Chapter three
White Cherry Blossoms
Sakura was sitting on her bed mesmerized by the beautiful blanket of snow trapped outside her window. Maybe Christmas would be peaceful, maybe, just maybe there was a slight hope that could defrost himself. It's funny how you think you've found love and you fought for it till the end only for that warmth running inside of you to turn into frozen vile. What was the reason for him to turn away? If he found someone else along the way then why didn't he tell her so?
"Moshi, Moshi, Kinomoto residence!" Sakura answered as soon as the phone rang.
Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo greeted.
"Ohayo Tomoyo-chan! What's new?" She greeted back.
"You'll see. Were going to the airport!"
Meanwhile in the airplane
Sitting in isle nine seat B there was a girl sitting, probably around her fifteen's. Raven hair, Red amber eyes, a strong body due to martial arts training. Li Meilin was her name and she hadn't expected to go back to Japan. Life in Hong Kong would be so boring without Syaoran. Tomoeda was way more interesting than Li-clan strictness.
Airport
"Sakura-chan! You look so Kawai! I knew this winter outfit would look marvelous on you." Of course that was Tomoyo and her usual talk of how kawai Sakura looked.
Syaoran tried to look away. Tomoyo was purposely emphasizing her words and he wasn't going to fall for it.
"Look here she comes." Syaoran told them pulling his focus away from Sakura.
"Kinomoto-san!!!Daidouji-san!!!" Meilin ran directly to them hugging them with her purest intentions.
"Meilin! Were so happy to see you!! How have you been?" Both of the suffocating girls greeted. They noticed rising tears swimming down her cheek.
"I'm so sorry." Meilin apologized. "It's just that I'm glad to be back with caring people like you guys. You have no idea how hard it is to live with people who are always strictly into their business.
Meilin turned around. "I thought you would at least say good bye Syaoran. How could you leave like that? You could have at least told me."
"Like it mattered. I knew you'd be right on my tail."
"Is that all you count me for? As an annoying pestilence?"Meilin pointed out offended.
"Umm guys...you do know this isn't the time to be carrying out a conversation in an airport." Sakura intervened.
Toshiwa Darius looked outside his window. It was a snowy day like this when his mother died.
Flash Back
Freshly baked cookies were taken out of the oven. WInter was the perfect season to bake hot steamy chocolate, and warm deserts. Unfortunately his mother had fallen ill. The ancient curse had no cure. It could not be negotiated with. Darius took the tray upstairs to his mother's room.
"Here. I've baked cookies for you. They'll keep you warm."
"Darius, stop fooling around you know that the matter of the fact is that I will die. You can't go back in time, you can't clog the sand in the hour glass. My time has come and that's that. Take it like a man." said Aya, lying in her death bed.
"A man? What is a man without his mother? I promise I will get to the bottom of this. First my father. Now you. Don't you know how much it hurts?"
She was never like this. His mother had always been a compassionate being. She loved to spending time with him. It was that blasted curse that had weakened her to submit to the orders of Amaya-sama.
"The only way to get of rid of this curse it by spilling the amount of blood that has been spilled from us. The Holder of the Clow Cards must be destroyed. After she is destroyed our bloodline won't be burdened with this plague. You better not fall for that foolish prophesy."
"I won't"
"Good. Don't disappoint me. I love you my son." Aya's everest green eyes closed.
"I love you too."
End of flashback
"I'm sorry mother, I have failed you. The prophesy seems to be true after all. I won't kill to lift up this curse. It would be selfish to want to live from the death of another.
Syaoran's apartment
"Wow Syaoran!"Meilin squealed "Your apartment looks better than before. I'm surprised though how come Aunt Yelan didn't bring Wei"
"I'm not a little boy anymore."
"Yeah, Yeah whatever you say." Her eyes hardened, turning more serious she looked up at him.
"Your mother sent me specifically as your guardian."
"Guardian?"Tomoyo asked.
"Yeah well.." Meilin scratched her head sheepishly, "I'm suppose to be aware of his doings in Japan. He got carried away the first time he was in Japan, but now he is strictly instructed to follow what the clan wishes."
"Oh." said the two girls in unison.
" I thought I was old enough for them to trust me."
