A/N: chapter 4
Disclaimer: CCS is not mine.
Third Time's a Charm
Chapter 4: First Wish
He was standing in a garden.
At first, he didn't recognize his surroundings but then he smiled as he saw the palace. He was home again.
His sisters ran to him and squealed his name over and over and engulfed him in a bone-crushing group hug. He didn't even realize how he missed even that in all the years he was imprisoned.
But then, a strong wind blew and it became dark. He began to get pulled back, like someone has caught him in a rope and is pulling him. He sisters had drifted away and away until all he could see was black. He knew that sensation, only too well. He was being sucked backed to his bottle. He looked up and saw the cold smile of the woman who had done this to him.
"Have fun," She said, "Syaoran-kun," Her voice echoed…
"Syaoran-kun…"
"Syaoran-kun…"
--
"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura called again and this time, Syaoran sat with a jolt and looked frantically around and then at her.
"I tried to wake you up since you looked as if you have a bad dream," Sakura explained, "Are you feeling all right?" She asked, worried.
Syaoran relaxed, and his shoulders sagged, he looked at Sakura and saw her worried expression, "I'm fine," He said, "I had a nightmare, that's all."
Sakura relaxed and got up from her kneeling position beside Syaoran's futon and for the first time, Syaoran realized that she was wearing her school's uniform.
"It's already morning?" He asked and looked towards the room's window and sure enough, he had to shield his eyes from the bright light.
"Yes, rise and shine," Sakura said.
--
"So what is this thing called?" Syaoran asked, holding something that looked like a piece of meat that was in the middle of a round bun.
"It's called hamburger," Sakura smiled, "Dad made these yesterday and I thought you'd like to try one."
They were at school, it was lunch time and Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Eriol, were all gathered under a tree in the school grounds.
Syaoran examined the hamburger more closely, and looked at Sakura, "It's edible, right?"
Sakura chuckled at Syaoran's expression of obvious dubiousness, "Yes, it's edible," She assured him, "Try it."
Syaoran took an experimental bite, chewed and swallowed.
His eyes widened in surprise.
"Well?" Sakura asked, knowing the answer.
"It's good," Syaoran said in wonder, "really good."
"Ah, the joys of junk food," Eriol teased, also holding one of the hamburgers Sakura brought.
"Why is it called junk when it's not?" Syaran asked, confused.
"That's just it, no one knows," Eriol answered, then scratched his chin in thought, "maybe it's a conspiracy."
Tomoyo rolled her eyes, "To you, everything is conspiracy." She said to Eriol.
Suddenly Sakura hit her fist on her other hand," That's right," She said in realization, "Tomoyo-chan, Eriol-kun," She turned to them, "can you come tomorrow to my place?"
"Sure," Tomoyo said.
"Yeah, why not," Eriol agreed, "only, why?" He asked.
"I want to come because Syaoran will be there too and there is something important I need to tell you." Sakura explained.
"What? What is so important?" Eriol asked, then his eyes widened, "Your not-" but he was stopped by Sakura who said, "No, Eriol, I'm not."
"How'd you know what I was going to say?"
"Eriol, I know you and Tomoyo since forever, so trust when I say that I what you were going to say." Sakura said.
"See," Eriol told Syaoran, "that's the problem with those two; they know me inside and out."
"It that a problem?" Syaoran asked.
"Only when you tease them." Eriol answered.
--
Syaoran materialized in Sakura's bedroom when school was over and everyone went home.
He opened his eyes and didn't Sakura, who usually would be there, waiting and start to chat about the day's events in school. So he opened her door and went down the stairs and sure enough she was there at the kitchen.
"What are doing?" He asked when he saw her in an apron.
"Pancakes." She replied and took ingredients from the refrigerator.
"The ones that look like flat cakes?" He asked, he tasted them before and they were really good.
"Yes, those are the exactly the ones." Sakura grinned at him and went back to her cooking, "you wanted something?" She looked up.
"Yes," He said and moved closer to see that she dumped the ingredients in the bowl and was now stirring it into white goo, "I wanted to ask, how long you knew Daidouji-san and Hiiragizawa-san?" He asked.
"Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun?" She asked, "Tomoyo-chan I have known since we were in diapers, our mothers were cousins, which makes her my second cousin," She explained, "do you have cousins?" She asked Syaoran.
He immediately thought of Meling and smiled, "Yes, I do have a cousin who is about my age, and she can be very stubborn, but very nice to be around," He said affectionately, and he remembered he hadn't seen his cousin for than a century and his smile quickly vanished, and turned back to Sakura, who didn't see the change in expression as she had to watch the stove.
