Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. If I did, it wouldn't have ended. LONG LIVE CLAMP!!
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"Tomoyo-chan! What will you be doing this weekend?"
It was Saturday afternoon and the half-day at school was finished. Their first week was finally over and everyone was looking forward to a break.
"Mother and I will be going up to Tokyo for the weekend," Tomoyo said in response to Sakura's question. "And you, Sakura-chan?"
"I'm helping Syaoran-kun fix up his apartment!" Sakura said, picking up her schoolbag. "It's very dull and could do with some colour."
Behind her, Syaoran scowled. "It's not that bad," he said, defensively. "It's just a little grey and…cold."
"And were going to fix that," Sakura told him, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the classroom. "Bye, Tomoyo-chan!" She said, waving at her friend.
"Goodbye, Sakura-chan," she responded, waving back.
"You don't have to help me," Syaoran told her when they had left the school grounds. "I can do it on my own."
"Syaoran, you're a boy," Sakura stated, as if the reason were simple.
"Okay," he started, "now you're the one pointing out the obvious."
"What I mean is," she continued, "you need a woman's touch to make your apartment less…reproachful."
Syaoran huffed. "I know what colour I'm going to paint it. Doesn't that count for something?"
"You're painting it green, aren't you?" No reply. "I thought so. Well," she smiled happily, "you're just going to have to accept that I'm not going to let you decorate on your own!"
Syaoran sighed inwardly.
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"Okay," Sakura said, sitting on the floor and studying the painting plans. "So you're bedroom will be painted forest green, the spare room white, and the living room very light orange and the hallway also white?" She shuffled through the pages. "I underestimated you, Syaoran; you do have everything sorted!"
"See?" he said, opening a tin of white paint. "I guess growing up with four sisters really helped me."
"Hmm…even so, you haven't chosen a colour for the kitchen or any carpet."
"The kitchen will be blue," Syaoran told her, "and the carpets will be cream."
Sakura giggled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were gay, Syaoran."
He glared at her. "Are you gonna help me?"
"Hai!" Sakura got off the floor and together they proceeded to paint the living room wall. They worked mostly in silence, only talking to point out where each other had missed a spot. It didn't take long for the both of them to finish the living room and they individually proceeded in to the bedrooms. That took them another hour each and, by the time they were finished, Sakura was exhausted.
"Hoe…" she said, collapsing down on the sofa. "I never knew painting was such hard work! I wish I could create a card that could decorate for me!"
"Well, we've got most of it done," Syaoran said, handing her a cup of tea and sitting down next to her with his own cup. "And besides, it takes a lot of power to create a card."
"Thanks!" Sakura said as she accepted the tea. "And for your information, I have created a card."
Syaoran stared at her. "You did? When?"
Sakura turned slightly red. "Oh…just before you left for Hong Kong."
"You never told me," he said, taking a mouthful of the tea. "What is the card called?"
"It, um, doesn't have a name," she replied, nervously looking in to her cup.
"Can I see it?" he asked.
Sakura hesitated for a moment before nodding. She put her cup on the coffee table in front of them and took out her cards from her pocket. Shuffling through them, she found the unnamed card and looked at it for a moment. Then, she handed it to him.
Syaoran studied the card for a moment. He felt his stomach clench uncomfortably when he saw that the picture on the card. A heart enfolded by two wings was on the front and Syaoran felt his stomach lurch again when he remembered that Sakura had said she had created it just before he left…did he really cause her that much pain?
Handing the card back to her, Syaoran said, "It's very unusual, especially since it isn't named." He paused. "Did you tell the stuffed animal about it?"
Sakura nodded. "Kero-chan said that the card needs to be given a purpose before it can be named, such as joining with a new card or showing it's abilities in a time of need."
Sakura placed the card carefully in to her pocket again and reached out her right hand to retrieve her cup of tea. Before she could reach it though, Syaoran's hand enclosed itself around her right wrist.
Sakura looked up at him. "What is it?" she asked.
"Sakura, how did you get this?" Syaoran asked, staring blankly at her arm. Sakura followed his line of vision and gasped, trying to pull her arm away from his grip. Syaoran wouldn't let go. On the inside of her right arm was a long, slightly faint scar which reached up half of her arm.
"It's nothing," she said, trying to free her wrist of Syaoran's grasp.
"It's obviously something," Syaoran said. "That wasn't there before I left. What happened? How did you get it?"
"Honestly, it's not that-" she began.
"Sakura," he interrupted her, "I want to know how you got hurt-"
"Syaoran, just leave it!!" she almost shouted. Syaoran let go of her wrist and thought he saw a flicker of fear cross her eyes. "It's nothing," she whispered, picking up the cup of tea, this time with her left hand which shook slightly. She began sipping from it and they sat in silence.
Syaoran watched her for a while and told her, "You've changed."
