsed in silent laughter in his hiding place. Syaoran's eyes darted around the room as Sakura kept hers on her hands.
Finally, looking at a distant point on the opposite wall and shifting his feet uneasily, Syaoran said, "It's no big deal."
But it was a big deal to Sakura.
Her face came upwards and her big green eyes were open in astonishment. And then in a split second, a breathtakingly beautiful smile bloomed across her features. Sakura felt so happy. His words did not tell much but he seemed to tolerate her now when he appeared to hate her earlier.
And Syaoran couldn't take his eyes off her.
Meiling was amused to no end. But there was business to be gotten to and she cleared her throat when she felt that it was time to cut off the moment.
Sakura suddenly looked embarrassed and Syaoran couldn't link anything together.
"I wasn't—she didn't—we—where—when—don't assume—anything!" Syaoran finished angrily, blushing more than ever. His eyes flashed dangerously but his wolfish features did nothing to get rid of the ridiculous redness on his cheeks. Kero then boldly hovered out from behind the vase to poke at Syaoran on his cheek. His temper flared. Syaoran angrily grabbed at the small guardian, but he nimbly evaded all attacks.
"Come here, you! Bastard… Why I outta—" Syaoran obtained another fistful of only air and started chasing Kero around. Kero blew a raspberry and bopped him on the head.
Sakura then started laughing so hard that she clutched her stomach and leaned forward, her short chestnut hair swinging at her cheeks. Meiling laughed as well. And Syaoran couldn't help but smile. Sakura's laugh was such music to his ears.
"And now that THAT'S out of the way," Meiling said when the laughing had died down, "We should get to what we came here for."
Syaoran's rather grouchy looking disposition sharpened into a frown and he repositioned himself to being next to Meiling at Sakura's bed. Sakura sat up straighter in bed and Kero landed on her shoulder, his cotton ball tail waving in anticipation.
"You must know, Sakura, that we DO NOT, I repeat, do not blame you for the scattering of the cards," Meiling started. At the mention of the past event, Sakura's eyes became suddenly a dark, guilt-filled jade. Her mouth set into a small pink line. Syaoran looked away.
"Please believe us, Sakura," Meiling put her hands on top of Sakura's and Sakura felt only a tingling iciness on her skin. Sakura smiled as an attempt to reassure Meiling for her face was such an expression of hope, but it trembled.
Meiling gave a sidelong glance to Syaoran, obviously expecting him to do something and he looked completely filled with conflict as thoughts passed through his mind. He couldn't do this… it would cause him to lose himself and the whole plan would be ruined. This was the first time that it would actually work but he knew that he wouldn't let the past replay itself.
Whether it worked or not… depended on a life.
He opened his mouth but before a word was uttered, bright images of earlier days crashed into his mind.
"Sakura! What the hell happened!" Syaoran stared in disbelief at the deep long gash along her arm, noticing the shudders of pain that convulsed her body as the blood simply continued to flow. Her pain… radiated into him and he felt a great ache in his heart.
"It's nothing, it's nothing! I'm fine, really!" the Sakura he had once known smiled, attempting to stand up but an expression of pain clearly flitted across her face as she fell back down.
Syaoran leaned down and cupped her face in his callused hands. He looked straight into her eyes, his voice shaking with suffering, "Sakura, were you injured during the battle?" Syaoran couldn't bear the thought that she had been putting up with such pain… but for what?
Sakura's head made a small nod and Syaoran was baffled.
"Because," Sakura began, as if sensing he needed a reason, "Syaoran-kun was fighting so hard, and I didn't want to get in your way. I didn't want it to be my fault, again." She looked down, but Syaoran could see the deep green in her eyes that clearly showed her sadness.
What… the hell?
All this time, it had been for him! Everything she was doing was for him!
Syaoran looked down at her with the most tender eyes she had ever seen and Sakura's eyes widened. He said, in a voice choked with emotion, "Sakura, your pain is my pain, a thousand times worse… please don't do this to me."