"And what about Hiiragizawa-san?" He asked, changing the subject.
"Eriol-kun? We've known each other since kindergarten, been another brother to me ever since." She smiled warmly.
But when she turn another pancake and started on another topic, the phone rang, and she immediately turned off the stove, wiped her hands on her apron and walked quickly to the phone.
"Must be Dad or Onii-chan," She said over her shoulder to Syaoran and picked up the phone.
"Yes, Kinomoto residence. What? How bad is it? Oh, no…yes, thank you." And she put the phone down and stared straight ahead, not seeing a thing.
Syaoran walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned slowly toward him, green eyes staring in shock.
"What's wrong? What happened?" He asked her.
"It was from the hospital; my father was in a car crash and is badly injured. Onii-chan is on his way there…" Then she just collapsed on a chair and started crying.
"Kimonoto-san?" Syaoran asked hesitantly. He was used to his sisters and cousin crying but not this girl, who was always so full of energy.
She looked up at him with tear-stained eyes and simply said, "I don't want Dad to die, not like Mom, not again."
"How old were you when you lost your mother?" Syaoran asked and sat beside her on the chair next to hers.
"I was only three, so I don't really remember. But I do remember that I was very sad, that everyone was very sad. My brother was ten at the time so I guess he and Dad were the ones who hurt the most." She just kept on babbling, so Syaoran decided to put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Kimonoto-san, do you wish the accident didn't happen at all?" He said quietly and that had Sakura shutting up and looking in wonder at him.
"Of course I do, but you can't change the past…" She trailed off as she saw the grin on Syaoran's face, "…or can you?" She narrowed her eyes.
All he said and got himself and Sakura up from their sitting places, "Wipe your eyes, because after I'm done, you won't have a reason to cry."
Sakura wiped her eyes, and hold Syaoran hand.
"I hope you know what you're doing," She said to him.
"I do," He assured her, "now, where was the accident and what time?"
She gave him the name of the street and the directions and the time.
"Right," He finally said, "Hold on," He told Sakura and holding hands, they disappeared from the house…
--
…And reappeared on the street Sakura said.
"Where are we?" Sakura asked, blinking at the strong sunlight.
"We're at the street you told me and also in time of what will not happen." Syaoran answered, "Look." And he pointed toward the road.
Sakura looked and there was her father car in one lane and another car in the other.
The other car sped up the lane towards Fujitaka's car.
Syaoran started glowing green and his eyes also glowed. He had done Link Telepathy before, but on two people at once. He hoped it'll work.
He sent Fujitaka the message, stop, and at the same time sent the other driver the message, left.
"They're going to crash!" Sakura cried, not daring to look straight at the scene.
"No, they're not!" Syaoran assured her and he was right because in the next few minutes, Fujitaka did stop and pull over and the other driver veered left and an accident was prevented.
Abort, Syaoran finished the Link Telepathy and his went back to their usual color and the green glow around his body vanished and he turned to Sakura.
"You can open your eyes," He told her and she did and saw her father's car going by.
"Did history change?" She asked Syaoran.
He only smiled and said, "Let's go back." And they vanished again…
--
…To reappear at the kitchen again.
The phone rang, and Sakura looked at Syaoran.
"Answer it," He said.
She immediately went to pick up the receiver, "Kinomoto residence. Dad! Yes, I fine, are you okay? Great, what? Oh, nothing, just happy you're fine. Yes, I'm doing the pancakes right now. Yes, I love you too." And she put the receiver back and turned to look at Syaoran.
"He's fine, he's really okay…" She trailed off and ran to Syaoran and before he could register what was going on, she wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him.
He heard her laugh and looked in confusion at her.
"Why are you laughing?" He asked, confused.
"Because I'm so happy and also grateful to you," She told him and unwrapped her arms and eased back and wiped her eyes with her hand, "thank you." She said.
"But I only fulfilled your wish," Syaoran was stunned; his former masters never thanked him for fulfilling a wish, only when he had helped them willingly.
"And still, thank you." She repeated and smiled and her eyes widened, "from now on I'll only call you Syaoran, and you just call me Sakura, all right?"
He didn't why, but he blushed and said quietly, "Fine, Kino-I mean, Sakura-san."
She squeezed his hand in a friendly way and said, "Well, now, I still have pancakes to help, want to help?"
"Uh, sure." He figured he looked into these strange sensations that were now fluttered in his stomach later.
--
-Meanwhile, in the Genie Realm-
"You found where he is?" She asked.
"Yes, we'll contact him sooner than he expects," He grinned.
--
A/N: And that it for chapter 4!
