"Revival"
The darkness of the night touched everywhere, casting long shadows over the white walls and darkened everything. But the brief flickering light that shone over the horizon had begun to dispel it's darkness with its own radiant touch. The air was slightly humid with moist droplets of dew that hung over the multitudes of grass blades below the trees and tall aging buildings but the entire city seemed untouched with the business of life.
In the fleeing darkness stood the Chinese warrior with sword in the shimmering blade in hand that illuminated his discolored surroundings with a brilliant shade of cherry. Seemingly awakening the liveliness in the walls and upholstery with a colorful energy he never knew they had.
Hesitantly he sheathed the sword in the Old-oak Chinese Style scabbard and slid it into his pant belt, taking great care not to scratch or ding this priceless gift. The sword he used to summon the elements with his wards, the sword he used since young to train, the sword that once held the power to use and control the mystical cards, but most importantly the sword that promised Sakura's salvation.
The silence of the room was interrupted as Syaoran broke into a running pace towards his green-dominated room. There lying neatly on the desk was the powerful book that held endless uses with its cryptic writings scribbled into the back pages. There was no need to read them for he had spent his entire childhood being forced by his elders to study and memorize them, but his mind side-tracked as he picked up the book and scanned through the back appendixes, skimming through the old knowledge of the cards and their uses. Many of the pages were in good kept condition despite its age but many of the ancient paper had begun to crisp with exception to the one he saw now.
Tucked and neatly added behind the last of the pages two sheets that were obviously newly added, and the handwriting he could pick out from a million others, even in the dark. Void and Hope pages lay after the musty old original scriptures, but the writing was neither formal nor serious as Clow's originals had been they suited her in a way. Letting curiosity get the better of him he read the last page of the book, written neatly in what seemed to be a pink gel-pen.
The Hope Card
I'm not too sure what this does though I do have a good hunch…
I think it helps preserve the memories and feelings of the ones you never want to leave, the ones you never want to forget.
But I think it does more than that, when it was created it did something, something I wasn't too sure about until four months later…when Syaoran came back to me.
So it brings back the ones you love the most I guess and it will always to keep us together.
No matter what happens.
The ink ended there and what followed seem to be a crinkled dot on the page, what seemed like a tear had fallen and blessed the ordinary paper with it's astonishing prisms of beauty before sinking into it and becoming one with the page forever.
The sun rose to barely a finger over the black line that signified the farthest depths his eye could see and had brought the sky into a hybrid state of night and day. The sun shone brightly in the East while the moon still raised high in the dark sky surrounded by slowly fading starlight, the time would be now. He wouldn't be able to go another day without her by his side.
The sun slipped through the leaves of the trees and directed its blinding light into his eyes, while the moon held its ground defiantly against the emerging sunlight and the infinities of the stars had claimed neutral territory in the skies.
The stars watched curiously over the two enemies that traveled slowly towards the park entrance. To anyone else it would prove to be a peculiar sight, a man walking quickly with a round object in his hand and engaged in an inaudible conversation with his left shoulder.
He made his way through the familiar tiled walkway that wound itself around the gigantic penguin and the mounds of sand that held countless tales. All of his best memories had been here; coming to this tranquil park reminded him of the millions of times he had been here with her, always in some form by his side. Even now he could feel himself being followed by her presence that no longer shrieked of repelling him but now he could sense an electric anxiousness in wherever he stepped.
He could feel himself becoming confident again, his steps becoming more deliberate and quickened with every tree had passed and every leaf that fell.
The wind had died; leaving a gloomy presence to the air as the sun, moon and stars merely watched him. Both pitying him and praising him with their never-dying lights as clouds could be clearly seen streaked across the sky.
When his shoes came in contact with the grassy-cleared pathway and he lead himself up the winding lines until he came upon the clearing. Beautiful beyond words he could think of, the deciduous trees dotted across the borders and four tall flowering cherry trees were planted neatly in a square with its leaves and late blossoms drifting gracefully towards the grassy foundation. Above, the sky was simply surreal. The sun had begun it's ascent into the sky as everything it touched became a reddish pink that grew evenly with the clouds whereas the other half was dark and the sky shows faint glimmers of stars while the moon had kept a stubborn hold on its position.
