DISCLAIMER: I don't own any CCS characters, they belong to CLAMP.

the mean change of scene.

Sanctuary

Syaoran called Sakura to dinner, but when she didn't come, he went to her room to see what she was doing. The door was slightly ajar, but he knocked anyway and called her name again. She wasn't there, but on her desk were three notes. One for Eriol and Kaho, one for him, and one for Kaiba. He immediately knew she had left already. He used his mind and called out to the others.

Sakura wasn't sure where she was going. She only knew that she was where she wanted to be when she arrived at the entrance to a castle. Sakura wasn't sure how she knew, but looking at the castle, she knew that the king of the county she was in was named Yue and his sister's name was Nakuru. She also knew that at that particular moment, Nakuru was in the training courts, working on her aim. "I guess the Fates are on my side this time. I know. I'll say I want to be one of her ladies-in-waiting. I can go the practice courts and find her and-"

Sakura's thought were interrupted by the gruff questioning of a guard, "Scuez me mi lady, where ye going?"

"Me? Oh, I seek an audience with the lady Nakuru."

The guard laughed, "An audience, with Princess Nakuru? No, you don' need tha' mi lady, ye jist need ter find her. I hear she's been i' the practice courts awl day."

"Oh, I see. How do I get there?"

"That's fairly easy, mi lady. They're right b'hind the stables. You kin jist ride yer horse an' cart over there on this here path."

Sakura headed off towards the stables. As she got closer, she could hear the sounds of a frustrated Princess Nakuru.

Eriol, Kaho, and Kaiba had arrived at Syaoran's house and he gave them the letters Sakura had written. They all reacted differently. Kaho cried, Eriol showed no emotion, meaning he was actually either very sad or very angry, and Kaiba just sat there, fists clenched and turning red. Kaho turned to Kaiba and sobbed, "It's all your fault, why couldn't you have listened to me when I told you to leave her alone?"

Eriol went over to her and led her away from Kaiba. "She's right you know, Kaiba. You should have just left Sakura alone."

For a long moment, the only sound in the room was Kaho's crying. Then Kaiba spoke, "I'm going to look for her."

"NO!" The other three shouted.

"You've ruined her life enough already," said Kaho in an icy tone, "she is not the same Sakura who came to us all those years ago. I remember a time when she was happy. When she was truly happy."

"Sakura needs time by herself," started Eriol, "and Kaho, my dear, you are right, I didn't notice before, but Sakura has changed. Who knows, she may come back a changed goddess."

Syaoran waited until Eriol and Kaho had finished before speaking. "I'm sorry Kaiba, but she told me she doesn't want you. Don't you get it? You're the whole reason she left. Did you read her note or what? And she's told you so about a hundred million times. I have complete faith in her. She'll come back when she's ready. Sakura is her own pers-"

"I don't give a damn," he exclaimed, pushing his way past Syaoran. He was barely two feet away before he hit an invisible barrier and the Fates appeared.

Sakura got off her horse and watched the Princess. Watching her throw the star shaped darts, Sakura could immediately see why Princess Nakuru was missing the target. She walked to the princess. "Princess, if I may, I believe I can tell you why you are missing the target."

"Oh, really? Could you? Please do," the Princess' mood lightened considerably.

"Try throwing these more with your wrist than with all of your arm, like this." Sakura demonstrated, hitting the center of the target.

Princess Nakuru watched in amazement and then tried the throw herself, hitting very close to Sakura's mark. She tried a few more time to make sure that that first time was not a fluke and was amazed when she hit the target every single time. "There must be something I could do for you, there must be a reason you're here, you couldn't have come just to help me perfect my aim," she laughed, "after all, you'd have to be psychic to know that I needed help."

Sakura smiled oh, if only you knew and hesitated, "I want sanctuary. Let me be one of your ladies."

Enti stepped forward. "You, Kaiba, God of War, are forbidden to interfere with Sakura. There are events that will happen that are necessary in her life."

Kaiba walked past them, the barrier now gone. "How would you know?"

"We know all," the three intoned as they swooped down on him again.

Vega spoke, "You should not question us Kaiba. Your belligerence has gone too far."

"Hear and obey," said Soko, "Let the Universe take its course."

"I don't ca-"

"Hear and obey," Enti ordered.

Kaiba had no choice but to obey.

"Sanctuary? That would depend on what you wanted me to protect you from."

Sakura had to come up with a story quickly. "My family was fairly wealthy. My parents died when I was very young. I lived with my Aunt up until last year. Then she died and I was all alone. That's when one of my suitors became forceful. Thank the Gods I'd learned martial arts when I was younger. I need protection from that man. My friends mean well, but they might give me away in the end, so I had to travel far away." Sakura looked down, afraid that too much emotion would show, most of that story was true, except for having more than one suitor and living with her Aunt.

The Princess looked like she was thinking, when really she was looking over Sakura. "She looks really familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. She is running from a man, but that's not the whole story. She's not like any normal lady I've ever met, but I can't help but trust her..." Princess Nakuru broke her train of though and asked, "Are you as good at other forms of martial arts as you are at throwing darts?"

Sakura nodded.

"GREAT! Let me make a deal with you then. Ladies-in-waiting don't have all that much freedom. So, I let you stay not as one of my ladies though, as my martial arts teacher. Deal? I'll explain the perks later on. Trust me, you'll like this arrangement much better than your plan."

To the Princess' surprise, Sakura broke down and started crying. "Thank you, Thank you so much for letting me stay Princess."

"Please, stop crying. stop crying. Call me Nakuru, all of my friends call my by my name. Speaking of names, I still don't know yours."

Sakura obeyed and stopped crying. "My name is Sakura. Thank you again, Nakuru."

a/n: well do you all still like it? I'm really pleased with the way this chapter turned out; this has got to be my favorite out of the four. review! review! oh, and I think the other chapters will be coming out slower now...I knew exactally how i wanted the gods to act, but i still have to figure out the rest of the characters.