Hey, I'm back.
Here's the next chapter, to all my avid readers.
Thank you's will be at the end, I've decided that's better then before.
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Read on fellow fans! (Oh, and so no one kills me, I still down own CCS)
Sakura opened the door to her house and punched in the number for the keypad. School had been good; homework was not all that bad and she had become friends with Tomoyo, Eriol, and Syaoran very quickly. Kero gasped as she unzipped her bag.
"Finally," he said, "I thought you were going to leave me in there forever!"
"I never invited you to tag alone," Sakura replied, throwing him a pudding cup. She ate her own apple and smirked at Kero as he devoured the treat. "You know, if you keep eating like that you'll loose your figure."
"No I won't," Kero said, swallowing his pudding, "I happen to work out every day. Do you think I just sit around playing video games while you're gone."
"Yes, I do," Sakura said, "I'm going to the dojo. Do you want to stay here?"
"Sure," Kero replied, "Just keep your guard up and leave your phone on. I'll call you if I sense anything."
"I'm not allowed to have it in the dojo," Sakura said from the other room, "It'll be on vibrate. If it's really strong call the emergency extension and I'll think of a reason to get it. I'm leaving now." Sakura had her martial arts bag thrown over her shoulder. She put the alarm on 'stay' and locked the door behind her. She put her earphones in and roller bladed to the dojo. She had just gotten her uniform on when her sensei called her.
"Saku," he said, "Come here." Sakura bowed to the flags and entered her sensei's office, bowing at the door.
"Hai," she said.
"The police found fifteen boys beaten to a pulp in a nearby alley last night," he said, "Do you know anything of this? It looked like your work."
"Hai," Sakura said truthfully, "I caught them attempting to rape one of my friends, she knew nothing of the martial arts."
"So you were defending someone?"
"Hai. She is coming tonight, I have convinced her to join the self-defense class. You may speak to her and the other two boys who were present if you wish, sensei."
"I trust you Saku," he said, "But they came asking around here. It will seem suspicious if they get out and can identify you or the girl you protected."
"They know me from school sensei, I don't think they will bother me or her again."
"Be carefully Saku, people who stand up for what is right often are shunned. Do not cut yourself off from the world because you are righteous, remember, fists are not the only way to win a battle."
"Hai, sensei."
"Dismissed." Sakura bowed and went back to warming up. Sakura soon saw Syaoran, Eriol and Tomoyo walk in. Tomoyo was dressed in jeans and a tee, she carried a bag.
"Thank you for the loan Sakura," she said, Sakura's cloths were clean and dry. Eriol and Syaoran went to change.
"Come on," Sakura said, "Let's get you a uniform and some padding." Sakura led Tomoyo back to the sensei's office and bowed at the door. "Sensei."
"Come in Saku," he said.
"Sensei," Sakura said, respect in her voice, "This is Tomoyo Daidouji, she wishes to join in on our classes. May I get her a uniform and some equipment?"
"You may," he said. Sakura left the room after bowing again and led her down the hall to another door.
"Hm," Sakura said, looking at shelves of equipment, "You've about my size. Here's a medium tunic and breeches, and a spare for tomorrow." Sakura handed Tomoyo some white garments, the tunic had a low collar and some black edging.
"How come this is different," Tomoyo asked. Sakura wore black breeches with a white tunic.
"Belt-ranking," Sakura answered, pointing at rows of different colored sashes, "When you obtain your dan, or black-belt, you wear black breeches. When you get your eighth dan, you wear a black and gold uniform. It is the difference between a novice, an apprentice, and a master."
"Oh," Tomoyo said.
"Here's a hugo (chest-protector)," Sakura said, handing her a padded vest that laced in the back, "Some arm and leg guards and head-gear. Armor comes later, we don't teach you weapons until you get to your purple level." Tomoyo nodded. "Go change into that, there should be a white tee in the package, and meet me for warm-ups. Then I'll introduce you to your sensei."
"You don't teach," Tomoyo asked.
"I teach a later class," Sakura answered as they walked back into the locker room, "I work with initiates who are closer to changing their level. You'll work with me soon enough, don't worry. Change, then meet me out here." Eriol and Syaoran were already waiting, warming up and stretching while they were doing so.