Meilin began to protest but maybe she should stay quiet, except for one remark. "Maybe it wasn't your mother who really wanted to know what you were up to, but someone else.."
Syaoran just gave a slight glare.
"By the way did you know the Sakura-chan knows how to telepathically talk to people."
"Tomoyo..." Sakura interrupted. "Well it's true but it's not as strong. My magic isn't that advanced. Kero-chan was teaching me but we sort of lost track."
"That's a shame" Syaoran commented. "Obviously you thought everything was over after becoming Card mistress and didn't bother to make you magic stronger."
If he only knew how much it cost her to stable that power.
Flash Back
Kero, leg crossed flying in the air looked at Sakura harshly. "Concentrate Sakura."
"I'm trying to Kero-chan, it's harder than you think." Sakura whined. Her mind was about to explode. Telepathy was a dangerous technique if not careful, you could destroy some ones mind.
"Just concentrate. Let your aura flow out, you need to focus on a happy thought. Like friendship or something... you have a lot of happy thoughts in there."
Syaoran...
"Why did you mention that brat?" claimed Kero annoyed now. "Wait a minute... I heard your thoughts."
"Hoe? You did? " Sakura asked bewildered. When Kero had asked her of a happy thought she thought of him when in reality he was her most depressing memory.
End of Flash Back
Now that Syaoran remembered, there was a moment at night while he was resting that he heard her voice call out his name. Yet he had thought of it as an illusion. Was it really her then? Maybe not.
TWO DAYS LATER
Sakura's class was now known the class of exchanged students. Meilin entered the class room very slowly. She had forgotten what it was like to enter in a classroom full of strangers. But the minute she walked in she noticed a pair of blue eyes looking out the window. He was a very handsome guy with spiked tousled hair that shone a radiant midnight blue. And from where she was standing she could see his perfect body. She looked from him to Sakura who had noticed how she was looking at Darius.
"No." Sakura mouthed.
"Class I present you Li Melin from Hong Kong who is attending our class now. Please sit behind Ms. Kinomoto." The Sensie instructed her.
Meilin took her seat right behind Sakura. "Why?" She asked Sakura in a low voice impossible to hear.
"Because he and Syaoran are kind of rivals. You know how he and Eriol always were. What would he think if you his cousin saw you with him."
"At least tell me his name."
"Toshiwa Darius."
"What is he Egyptian or something, he certainly doesn't look Japanese." Meilin commented while giving him a look. "He's so cute." she finally said.
"Is someone talking about me?" Kero asked as he had popped out his bear head out of Sakura's bag. But before anyone could see him Sakura stuffed him in the bag.
"He's like me and Syaoran he's also a magician." Meilin took a quick glance at Darius. Him a magician. That sounded a bit interesting. By the looks of it she had a lot to catch up on. But she couldn't wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow would be their trip.
Next Day
"all right class, settle down on a seat." This time Terada Sensie had joined them on their trip which was a good thing since their other teacher was mean.
"Wonder how the ice skating rink is like." Sakura wondered. She took a seat next to Tomoyo and Meilin. Meanwhile Syaoran was sitting in a seat next to Takashi-kun and Darius-kun. This is going to be a long ride Sakura secretly told Tomoyo from her mind. Takashi started telling them stories about how ice was invented. And how the Eskimos had migrated during the ice age. And on and on. It was a half hour trip at least they weren't going to hear his story of the time he saw the North witch. Not to mention he probably got that from The Wizard of Oz.
"Sakura," someone tapped her shoulder. It was Darius, "who's your friend?"
"Oh this is Li Meilin cousin of Li Syaoran."
Darius looked at this young girl. She didn't look anything like Syaoran in fact she was very cute especially with her half buns.
"Nice to meet you Li-san."
"It's a pleasure. Hey is it true that your from Egypt?" At this point she was very curious. She never seen someone foreign except for those business men who were always coming in and out of the Li property.
"Half Egyptian and half Japanese." He didn't consider himself Egyptian since he liked where he was born. He returned to Egypt when he was young probably when he was four or so. And it was then he was being prepared in getting stronger.
"I never really met a foreign person before. "
She asked all of them but mostly at Sakura.
"Well," Tomoyo began, "if you all want we can go we could go to the school's Winter Carnival."
