Fallen

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

WOW! I'm finally updating! I was suffering from a major brain fart, but I'm better now. Or am I... Oh well, again, sorry for the long delay.

Chapter 6

"Who are you?"

Sayoron watched as Sakura slept soundly, or as soundly as one could after her ordeal. The shock of seeing him in his true form caused her to faint, it had been hours and she had still not waken. At first, he took her to her own house. He had even got so far as to covering her up when he heard footsteps nearing the door. Again, to his dismay had to move her. Finally they ended up at the place he called 'home'. For hours, he kept vigilant by her side, replaying every detail of the prior events. Why send her? She was no assassin, in fact she was quite the opposite. Armana, who has been gone for close to ten years, appears out of nowhere and to what. Kill the very person he had swore to protect. All the thinking caused him to doze off, into a restless sleep.

Screaming was soon replaced with the tiny cries of a newborn. As the man with azure eyes gazed upon the bundled child, the midwife discovered two things. One, the child had a strange growth coming from her back. And second, that her mother failed to survive the delivery. The man named the child Arukas. For the longest time, he hid her away in their small cottage, afraid of what the outside world may do to her. One day, a young man of twenty crossed a creek and became lost in the forest that came after it. He traveled for days before he came to a small river. In that river, he witnessed the very essence of beauty. She was tall and slender, her raven hair cascaded down her back ending at her knees. However, it was the odd things sprout from her back that held the young mans attention. They looked like wings, ones that would belong to a bird. The color of which also matched her hair. Without knowing, he let out his breath which he had been holding in. Afraid that the beautiful creature would hear him, he turned to leave. The girl heard the twigs begin to break around her. As she turned, her emerald eyes met with the eyes of amber. They stood there for what seemed eternity. Before he relized what he was doing, he walked closer to the river. "What is your name?" She gazed upon him in shock, Arukas, yours?" He looked away shyly, running his hands through his messy chestnut hair. "Xiao Lang" ...

Sakura awoke, clinching the sheets as she struggled to catch her breath. Her hand slowly made its way to her forehead, which she found was dripping with sweat. 'What was that? A dream. No, it felt more like, like a memory...' Syaoron let out a small groan, causing her to jump right out of the bed. Causing Syaoron to wake.

"Sakura, are you ok?" As he reached for her hand, she jerked it away, fear showing greatly in her eyes. He pulled back, seeing that she was probably still in a state of shock, he simply just stared at her. She had her arms held up as if trying to defend herself. Sayoran didn't even try to mask the hurt that loomed in his eyes and his heart. In his mind, he understood that she was scared, but his heart inside felt as if it were breaking in two. They both waited for the other to say something, minutes passed feeling more like hours.

"Who are you? What are you and What the hell is going on?" Sayoran took a deep breath, trying to figure out exactly what he would tell her, and how much. The last thing he wanted was to scare her more then she already was. He sat down in the chair beside the bed. He looked to see that Sakura was finally letting her guard down, but still stayed in the corner. He took another deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.

"I am Li Sayoran, and I am an angel who was assigned to you at birth to guide you through life. Every human has them, except we are not always with just one specific person. We have many charges. With you being the exception." "Wait, what do you mean by 'exception'?" He looked down at his feet and then back to her. "On the day you were born, I was sent by my master, the head angel to witness and report your birth. I had already thought it unusual because we have a special angel who takes care of birth and death recording. When I returned before him, he had informed me that I was stripped of my other charges and that you were a special case, and must be fully protected. I was to never leave your side." He paused, watching as she tried to soak in everything he had just said.

"Why me? Why?" Tears began to fill in her eyes as she thought back to a certain event that took place. One that she thought of often, one she would never reveal. "It was you, wasn't it. You helped me. That day,..." She walked over to him, no longer worried whether or not she was afraid of him. He wiped the tear from her cheek. " If you are supposed to protect me, then why was that woman trying to hurt me?"

"My master recently called me back to inform me that on your eighteenth birthday, I would no longer be with you because you were scheduled to, to..." "I was to die..." Her voice was barely above a whisper, the words uttered from her lips was enough to bing him to his knees."Yes, you were to die." She sank down to the floor. "Then why are you here? Was the getting close to me and ... and that day at the planetarium. Was that why? Why are you here?" Her voice was low and meek, as if afraid to hear the answer, fearing that she may already know.

"That's simple. I came down her to protect the one I love." She stared at him in disbelief, did she just hear him right? She slowly began to stand, waiting for him to start laughing. But the unwavering look in his eyes suggested otherwise. "What did you say?"

"I refused my masters orders. I had two months to figure out how to keep you from them. But I see that they have figured out what I'm trying to do. If a person somehow dodges their fate, they are given a second chance. So I swore, that no matter even if it meant sacrificing myself in the process. I will protect you."

Touya awoke suddenly. As he looked up from his chair, a bright light shone and in the bed laid a young woman. She was bleeding and tears were steaming down her face. All he could hear between the muffled cries was " Why, why aren't I healing?" He stood, dumbfounded. As he gazed on the injured woman he began sensing a sort of deja vu. He walked closer, the woman seemingly still unaware of his presence. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. She turned and looked at him with tear stained eyes. "Ri- Ririka?" She was silent. "Ririka, it's you, isn't it." His eyes searched hers, looking for an answer. He glanced down at her blood soaked hand and placed his hand over it. "We need to get this wound cleaned. Stay here, I'll be right back." He ran out of the room in search for the first aid kit. Armana, forgetting the pain of her injury sat confused. 'How is it that he still sees me as Ririka?' She lifted her other hand and felt that her wings had begun to wilt. Hundreds of feathers, some blood stained fell to the floor. 'Could he not see my wings?'