"Hey Sakura," Eriol said as she joined them. "How's Tomoyo?"
"She's good, so you guys have decided to join?"
"Might as well," Syaoran answered, "It's closer to home then the other dojo, it's also much bigger."
"I'm glad," Sakura said, "We don't usually keep as many students as they get older, most of them drop out before they get their brown belt."
"To bad," Eriol said, sitting down and stretching his feet, "I think more people should take it."
"I encourage most girls to join," Sakura said, sinking into the splits, "I think every girl should know some basic form of self defense." Tomoyo soon joined them. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Mary." Mary was a tall woman with short blond hair; she had four gold stripes on her belt and was the same level as Sakura.
"Hey Saku," Mary said, "How are you?"
"I'm good," she replied, "I would like you to meet Tomoyo, she's joining the dojo."
"Self-defense," Mark asked.
"Yeah," she answered, "Sakura's making me join. Some guys tried to rough me up last night, but she stopped them."
"For a while, I bet," Mary said, "How many?"
"About fifteen," Sakura said, "They were a BNR group."
"I'm glad you insisted," Mary said, Tomoyo looked confused, "BNR stands for Beat and Rape, we get a lot of victims who join up. You were lucky. I'll make sure you get in with the judo group as well as our normal style." Tomoyo looked a little overwhelmed. "Relax kid, we don't bite here, we only kick your butt in the ring, and there's rules there."
"I have to go start my class," Sakura said, glancing at the clock, "And I have to get Eriol and Sayo placed. I'll see you after your lesson."
"Don't worry," Mary said, "I'll look after her. Come on." Tomoyo waved at Sakura and followed Mary over to a small group of girls, none of them had sashes. "Everyone, we have a new student." The five girls looked over from their stretching. "This is Tomoyo." Tomoyo bowed and the girls stood, returning the bow. "I'm looking to you to help her around the dojo. Teach her the warm-ups and then we'll work on falling today."
"Hai, sensei," the girls said, bowing. They welcomed Tomoyo warmly.
"Hi," one said, she wore glasses and had navy blue hair, "I'm Rose. Are you the one who sensei Saku rescued last night?"
"Does everyone know about that," Tomoyo asked. The other four nodded.
"The police came in last night about thirty minutes after she left," one girl, Yuki, said, "They asked us if we knew anything. Saku is known for rescuing girls she finds getting beat up. We all know it's her, but we pretend not to notice whenever the cops come asking."
"Yeah," another, Rina, said, "Last year, in Tokyo, I heard she ran out of a late class and stopped a mugging across the street." The other two were twins, Cara and Sarah, who had their own rumors about Sakura.
"It's not uncommon for Saku to bring a girl off the street in," Cara said.
"She made me and Cara join after we almost got our car stolen by a gang," Sarah continued, "We didn't even know who she was. She just beat the crap out of them and brought us here. That was six weeks ago. The other masters do the same though, they don't want us to be tournament fighters, they just want us to know how to defend ourselves."
"All of this is free of charge," Rose said, "I could never afford to come here, the sensei says I can come as long as I like. He says if I stay till I'm an initiate that I can work off my debt by teaching others, if not, then I'll pay him back by not getting beat up." They talked through warm-ups and Mary came back, all talking stopped. They girls taught Tomoyo the tradition and custom behind martial arts. There were times when all noise had to be stopped, situations when a bow was required (which is often), the rules of engagement, and how to address those people who were higher in rank. The most important thing Tomoyo learned was how to fall. The girls spent all night throwing each other down and rolling out of throws. After an hour Mary let them go, Tomoyo felt like she had been beat up all over again.
"How was your class," Sakura asked while they were changing.
"Ow," was all Tomoyo could manage to say, "I don't think I've ever been more tired in my life."
"Just wait till tomorrow," Sakura said, "Don't worry, you get used to it. It won't hurt as much once you learn how to properly fall, and trust me; once you know how to fall it's a breeze to your first sash. Most girls test for their white sash about ten weeks after they join." The walked out and waited for Touya, Eriol, and Syaoran. "I'm glad you decided to join."