"Yeah that's if we don't get attacked by an evil force or something." Sakura added. "We haven't seen a dark force for a while don't you think it my attack when we are most off guard?"
"She's right but meanwhile let's get off this bus it's stopped." Darius said.
The bus was filled with kids laughter and voices. It got very noisy. But as Sakura got out she noticed the frozen lake. It was cold but the scenery was marvelous as Tomoyo would point out.
Talking about Tomoyo she had taken out her camcorder and was taping the entire winter wonderland. This place was actually a legendary one. It use to be a shrine or at least something like that and it has a background story of a weeping lady who cried frozen tears until she made a an icy lake. But as years went by the lake had become more polluted and the trees were being destroyed. But recently the citizens wanted to restore the park. Not to mention there were woods behind it. A lot of people have been lost in there. She shivered and went back to with her classmates.
"I'm, sure most of you know how to ice skate," Terada Sensie began, " just try your best to stay with a partner or a group I don't want any lost teenagers. This place is very big as you can see so please behave. But besides that have fun!"
"all right! That's what I'm talking about!" Meilin grabbed her skates and quickly put them on.
"Meilin!"Syaoran called out, "just be careful not to fall!"
'Typical for you to care for your cousin I guess you do have a caring side." Darius said as he came from behind Syaoran.
"Shut up."
"You really do have a bad attitude against me don't you?" Darius smirked.
"I don't like it when you act like a wise guy." commented Syaoran as he put on his skates. What was this guy's problem?
"Guys." Sakura interrupted. "Please not today. We need to be together as allies." Bubbly as usual, Sakura went about twirling in circles. Ice Skating wasn't that much different than roller blading. All of a sudden something caught her attention...a card? She let her guard down once again. The thought of it pushed her body to the floor.
"What are you doing?" Syaoran asked with a hidden worry under his face
"I sense something near. Like a force." She headed towards it leaving Syaoran behind.
"Wait don't go on your own. Stupid!" Syaoran ran after her making sure no one noticed. What was with her? She kept trying to do everything on her own.
"Wait!" Tomoyo came skating fast. Running after Sakura with a costume in her arm.
Sakura glanced once behind her. 'Tomoyo.." only to be responded with pleading eyes.
"I won't be away for long, make sure no one notices anything. " Sakura told Tomoyo as she came out behind a tree in a new set of clothes. A light blue with pink and white colored dress. She also had a matching hat with it and boots to keep her legs warm. A cute cloak hanged from her neck to cover her shoulders. She ran into the forest while Tomoyo as slick as she was, kept the camera going.
"It's like I feel it so close but I don't see anything." She whispered to herself. Her examined the quilt of snow lazily sleeping on the branches. Nothing was moving in the woods. She tried to concentrate but it failed her. At last she tried once more and the warmth of her cards surrounded her. "Syaoran..."
"Let's go back I don't see anything." he interrupted. But when he turned around the path was covered with trees. "That wasn't there before." he looked at the other paths, "neither were those."
"That's what I was going to tell you. We're lost." She looked inside her pocket to finder her cell.
"Unless you use you cell phone." Syaoran advised turning to face Sakura but she wasn't there. "Sakura?"
"Syaoran! Where are you?" Just like Syaoran, Sakura was looking for him. Somehow they were separated. She tried to walk around for a bit but only caused her to get lost even more. "Oh crap!"
She fell on smooth snow and scratched her knee with a branch. When she finally unraveled herself she hadn't notice she was on the edge of a hill causing her to fall backwards. The other branches cut her flesh as the blood poured out slowly. She tried to reach her staff before she landed on the ground but that only caused her to get caught on another tree and badly wounding her right hip. Now she was stuck on another tree and her staff was all the way on the bottom. She was scratched all over and couldn't do anything about it. Was she that helpless when no one was around?
