Chapter 2

Sakura's New Deck

Ch. 2 What the?

By ShinyK

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS only Mandra and Donny.

Sakura was sitting on her bed wondering what Syaoran was doing when someone knocked on the door. Assuming Tomoyo had come to help her with her homework since Syaoran was with Mandra again, she went threw open door. There stood one of the most handsome men she had ever seen. He was about six feet tall, had light brown hair that curled slightly at the nape of his neck, piercing green eyes, and the second-most sensuous lips she had ever seen, first of course belonging to Syaoran.

"Ummmm, hi..." she said rather breathlessly then mentally kicked herself for even momentarily forgetting about Li and guarding her thoughts. "Can I help you?"

So, Sakura now thinks I'm gorgeous... Well, I could play with her a bit but, no, I want to go see Tomoyo and get this over with quickly... Donny thought to himself.

"Oh, you're Tomoyo's friend Donny, right?"

He nodded and as she watched him he seemed to drink her in with his eyes and she realized, 'Oh my Gosh! I almost made a pass for Tomoyo's flirtatious friend, whom has a mondo crush on her! What is wrong with me! Oh well, I guess I'll just tell him she'll be here soon and ask if he wants to wait.

"I actually am looking for you. You are Sakura Kinomoto right?"

'He's acting like I've never met him... Oh well maybe he forgot about that party a few weeks ago. I didn't recognize him at first either', she thought. "Yes, that's me."

He mentally cursed when he realized she did remember him. Oh well, guess he'd have to kill her also, after Mandra killed him. No ties, no witnesses. "Ummmm, yeah actually that is why I'm here. I tried calling her and the phone just rang and rang, so I got worried.

'How sweet. He must really care for her... Wish Syaoran cared for me like that. DARN MANDRA! Why did he have to love her? I have loved him for so long. Now I am too late... "Oh, don't worry. Come in. She should be here any minute for a study session.

"What are you studying?" he asked slightly disinterested, as if just making small talk.

"Calculus..."

"But Tomoyo is horrible at math!"

"Not as bad as me, any help is better than none, even if the person is almost as bad as I am."

Tomoyo walked in the door to the suite at just that time. "Sakura I have something amazing to show you!"

"Come on in Tomoyo, I'm just having a chat with one of your friends." she said slyly.

"Oh, hi Donny!" She immediately ran over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Oh, and hi Sakura." she hastily added. 'What is he doing here?' she wondered to herself. 'Oh who cares as long as I get to look at him? Maybe he'll ask me out...'

Daydream: Tomoyo walks up to Donny and whispers into his ear, "Hello Gorgeous, what's up."

"Not much Beautiful." he says giving her a slow passionate kiss...

'I wonder what she's thinking about.' Sakura thought to herself. 'Probably imagining one of those fantasies she told me about when we were kids...'

'She gets graphic in those things.' He coughed as he read her mind. 'I guess I will ask her out since now I know she really wants me too...

Tomoyo came back to earth. "Why were you looking for me? Did you need me for something?"

"Actually yes. I was coming to ask you how you would feel about going out for a movie and some pizza, but I understand you have a study date." he said dazzlingly.

"Well, it was supposed to be a study date, but Syaoran will help her any way and she doesn't care, do you?" she asked looking hopefully at her best friend.

'I most certainly do!' She wanted to shout. 'I am your best friend and I feel unloved and you have to stay here with me and pretend to study, but in reality be comforting me!' But all she said was "Of course I don't care, go have fun you two!" with a false smile on her face. 'Why should I care if you get to go have a make out session with the man of your dreams while I sit on the couch all alone and cry all night!'

"Thanks, Sakura. Bye!" Tomoyo hugged her friend. Sakura finally hugged her back. She was happy for her.

"Bye Kinomoto."

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Syaoran's room

"Baby, come sit with me." Mandra patted a place on the bed next to her. She was wearing a VERY skimpy negligee-looking dress that skimmed about mid-thigh and had her hair in loose ringlets, framing her face.

Syaoran followed orders, thinking he had never seen anyone more gorgeous in his life, except of course Sakura when she does her hair in the messy bun thing. 'Where did that come from? Yes she's gorgeous, but she's my best friend! Well, she is kind of pretty even when she didn't have her hair tied back, and she had something other than pj's on. But she is cute in those Hello Kitty sleepers!'

Mandra frowned. Apparently she didn't' have the effect on him she was hoping. "Something on your mind dear?"

"Nothing. Sorry." His eyebrows drew in concentration. 'Syaoran focus. You are with your beautiful wife to be and have no business thinking of your best friend in that way when you have Mandra to look at.' Li pushed all thoughts of Sakura out of his head and leaned over to knead Mandra's shoulders.

'Goodness he looks good, even if I do have Donny. It's a shame I have to kill him. Oh well...' Mandra gathered her courage. It was now or never "Syaoran handsome, would you please go get the fruit platter out of the fridge and my little apple knife?"

"Sure. I'll be right back."

