Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from CardCaptor Sakura. They are all owned by the ladies of CLAMP who are much more talented than I.:) I also do not own anyone from Sailor Moon. They are all owned by Takeuchi Naoko whose vision will live eternally.:) (Much to Elflina's dismay...) All other characters are my own. Feel free to steal them.
I do not hold chapters ransom for reviews, but I sure enjoy compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think.
Hurray! Moonlit Sakura's first review from when it was posted in the CCS section! "Here you go, aserene. I hope you like this chapter as much as the previous ones. :) Thanks for your review!" Too bad the reviews were deleted with the story. Not that it said much more than 'more, more!' or words to that effect, but it would have been nice to have kept it and the next one aserene sent...
The action will kick up a notch in the next chapter, which will be much longer, I promise. - Raya
Moonlit Sakura
Chapter 5 – Friendly Advice
"Now, once you have your balanced equation, you can use stoichiometry to determine the weight of your starting reagents," Mrs. Daiba explained to the roomful of quiet students. Sakura felt her head jerk, and she blinked rapidly at her warm, sunlit desk. As she rubbed a tired eye, she wished that someone would open a window and allow some cool air into the room so she could wake up. Fortunately, the school day was almost over.
Togashi looked at her a moment in concern then discretely reached out to crack the window beside him open. The student behind him did the same, as did the student behind her. As Mrs. Daiba turned to face the class, she took note of the open windows and the sleepy faces and decided she had lectured enough.
"Kinomoto-san, Honda-san, Yamada-san," she called out to the three sleepiest. She tried not to smile as they jerked in guilty surprise. "Please come to the board and solve the following question. How many grams of water and sulfur do we need to create 10 milliliters of sulfuric acid?"
Twenty minutes later, Sakura sighed in relief as she put on her outdoor shoes to walk home. She leaned her head tiredly against her locker for a moment, and then pushed herself up with a determined look. She smiled as she saw Tomoyo walking towards her with a concerned expression on her face.
"Sakura-chan, are you all right? You look so tired…" her life-long friend asked worriedly.
"I'm all right. I just haven't been sleeping too well." Sakura replied with as much reassurance as she could muster. They began to walk towards the exit.
"Those dreams again? Are they getting worse?"
"Mmm… No, not worse. They're just starting to come more often. Sometimes I have three in a night." She grimaced and rubbed her eyes again. "Last night was one of those nights. And it's so hard to go back to sleep after I've woken up from one."
Tomoyo looked at her sympathetically and tried to think of something to help. "Have… Have you tried a sleeping pill?" she asked tentatively. Sakura shook her head as they stepped out into the bright sunshine.
"No, no drugs. If something happens, I want to be able to respond," she said with a determined look. Then she smiled at Tomoyo. "But thanks for the idea. I know you don't like drugs, particularly sleeping pills."
Tomoyo smiled back at her. "No," she said seriously. "I don't. There are too many people who become addicted to them." She paused a moment, sadly, and then continued with a brighter smile. "But I don't think you would. You're too determined to enjoy life."
Sakura blinked at her in surprise, then grinned, skipped across the front lawn, and turned to wait for her slower friend by the front gate. "You're right," she said when Tomoyo caught up with her. "There's too much to see and do. If you're all drugged out, how can you enjoy it?"
Tomoyo laughed, then blinked as another thought occurred to her. "Ne, Sakura-chan… Have you tried any other remedies?"
"Hu-e? Like what?"
"Oh, like aromatherapy, or a massage or something to help you relax. Sometimes, it can work as well as drugs without slowing you down if you need to respond in an emergency."
"Hmm… Well, I tried a hot bath. It helped, but not a whole lot. And I can't keep taking baths all night."
Tomoyo smiled wider at the thought. "No, I guess not, but you can light a small candle. The fragrance could help soothe you back to sleep. And the light might be reassuring, too."
"Hu-e? Kind of like a night-light, huh." She thought about it a moment, then shrugged. "It might work. Where can I find some of these candles?"
Super Sailor Mars shifted uneasily by a brightly-lit fountain in the Egyptian royal garden. She peered out into the night with a frown, and then began to walk out into the shadows on the grounds. Something was coming. Something big. Something she wasn't going to like.
Hidden deep in the shadows by the palace wall, the man with the spiked orange hair sneered at Super Sailor Mars as she walked past his hiding place. 'Stupid chit,' he thought contemptuously at her. 'Think you can find me?' His hand tightened on the wand he had created, but he forced himself to relax.
'Not yet. Soon, your time will come. But first, I have to eliminate the biggest threat.' He turned his eyes up to the second floor window, and smiled evilly.
Sakura put a small bowl of water on her desk, and lit one of the little floating candles she had bought. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of rose, lavender, and jasmine. With a smile, she savored the fragrance.
"Hey, what's that?" Kero asked curiously as he flew up to hover by her shoulder. She looked at him with a smile as she answered. "Tomoyo-chan suggested it. It's an aromatherapy candle. It's supposed to help me to relax so I can sleep."
Kero considered the candle intently then looked at Sakura skeptically. "You sure 'bout this? Scent magic c'n be tricky."
"Hu-e?" Sakura said in surprise. "Scent magic?"
Kero sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "Didn' Yue or the Kid go over that yet in your formal magic lessons? You c'n use scent to enhance or direct your attention, and thus your magic. That's why some magicians use scented oils in their rituals."
Sakura looked a little relieved. "Oh, I'm not doing that. I'm just using it to help me relax enough to sleep." Kero continued to look at her with a faint worried expression as she turned around to get into her bed. He debated with himself a moment, but the circles under her eyes made him decide not to push the issue. "Good night, Kero-chan," she called out as she turned off the light.
He settled onto the desk beside the candle with a soft sigh. "G'night, Sakura."
He looked back at the innocent looking star floating in the bowl of water. 'Rose, lavender, and jasmine. All strong scents and all associated with the night and dreams. I hope this doesn't backfire on you…'
(A/N: I was making up that stuff about roses, lavender, and jasmine being associated with night/moon and dreams. Actually, only jasmine is. According to my sources, roses belong to Venus, of course, while lavender is associated with Mercury. But all three of them are associated with love and peace, so they are very appropriate for the Queen of the Moon and what comes next. (smile))