Once again she tried to get of the tree but only caused the stick that had stabbed in her right hip to dig in deeper. Sakura yelled. Her hip hurt like hell. It burned her. The dress had ripped with the fall and because of it the silk was stuck with the branches of the tree. The only way to get out was if she took out her dress. Thankfully there was no one around and thankfully Tomoyo had made an inner part of the dress. It was only a white tank top and an inner white skirt. Of course she had no idea that this was going to happen. But it didn't matter because no one was around to see what she was wearing. She finally got herself out of the tree. But she couldn't reach for the dress. All she could see was that it was soaked with blood. Now that she really thought about it that hill was pretty high. No wonder she fell in so many layers of trees and branches. She reached down for her staff and the bag that contained her cards. But again the stick dug in more into her flesh. She tried to take it out but it was in too deep. Her cell phone had probably hit a tree, now it was broken. It's pieces were shattered every where. There she was hopeless and defenseless.
Maybe telepathy would work in this case but it was hard to concentrate.
Sakura closed her eyes, everyone in the world appeared in her mind. Magic and Non magic. "Where is Syaoran?"
She kept looking for his mind in hers but he was no where to be found. She'd have to search deeper even though her mind cannot support mind connections for too long. Although she may not know it the Card Mistress has power to connect with other human minds, but also to destroy them. The only problem was that she did not know how to control it.
//Laughter... "Chiaka won't you come skate with me?"//
//Cries... "No Daddy please don't leave me...don't go please//
//Malice... "Better watch your back next time punk!"//
//Hunger... "Please give money for my children, please be merciful."//
//"Where's Sakura?" // A particular voice called. Her mind could not hold longer, she'd finally found Syaoran but her body gave in due to the energy flowing out.
//Syaoran...help me// Sakura helplessly cried before fainting into the blanket of snow. The phrase was heard in everyone's mind almost as quiet as a whisper. No one paid much attention, perhaps the rustling of the wind brought voices from afar. But there were those who were alarmed. Tomoyo immediately looked at Darius who responded by nodding and signaling Meilin.
"Where am I?" Sakura wondered.
The streets and houses she grew familiar with came into vision. And there were those very infamous swings which she had once open her heart to Syaoran. The very same Tomoeda which she grew up in was in her presence.
"Oka-san?" Sakura's eyes widened to see a girl around her age. The girl's violet curled hair reach up to her waist, her gleaming emerald eyes sympathized someone next to her.
"Aya." Darius's mother, it had to be. But Darius never mentioned that they knew each other. The girls on both swings talking to each other, seemed to be having a good time. It occurred to Sakura that this is one of her visions so no matter how hard she wanted to hug her mother she couldn't. She couldn't feel her soft skin or her sweet breath to tell her a story or the warmth of a good night kiss. Nadeshiko head turned and looked at her direction.
Sakura bolted up from her dream. The sun was already up. A day had passed and still no sign of Syaoran. Was he hurt like she was? No she didn't think so he wasn't clumsy like herself. But what of her dream? Nadeshiko knew Aya? She shivered. Now she was all alone with no one, how pathetic that all by herself she was useless. She collapsed on the blanket of snow not caring if it were cold or not.
"Sakura!" Syaoran shouted for the millionth time. She was still now where in sight. But as if his prayers were answered, violent red ichor danced on top of the snow led to a swooned Sakura. She was pale as the white roses of a tombstone. Immediately he took off his warm coat and wrapped it around her. "Sakura!" he shook her vigorously.
"You came?" she asked faintly.
"Of course I did." At the moment he spotted the branch that was stuck is her hip. And the thin white dress that Sakura was shivering underneath. "How did this happen?"
"I got stuck on a tree, clumsy me I couldn't get out so I took off that frilly dress. I just hope Tomoyo-chan does not lament over it."
"Hush, your bleeding to death and your worrying about a stupid dress." Syaoran silenced her.
" I can't hold any longer. I'm going to die anyway. Just like my mother."
"Don't you even say that", he firmly told her, "no matter what promise me you won't give up."
Syaoran lifted her chin up to his face. So their eyes would meet. " I know your a lot stronger than that. We'll get through this and laugh. Now promise me."
She looked at his amber eyes. The were so concerned, so caring. This was the first time she saw that 10 year old boy that had left her before." I promise." As if on cue Darius with his staff pointing at them and along with the two girls came in view.
"Sakura-chan!!" Tomoyo came running to her friend's aid. "How did this happen?" SHe immediately put some covers she had brought around her best friend's stiff body.
"How did you guys know we were here?" Syaoran gratefully asked.