"Syaoran-kun…" Sakura laid a smaller paler hand on his and simply smiled. In an unbelievably happy tone she said, "Your success is what matters to me. Let's go back…to…" Suddenly her eyes drooped and she fell forward in a faint. Alarmed, Syaoran looked at the injury on her arm and saw that it was still bleeding and Sakura's face was growing paler by the minute. He picked her up easily in his arms and ran as fast as he could.
Ran for the girl he loved.
"SYAORAN!" Meiling's voice suddenly pierced through his thoughts and she snapped her fingers to get his attention.
"Are you unwell, Li-kun?" Sakura asked, her wide eyes locked on his. But suddenly she flushed embarrassedly at how futile her question was.
Syaoran's mind was in great turmoil. Here was Sakura, safe and sound, how could he treat her the way he had been? But a deeper voice inside him whispered to him how precious she was and how he could destroy her life as she knew it. He had to keep his distance.
"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," Syaoran managed to say, as void of emotion as he could possibly make his voice. Meling frowned at him but he just looked away.
"Of course!" Sakura exclaimed in that determined tone that everyone in the room loved about her, "Of course, it will never happen again, Li-kun."
Meiling uttered a small sigh then continued to talk, "But of course, the missing cards are still missing. And you must know, Sakura, that these cards can cause a lot of mischief. Do you know how many cards you are missing?"
Sakura promptly took out the deck of pink cards from underneath her pillow. She vaguely remembered hiding them before she fell unconscious upon her bed.
The stack felt mostly filled in her hand but she quickly replied, in the same mysterious automatic way that she noticed herself more and more speaking in, "There are nine cards missing."
Meiling blinked then said with a smile, "Well it's not as bad as we thought. Fourteen cards to capture should be a piece of cake." She held a thumbs-up sign and subtly winked at Kero. The small guardian grinned back at her.
Sakura clapped her hands happily, "Then everything, everything will be just perfect!" She looked at Syaoran square in the face, catching him off-guard, and sending him into a mad blood rush to the face. But Sakura didn't notice at all and said cheerfully, "Don't you worry about a thing, Li-kun! These cards will be back to you, good as new!"
Syaoran tried to say something but Meiling suddenly cut him off. She had been sifting through the cards to see exactly which ones were missing.
"Oh my, Sakura, you're missing all of the element cards," She stated solemnly.
Syaoran's face became tensed as Sakura's expression became worried.
"Well," Sakura began slowly, "There's no helping the fact that they're missing. I'll just need to get them back, same as the other cards."
Meiling bit her lip and set the cards back on the table.
Watching her, a question suddenly struck Sakura.
"Meiling-chan, you are a spirit yet you could touch my cards?"
Meiling shook her head, almost sadly. "No, Sakura," She answered, "Syaoran and I cannot touch anything, except each other. We simply go through them." She brought her hand through the bedpost to demonstrate. Upon contact with the dark wood, her arm seemed to split into a million light beams that formed back together as it came out the other side. "However, we are able to keep ourselves from going through things, such as the floor by using a sort of mental power. Just now, when I held your cards, I did not feel them but I used the mental power to keep them aloft in my hand."
Sakura looked sad, "You cannot touch… people? You can't feel things?"
Meiling glanced at Syaoran for a moment, "We are unable to."
"I'm sorry," Sakura said. She looked up when she felt a cold sensation on her arm; Meiling had her hand on Sakura's arm.
"Don't be." Meiling smiled.
And in a moment she was gone.
Bewildered, Sakura looked around her room but Syaoran was gone as well. Kero remained strangely motionless on the pillow next to hers.
Puzzled, Sakura began to say, "Ke—"
But suddenly the door to her room swung open and her brother stood there.
"Oi kaijuu, go to sleep and stop talking to your stuffed animals," He stifled a yawn towards the end of the sentence and groggily closed the door. She heard him thump down the hallway to his room.
Sakura giggled; she could hear Kero's angry voice muffled into his pillow.
… … … …
Bright green eyes blinked open in the darkness. Sakura sighed. She really needed to re-establish a regular sleeping pattern.
She turned over on her side and tried to fall back asleep when a strange noise reached her ears. It sounded like a soft squawk. Sakura sat up and peered into the night to see what was making the noise but saw nothing. Suddenly, it came again. She quickly looked to her window when she was able to identify the source. Sakura slowly got out of her bed and tiptoed over to her window.
