"Hope"
The room stood silent in the growing darkness of night, and the wind had ceased to exist leaving a slight uncomfortable tinge in the air. No sound could be heard, not even the crickets that he cursed every night that signaled the time when he would be forced to leave her side. Silence, completely uninterrupted except for the slight humming of magic in the air that no doubt only he could hear.
She was here, he was sure of it. Not just an illusion created by wishful thinking that played and tormented his still-breathing body and made him ache to be released of it to join her at its side and in some way the feeling was comforting.
Tomoyo sat at his side, playing with her hair as a diversion from the conversation or lack-of. He could clearly see her black straightened hair being twiddled between her white fingers that showed themselves in the artificial light to be paler than he last remembered.
Normally He thought to himself I would be pretty annoyed to have been dragged out like that just to find she has nothing to say anymore. But he couldn't be annoyed. At least not with the big sphere of pink energies lying opposite to him on the dull-fashioned seat and that only made him more at ease when she made the seat seem to turn to life with color. But of course that was her way. Her mysterious ability to bring life to everything around her even in her untimely death….ironic to say the least.
He felt gazed upon all of a sudden. Only to realize that he was staring at the empty space on the couch and even though it was against the overbearing laws of normality he blushed.
The lion walked across the old wooden floorboards wringing out a creak from some and an expected thud from another. He instinctively shot his head to his left and stared upon the space that he just moments before had gazed at and made his way to sit almost humanly next to it's lively glow.
He almost felt angered when he thought of his choice of location, like he had no right to be sitting there, but ignoring it he broke the silence and spoke.
"So what was it that you wanted to talk about" he queried.
"It's just" She paused looking unsure of her next words "She told me…right before it happened that day that the longer you kept thinking of ways to bring her back the longer and the more painful it will be when you can't"
"You too?" He widened his eyes in menacing question "You were her best friend since even before I met her and you too have given up on her, just like that" He waved his hand in the air to emphasize his stand.
"You think this doesn't hurt me as much has it hurts you? You…" her words broke off as she lowered her head, he couldn't tell whether it was in defeat or to cry. But he was pretty sure why
"Even if we tried, it would be impossible. You of all people should know that"
"I won't just give up on her like that, she never gave up when we were friends capturing cards, she never gave up when I had to leave and she would never give up if it was me instead of her"
He could see the stunned faces of the two beings in sitting comfortable in his dingy living room and he could only feel the slight shift in emotions in the air and he could swear she was nodding in agreement at the statement.
"What do you suppose I do? Get up and leave Japan again? Even if she wasn't around anymore I would never leave her here"
His expression gradually changed from anger to sadness and the ever-present shine in his eye gave way to the small shine of determination.
"I promised her, I would never leave her again"
Hours passed in the lonely living room, Tomoyo had just left as her mother called her to return and he sat in the same position as Kero did still contemplating the issue. Completely fruitless he recalled Kero saying and he could still remember the gentle voice that swept through his mind and entered his thoughts in response.
Even now he thinks of food
Syaoran grinned as he remembered the humming in the air grow louder and the feeling of comfort grow closer as it made its way towards him and faded in power as time went on.
So many memories he had of her sleeping against his arm like she was probably now. A myriad of memories that stuck out in his mind and refused to be forgotten, and countless mental artifacts that he would preserve in his mentality as clues to solving this riddle, the riddle that meant the very future of two lives.
He remembered the mug she made for him, the one he would wake up every morning and replenish his thirst-ridden throat with. The mug that would make every morning a memorable experience.
He remembered the sword, imbued with her magic and could recall as if it were yesterday the words that formed meaning from her soft angelic voice that moment.
"We tried something new with the cards and thought we could make something that would help you one day"
"One day" He whispered under his breath "no time like the present Sakura"
Syaoran could hear the sound of Kero clearing his throat, and realized he had interrupted him in mid-speech.
"As I was saying, what you're trying to do is completely impossible. Not even Clow was powerful enough to reverse the effects of death"
Syaoran, it's time
Something in his thoughts snapped, and a sea of realization struck him with full force and he was drowning in depths of solutions and knowledge. He thought he could feel the very energies of the mystic void flowing through his mind at the touch and quickly stood up…his eyes burning with resolve.
"Clow wasn't powerful enough, but I know someone who was even more powerful than he ever was"
Kero sat silently contemplating the truth in his words. But the odds were still stacked against them.
"Even so, not one card in the book can possibly do anything like bring someone back like that"
Syaoran stood silent, his heart burning with joy as the sea of endless thoughts in his mind mingled with the inner fire co-operatively and in the darkness of the starless night he could see the light in the far distance.
"Not every card was created by Clow" he turned his head to look upon the now-shocked guardian beast; he could see him swallow as he closed his gaping mouth. He smiled as the tingling sensation returned
Oh look, he can already taste the pudding
The beast's eyes darkened with sadness again "Looks like you have a plan there gaki, but you can only access the power of Clow's magic. In no way are you capable of summoning any card from the Sakura book now."
His strong resolve did not falter but instead reaching for his pendant strung neatly around his neck and holding it out at arm's length for both to see.
The sun had begun to rise over the distant line of the horizon, and its warming rays shot through the window and caused a small flicker of light to shine on the brandished steel…
…reflecting the pink cherry blossom that carved itself into the hilt of the Sakura sword.