"We heard Kinomoto-san voice yesterday. I don't know how and well Darius tried to track you guys down through your aura." Meilin in awe responded.
"I don't know exactly what happened either but she needs an ambulance immediately." Syaoran carried Sakura in his arms.
"Syaoran," said Sakura. "We haven't captured the Egyptian Card yet."
"You can't be serious. Your consistently bleeding right now and you expect me to let you go capture the card? Are you that stupid?" He rudely questioned her. His frigid body could barely even carry her and all she could do was think about capturing the card. His stone-cold tone shut everyone up that they would not say but not even one word on the way back.
"Li-san, Kinomoto-san. What exactly happened?" Asked Terada-sensie in the ambulance. None of them knew what to say but inside after teaching Kinomoto since she was nine or so he had known that she was no ordinary girl. At the hospital Sakura was put to sleep but was not let out.
"Merry Christmas Sakura-chan!!" greeted Tomoyo with a huge wrapped box. "I'm sorry if everyone else couldn't come. Your father and brother told me they would come later and Syaoran, Meilin as well as Darius went to the dance but they promised they will come visit too."
"Oh." she sighed in disappointment. She really wanted for Syaoran to visit her. The Hospital was no fun place to be.
"I made you some hot chocolate since I know the hospital food must be displeasing to you. Don't worry Sakura-chan you'll be leaving soon and be able to go on with your life."
"Arigato Tomoyo-chan. I hope you're right. Every morning all they do is come and give me a blood test. My temperature starts rising every night. What's more nerve wrecking is that I know that card is still out there somewhere." Sakura told Tomoyo between sips of chocolate as Tomoyo fixed Sakura's hair and put a little make up on her. Just because she was sick didn't mean she had to look like it.
"Remember what Syaoran-kun said Sakura-chan, you can't be thinking about that yet or else you'll never regain you strengths." Tomoyo placed the giant gift on her lap. "Gomen, Sakura-chan but I must be going I have to go to the Winter Dance, you know how those student organizations are."
"Hai, Tomoyo-chan don't worry." Sakura reached out for a hug to her friend. The minute Tomyo-chan left, Sakura gently unwrapped her present before her as Tomoyo exited the door. Sakura pulled out a gorgeous white scarf, with wool on the inner side to keep her warm and silk on the outer side of the scarf.
. A slight chilly wind came from the window. Sakura, holding the IV machine went to close it, as she headed back to her bed there were a pair of white cherry blossom flowers with the stems around a small green box. "Hoee!!!" She gently placed the gold ring with a cherry blossom stone on her finger. "Arigato, Li-kun"
"How did you know I was here?" Syaoran said sitting on the windowsill. His hair tousled by the wind yet made him look radiant as ever.
"By you're aura silly. Arigato Syaoran I know how you hate the cold and yet you came here to visit me on Christmas eve." She sat on her bed looking at him. "I was hoping to give this to you today, Merry Christmas."
Syaoran received the box with much care. I'm sorry about before Kinomoto, I didn't think I would be back in Japan. I never even got to read your letters."
"It's okay. I didn't have anything important to say either way." She twiddled with the Cherry Blossom leaves. "Why white cherry blossoms?"
Syaoran had already left out of the window. White Cherry Blossoms? Tomoyo once had told her that pink cherry blossoms meant new love, youth. But white meant to wait for something. Perhaps Syaoran wanted her to wait for him? "That's absurd. I doubt he would know what a white flower meant."
Alex: I can't believe I took this long to edit Chapter 3. Well it's slightly different than the one before I noticed that I left alot out. I have the whole plot figured out so I had to go back and add some things in. Some of you may not know what ichor means. Ichor is a type of blood that is said to go through the greek gods. I thought it was a good metaphor. And about the part where Sakura is trying to contact Syaoran. It's sort of like Professor Xavier (X-men) where he uses Cerebro to find a mutant. Only that Sakura obtained that magical ability thanks to Kero-chan. Before she lost conscienceness, she found Syaoran but she was still connected with the others. That's why everyone heard her. So yes that's my explanation incase you did not understand. As for the flowers. You know how each flower's color means something? Hmm.. a little foreshadowing. Arigato to all my readers who keep motivating me you don't know how much your R&Rs inspire me.