She grasped the smooth silk curtains and it took quite an amount of self-persuasion to finally draw them open, very slowly. Bright moonlight flooded the room and Sakura cautiously peaked outside. However, there was nothing there save for the pale glow of the moon.
She gave a sigh of relief and began to tread back to her bed when the sound came once again, so loud this time that it stopped Sakura in her tracks. Nervous sweat beaded her brow as she slowly turned around to look out the window again. But there was still nothing to see.
And suddenly, a giant scarlet eye appeared at her window. It glittered like a large ruby and appeared to belong to a huge creature of some sort. Feathers lay in a smooth pattern on the animal's skin.
Sakura crumpled to the floor, her eyes never leaving the spectacle. This had to be a dream, it HAD to be!
The large glittering eye blinked once then slid out of view and the moon could be seen again.
Sakura let out a shaky, ragged breath and slowly crawled over to the window. Sure, she was scared out of her wits, but somehow, the eye looked gentle and harmless. With a strong feeling of confidence, Sakura pushed open her windows and peeked over the ledge. The perfume of flowers wafted into her room and a gentle breeze sifted through her fine hair. Then a huge feather landed in her lap. It was the snowiest white Sakura had ever seen and was at least as long as her arm. She gingerly touched it and it felt wonderfully soft to her fingers.
Then, once more, she heard the noise and this time, she saw the source. Gazing upwards, she saw the enormous head of an extremely large bird. Silvery moonlight illuminated the strange dazzling whiteness of its feathers and she saw that it seemed to be perched in mid-air. The bird had to be at least as big as an airplane.
"Oh…my…" Sakura whispered in disbelief. However, feeling brave beyond anything else she had ever felt before, she crouched through her windowsill until she was sitting on her window ledge. The moonlight flooded her senses and she saw the full dazzling effect that the light had on the feathers of the large bird.
Reaching out one hand, she gently stroked the smooth beak of the magical creature and its garnet eye looked almost tender. Sakura smiled adoringly at the bird, feeling a strange rush of affection for it. At that moment, the large bird burst into a smoky substance and in mid-air, formed into a small glowing rectangle. Sakura took the card out of the air and when its holographic surface cleared, she saw the bottom of the pink card and read "Fly".
And suddenly she knew what to do.
Quickly calling out her wand, Sakura summoned the Fly Card and suddenly, downy soft wings that she had seen on the bird sprouted out of her back and with a powerful leap, she soared into the starry night sky.
Unseen, Kero beamed from his perch on a shelf.
… … … …
Riiingggg… Riiiingggg…The sound of a telephone pierced the early morning quiet.
Groggily, Sakura sat up in bed, noting that is was a full one hour before school started, and answered the phone.
"H'lo?"
"HELLO SAKURA-CHAN!" Tomoyo practically shrieked into the phone, "Oh my goodness, Sakura-chan, you'll NEVER believe this!"
"What… what is it?" Sakura managed to say before sinking back into the pillows, phone by her ear.
"I SAW YOU ON TELEVISION AND YOU WERE FLYING AND YOU LOOKED SO CUTE AND OH MY GOODNESS I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, SAKURA-CHAN!"
"Oh… oh that's nice, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura slurred sleepily but suddenly some words seemed to knock on her common sense.
"What? Me? Flying?" CRAP.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said rather smugly, "I was watching the news and suddenly during a report on a new building in Hong Kong, I could see you in the background! I figured you probably didn't want to be hunted down so I called the company and had them take the footage off the air!"
"Gee… thanks Tomoyo-chan," Sakura replied rather nervously. She was now fully awake. What could she tell Tomoyo? How could she fabricate such an intricate lie to please her?
"So, Sakura-chan. A little explanation would be nice," Tomoyo said after a moment. Sakura could feel the giddy smile in her voice.
How could she keep such things from her best friend?
"Well, Tomoyo-chan, it's a long story…"
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The ending's a little rushed but I hope this wasn't an overly drawn out chapter. Hopefully nothing too confusing here. ;; Thanks for the support and I pray that I can write faster and better in the future. XDD
DreamerDust