"I talked to some of the other girls," Tomoyo said, "They all said you almost always brought kids in, asking them to join."
Sakura looked at her shoe, finding the boot very interesting. "Tomoyo, almost every female master brings girls in to train. Do you want to know why?" Tomoyo nodded. "When we moved here a lot of our old students followed us, that's why Touya and I came back here. In Tokyo we brought girls in off the street by the dozens. Girls get raped every day Tomoyo; it's one of the worse facts in life. As women, we usually see it as our responsibility to help anyone we can. That's why we work so hard here for nothing. If giving up an hour or two every day makes the world a safer place for women, we figure it's not that big a deal. One time, in Tokyo, a new student was raped and killed. Her sister was forced to watch and was raped herself, but she only barely survived. After she joined us the same guys found out she was alive and came for her. This time she killed two and paralyzed the other three. We didn't like the fact she caused so much damage, it's not encouraged to beat people up, but we thought of all the girls they raped. If her sister had been trained, she probably wouldn't have died." Tomoyo took it all in and realized how sheltered her life had been. Sakura soon brightened the mood when the boys walked out.
"Hey," Tomoyo said, "Why don't you all come over to my house and we'll have a sleepover. Tomorrow's Saturday, so we can watch movies all night."
"Sure," Syaoran and Eriol said at the same time.
"I'll just have to go home and grab a bag," Sakura said, "It's not far, I can be back here in twenty minutes."
"I'll give you a ride," Syaoran said, "I live two streets down from you, besides, your house is on the way."
"OK," Sakura said, "I'll be waiting." They all went their separate ways. Sakura rolled home as fast as she could (cutting though more then a few backyards) and walked in the back door. "Kero," she called, "I'm home."
"Hey Saku," he said, "Everything quiet?"
"Yup," she replied, "I'm going over to Tomoyo's tonight, I'll be back tomorrow, are you OK until then."
"I think I can handle myself," Kero said, flying upstairs after her, "Just leave your phone on in case anything happens. Don't forget about that spirit you sensed last night, it probably hasn't gone away."
"I know," Sakura said, throwing a bag together, "I'm taking the book with me and I'll leave my phone on." She ran back downstairs and pulled on her skates. "I'm locking the door!"
"See you," Kero called. He waited for a few seconds and turned on the TV and the Xbox. "Halo tournament, here I come!"
Sakura waited a few minutes sitting by her gate. Pretty soon Eriol and Syaoran came into view and were pedaling towards her. She waved and rolled over to them.
"You were going to give me a ride on that," Sakura asked, shaking her head. "You guys never think ahead." Syaoran shrugged. He pointed to a sturdy bar that was attached to the back of his bike.
"Grab on," he said, "I'll tow you." Sakura put the extra clip around her waist on and crouched, grasping the bar and turning her wheels.
"Go ahead," Sakura said. Syaoran and Eriol took off, Sakura soon had up enough speed to keep up with them and they got to Tomoyo's house in about twenty-five minutes.
"Whoa," Sakura said, staring at the mansion, "Tomoyo lives here!" They walked up to the door and she answered.
"Hey guys," she said, "Come on in." Sakura walked though the doorway and felt a shimmer of something, like a ghost of a spell. She shook her head, it was probably nothing. Eriol saw Sakura stop for a moment and heard his heart pound, he hoped she could not feel the protective spell he had woven around Tomoyo's house. Magic spells would raise many unwanted questions. He had to stop himself from sighing as she moved on.
'Something's strange here,' Sakura thought to herself as they walked upstairs, 'Something's different. I'll have to find out what it is. That was definitely a spell back there, but it was pretty old. Maybe someone lived here before Tomoyo who had a sense of magic. Wait, what if someone here is magic?'
Thank you all for reading.
Please review, all flames welcome.
Authors note: Many have asked where Yue is, the truth is that he's on his way. Don't forget, Sakura moved from Tokyo and it would seem weird if Yukito followed her, Touya has no idea that Sakura is the Card Captor. Yukito will be along, I just need to find a way to work him in. Suggestions are welcome.
Verya
To my Readers:
I love you all!
Special Thanks to:
Meow-mix23
Ffgirl-07
Youkaigirl64
VampireJazzy