Quiet air that passed by with growing anticipation seem to have filled every corner, every crevice of the wondrous clearing as he stood facing the small flower carving in it's center head that rested upon the engraved stone that stuck out of the ground and with little effort he transformed his pendant into it's full length as the steel reflected the light of the sun and stars evenly across it's symmetrical face. Standing with one hand loosely over his sword and another arm tightly grasping the pink tome, he retrieved his salvation.
"You ready?" The stuffed animal queried. Obvious anticipation that coupled with the growing anxiety that made itself present on his back and he exhaled where he didn't even know he held his breath.
"Now or never" reaching for the one card that held the fate of his Sakura, he raised it to the air where the sun, moon and stars shined evenly upon it and threw it into the air.
The card danced the typical routine he had seen many times before; raising his sword he stabbed it in a forward motion.
"Hope, release and dispel" he shouted, placing every strand of energy in his body and every inch of determination into the activation of the card.
"RELEASE"
It shone brightly, the color-dotted rectangle began to bleed white as it's light swallowed the grey stone just mere steps away from him and continued to spread and grow in magnitude until all that could be seen was white. White walls, white floors and no visible objects as far as he could see, he felt his growing weariness in the light but knew to give up now would be to forsake his mission forever. Pushing every limit of physical, mental and magical energy into channeling the energies through his sword he could see the card beginning to dim and the magical white light beginning to fade into rainbow eddies of still burning light. The spell was nearing its completion; his dreams were now being realized.
She stood there pale-faced and panting in the soft-chill of early-autumn air. The soft pink petals fell on her and the gentle wind kicked up around and beneath her feet as she stood staring at the Chinese boy that stood there staring emptily as he quickly blinked his eyes and tried to refocus them. He looked disappointed.
Tomoyo walked closer to her friend as he fell to his knees, he looked dumbfounded. She of course, had a million other questions as well.
Li Syaoran sat there with his knees in the dirt, staring at the stone and the mound in the ground that had not moved.
"Where is she" he searched around but could find nothing. The small rectangular card lying solemnly amidst the blades of grass that grew like carpet and surrounded the unreal beauty of the clearing and he wondered why she wasn't there, why amidst the thousands of cherry blossoms that decorated the air why his wasn't here.
That was it, his only way of being re-united with her, the one sole reason he had to keep himself going and all of his efforts led to nothing. He remained there crumpled with his knees beginning to deeply embed themselves in the soft moist dirt.
"I…was... so sure" He said exhausted and panting, his words coming out in almost choked sobs. In all her years she had known him, he had never been this far on the verge of panic before. He was always the calm one, always the collected analytical one, but now she had seen how deeply the loss of her best friend was to him and she caught sight of his eyes for a brief moment and could no longer see the fierce determination they had held only a few days ago. It seemed hopeless now, all of his efforts. The stubborn resistance he held against facing the mere truth that she was gone, but what pained him even more was that she was counting on him. Nights ago, she whispered her mind unto his thoughts and had relied on him to bring them together again. That was perhaps what brought him the most grief, having failed the one thing that he could not risk failing. His one objective was her and now he couldn't even feel her presence anymore. The tiny gentle voice that swept through his mind occasionally was gone, Sakura, who was so afraid of spirits even when she was one, was gone; he still couldn't face the truth, never would he ever give up on her.
The sun's bright aura reached over and claimed the last remnants of night sky blanketing it in its warm protection but in the last glimpse of darkness, a diminutive light streaked across the morning sky.
…a star had begun it's descent to its home.
I'm evil not inconsiderate, there will be one more chapter whenever I can find time in my schedule to write it. I know the chapter title is misleading but hey, what can you do. This story has been up for about 1 ½ weeks now and has already received 494 hits and thirteen reviews so I guess that's alright for a first fic.