Touya returned holding a red box. He took the gauze and alcohol out and prepared to dress her wound. His gentle touch seemed to dispel the pain. As he finished, his hand left her wound and made its way toward her face. He touched her cheek, sending shivers down Armanas spine. "You are Ririka." It was more of a statement then a question. She looked away. "The aura is the same. So you don't have to be afraid. You can tell me." She looked him right in the eyes, fear filled her gaze. "No, I am not Ririka. I am Armana. The Ririka you knew, no longer exists and hasn't for a long time." She saw the confusion on his face and found it sad. She knew the damage that this was doing to this man. He loved this girl all of his life. After thinking he had lost her once, and thinking he was given a second chance, he finds it was all just a fantasy. One that she helped create to escape her own living hell.

"No, you are her, I know it. You may look different, but you're her." Frustration began to form in the mans eyes. Her next words were going to shatter his soul. "Ririka has been dead. She died that night. The woman you love no longer exists. I'm sorry." Before he could say anymore, she disappeared into a blinding ball of light. Feeling her still, he ran out the door, without knowing running to where he knew she was going.

She sat on the swing, her wound still hurting her. But the tears from her face were not from her injury.

Sakura didn't know what to say. To her, it seemed kind of ironic. The one thing she ever wished for was to fall in love and live a long and happy life. Her whole life seemed like one big sick joke. And that at any moment, a camera crew would emerge and say 'Surprise! This has all been a practical joke!' She just wanted to be a normal teenage girl, not the center object of a war.

"Would you like me to take you home?" She nodded her head and he took hold of her hand. She looked unsure at first, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you." She gave him a faint smile and walked out the door.

Armana sensed a powerful aura approaching her direction. 'What should I do? I'm still not healed.' It was drawing closer. Her wings sprouted from her back and she took to the sky. "There they are." A smirk crossed her face as she met her second opportunity to eliminate her target. Her crystal formed in her hand and shot shards towards the oncoming couple. Syaoron, just in time to push Sakura to safety, withdrew his own crystal. With a scream, his wings sprouted from his back and he took to the sky, heading towards Armana. Her crystal in turn turned to a sword just as Syaoron made his first blow. She blocked and pushed him back, drawing him back.

"How does it feel, Syaoron? To love someone and not be able to be with them." Syaoron struck back at her, his blow faster then the last. "What!" Her anger was starting to get the better of him. She began striking him faster. "You heard me, HOW DOES IT FEEL!" Just as he thought he had the upper hand, she slashed his arm, he heard Sakura scream as he felt the warm liquid fall down his arm. "How does it feel to know that the one you love will always be out of your reach." Her sword made contact with his other arm. "Armana, what the hell!" Tears filled her eyes, her blows becoming faster, causing Syaoron to be on the defensive. "How does it feel to have to pretend to be someone else, and hide your true self from the world." Down on the ground, a sharp pain crossed Sakuras heart. Armana was in pain! She was hurting. Pity for this woman filled Sakuras eyes with tears. "Syaoron! Please, don't hurt her!" Syaoron was trying his hardest to keep Armanas sword from striking him,"WHAT!" He yelled over her shoulder. As he pushed her back, Armanas eyes strayed to the left, and just before a single tear fell, Yue's blade made its way through her stomach. A mans voice, out of nowhere screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Syaoron gazed in shock, Sakura sank to the ground. "You failed, Armana. You will pay penance with your life." As she fell to the ground a man appeared beside her. Syaoron turned to Yue, holding his sword firm in his hands. "Relax, I'm not coming for the girl yet." He lifted his arm and before Syaoron could strike, he was gone.

Down on the ground, Sakura rushed to get to the injured woman. A man with dark hair beat her to it. "Ririka, Ririka!" She struggled to open her eyes. "Please, listen. I'm sorry." He pulled her closer to him, cradling her head in his lap. "Don't talk, we have to get you to a hospital." She began to cough, as she did blood began to trickle down her mouth. "I'm sorry that I was to late to fulfil Ririkas last wish. I was afraid. Afraid that the feelings you felt were not really for me, but for the girl I pretended to be." Touya was now starting to understand. The woman that he fell in love with wasn't his childhood friend. Yes, he cared for Ririka before her accident. But It was the person she was after that he truly loved. And now, he was losing her. "Armana..." She smiled. "I love you, Touya. And I eternally will." "Armana, don't die! I love you! Armana!" She smiled one last time. "My name, you said my name.I like how it sounds coming from you..." Her eyes began to slowly close as her body became limp. She slowly began fading away. "Armana! ARMANA!" Syaoron held Sakura, who was crying uncontrollably. "Don't leave me. Armana!" She was gone, all that was left now was a broken man with a broken heart.

Yue flew across the room and hit the wall hard. Blood trickled down his nose. He wiped it onto his finger and placed it in his mouth. "Well, I knew that you liked it rough, but I didn't know how rough." The master smoothed his robe and tried to compose himself. "We needed her for the awakening! How could you be so careless!" Yue gave his master an icy gaze. "Believe me, master. The awakening will take place. I guarantee."

Phweee! OMG! I finally finished this chapter! It's a miracle. I hope that people are still reading this. Thank you for all of your support to those who have already reviewed. I hope to update soon. We are nearing the end, and I'm still wondering myself how it is going to play out. For those of you reading my other stories, I hope to be updating on those as well. Domo Arigato! Je ne!

P.s Don't forget to hit that cute button that says review. My B-day is next wed. and for my birthday I want at least 10 reviews. Onegai! That's all I ask for. Bye-bie.