"Oooooh..." she sighed to herself when he had gone. If only Donny would treat her like a queen, like Li did. Li really wasn't all that bad, but Donny said anyone who stood in their way would have to go. The only thing she didn't understand was what role Tomoyo had to play. The little brat Donny pretended to like. She knew all about the cards and would try to kill them both if she ever found out their secret. She should be killed. But Donny seemed so against hurting her that sometimes Mandra wondered if he really had a crush on her. He was always over there, telling Mandra that it was all to get information about the deck but...Naaah, she dismissed all she had been thinking. He loves me, he even brought me to the past to prove it, so... Oh and here is my little lover boy bringing my murder weapon!"

"Here you go. Would you like me to cut it up for you?" He had to raise his voice a little and repeat himself. Apparently Sakura and Tomoyo's 'study' session had turned into a jam session instead, music blaring now from the thin walls. Alannis Morsett. Sakura was depressed. Maybe he should go and check on her.

"No thanks, Darling. Oops," she said 'accidentally' dropping her ring on the ground. "Could you pick that up for me?"

She didn't have to ask. Gentleman that he was, Li had already laid the fruit tray on the bed and had bent over to retrieve the ring.

As he leaned down Mandra took advantage of his position and plunged the knife into his back several times. Before the reality could set in and the surprise could wear off she had stabbed him five times and he fell to the floor with a look of shock on his face. "What are you doing?", he moaned.

Mandra simply looked at him and mumbled "Tough luck, kid." Before his eyes she morphed into her true self. She was about fifteen years older and a bit more saggy.

Syaoran's vision was blurring as it was. 'I must be imagining this. This is a cruel nightmare. Too unreal.'

'This is just great.' Sakura thought to herself. 'I'm here alone and Syaoran is down the hall with his girl friend, Tomoyo is out with her I guess, boyfriend, and I am stuck in this apartment alone and without a guy!'

At that moment she decided to stop her pity party and flipped open the cd player to change cd's. She had resolved to get out of this mood when she heard the soft pitter-patter of footsteps and her curiosity bit her. Peaking out into the living area she saw Mandra rushing out the door to their suite and glancing back. She looked back to Syaoran's door rather suspiciously. 'I wonder what's up with that? Maybe, they had a fight. Should I go check his room?... No, that would be to forthcoming, I guess I'll just stay here, and sit my butt down to try and figure out the wonderful world of Calculus.'

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At the movie theater Tomoyo sat in the dark slowly and sensuously kissing Donny when all of a sudden he jerked back. "Oh, crap."

"What is it?"

"Mandra." he said without thinking.

"Mandra?" she echoed totally clueless. "You know her?"

"We are cousins and I have to take care of her," he said covering up his blunder.

"Oh, okay. But why did you just say her name?"

"Because I thought I saw her outside the door just now."

"Oh." she said rather suspiciously.

'Oh crap,' he thought to himself 'she is starting to get suspicious what am I going to do? I have to go get Mandra in case someone sees her freaking out and she spills her guts. I can tell she is having a rough time. I guess she lied when she told me she had killed before. How did I not read that? Why didn't I check! Because you really loved her then,' he answered himselfback. How he could have ever loved anyone but Tomoyo, he didn't know. But in his time he had loved lots of girls, though none of them as strongly as Tomoyo. 'What do I do?' he fretted. 'It's either get found out, or leave and have her angry at me...'

"Ouch!" Tomoyo screeched.

"What?" he asked worrying about her.

"Something just cut my foot!"

When he looked under the table he saw a gash on her foot, and a little something scurrying about. "Oh no!" he said.

"Is it that bad!"

Deciding he had just got dealt a great hand he widened his eyes exclaimed, "Oh, yes! We should get you home immediately!"

In all his false bravado he forgot about the little thing and rushed her out the door throwing a fifty on the table and getting her into the car.

When he put Tomoyo in the car she looked down at her foot. He was still outside waiting for traffic to pass to get in the driver's side. 'He sure is freaking out over such a small gash. Maybe he's too sensitive for me. But he's SUCH a great kisser!... I wonder what Sakura's doing. She looked a little bummed when we left. I am being selfish staying away at a time like this.'

As Mandra ran down the street she routinely checked behind her to see if anyone was following her. When she finally sat down in a dark alleyway she caught her breath then yelled "OUCH! Stupid Son of a..." she said trailing off and looked down to see what had went through her shoe and got her. All she saw was a little black thing scuttling away and sighed feeling sort of bad for killing Li. And feeling bad that she didn't come back to see whether or not he was breathing. Donny would be angry.

Li lie on the floor. Consciousness was rapidly slipping away, but he was in enough pain to realize he had been had. He would die. Was this enough? And what about her? Mandra was probably after something from Sakura. She'd have to be working for someone else, he didn't sense any magic in her. And they used him to get to her. They would kill her easily now with him out of the picture.

'Sa,Sakura," he wheezed, attempting to crawl with his elbows to the wall next to her room. . Darkness and brightness both swirled around him. He was almost to the wall , hand outstretched, when suddenly everything went dark...