"People change, Syaoran," she responded, almost sadly. "You should know that."
He nodded and they drank the rest of their tea in silence.
"Oh no!" Sakura cried when she saw the time. "I have to be home in ten minutes!"
"You can go," Syaoran told her, picking up their empty cups and going in to the kitchen.
"Are you sure?" she asked, uncertainly. "Don't you need any more help?"
"It's fine," he said, giving her one of his smiles. "Go, before you're late."
"Right!" Sakura slipped on her shoes and shot out the front door. "Bye Syaoran!"
"Be careful on your way home!" Syaoran called out after her. He heard the door close. Syaoran went back to the sofa and collapsed on to it. The apartment did seem friendlier now that it was slightly more colorful. Sitting up, he glanced at the closed boxes scattered around the room. Sighing, he walked over to the first box and opened it. It was time he did this; he'd been putting off unpacking all week.
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On Sunday night, Sakura was sat at her desk finishing off her math homework for the next day. Kero was sat in front of the television screen playing video games as usual, shouting insults at the monitor every now and then. It was getting late and Sakura was growing tired. She hastily finished off the last equation, and was satisfied when the answer she got corresponded to the question.
"Finished!" she said. She closed the book and slid it in to her schoolbag on the floor. Getting up, she walked over to her bed and collapsed on top of it. She stretched for a moment and then resigned herself to relaxing. Her waist no longer hurt thanks to Syaoran, and the cuts were healing quickly. She was glad for this; cheerleading practice would be held on Thursday, and she wanted to be in top condition for the team. Sakura had just rolled over when she heard a knocking at her door.
"Come in!" she called. Kero immediately paused his game and took on his 'stuffed animal' position.
The door creaked open and Touya stuck his head in. "It's getting late; you should be asleep." He scolded.
"Sorry onii-chan, I was just going to bed now," Sakura told him.
Touya looked from the turned on television to the remote on the floor to Kero sitting still as a mouse on the desk. Instead of glaring at Kero suspiciously like he usually did, Touya rolled his eyes at him and left the room. Sakura listened to him go into his own room and shut the door.
Kero relaxed and started to save his game and turn the TV off.
"Kero-chan?" Sakura asked as she climbed under the bed sheets. "Why do you still pretend that you're a stuffed toy whenever onii-chan comes in?"
"Because it's easier that way," Kero told her. He flew over to turn the lights off and then rested himself underneath the sheets beside Sakura.
"It's been over 5 years now," she continued, staring up at the ceiling. "He suspected you right from the beginning."
"What would I say to him if I did talk to him?" Kero asked her. "Some things are better left the way they are, Sakura-chan."
"I suppose," she said, "and some things are better off changed," she added.
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"Ohayo, Daidouji-san."
Tomoyo turned around in her chair. "Ohayo, Li-kun. How was your weekend?"
"Hectic," Syaoran said as he sat down. "I never knew that decorating was so tedious. How was yours?"
"Oh, enjoyable," she replied. "I had fun with mother in Tokyo, and I spent all of Sunday making up new costumes for Sakura-chan!"
Syaoran sweatdropped. "I see." He looked at the empty desk in front of him and sighed. "I also see that Sakura will be late again."
"Of course," Tomoyo said. "She wouldn't be Sakura-chan if she was always early."
Syaoran smiled. "No, she wouldn't be." His smile quickly faded away. "Daidouji, do you know anything about the scar on Sakura's arm?"
Tomoyo's eyes turned very sad. "Yes," she said quietly, "but I don't think it's my place to tell."
Syaoran looked at Tomoyo. "I know she trust you," he began, "but-"
"If Sakura wishes for you to know," Tomoyo cut him off, "then she will tell you. I can't betray her trust."
Syaoran nodded. He understood that Tomoyo and Sakura were very close to each other, and he knew that it was unfair to even suggest for Tomoyo to break the trust that they shared.
He closed his eyes and proceeded to see if he could sense Sakura's aura coming closer to the school. He heard a soft humming to the right of him, and he new by instinct that Tomoyo had taken out her camera and started recording him. He managed to pick out a pink aura coming closer at great speed; there was no doubt that Sakura was now skating to school as fast as she could. He tried to reach out to her aura but a powerful, red aura over-rode it. Syaoran's eyes snapped open and his eyes shot to the door at the far end of the classroom…there was someone there…someone powerful.
The door in question opened and Matsuo-sensei walked in. "Ohayo, class!" he greeted.
"Ohayo, sensei!" the class called back.
"Right, we have a bit of a surprise today," he said, standing behind his desk at the front of the room. His eyes roamed over the class. "It's unusual for this to happen three times in 7 days but there will be…" Matsuo-sensei trailed off as he noticed Sakura's empty chair. "Kinomoto-san is late again, I presume?"
Some of the class giggled whilst some, like Syaoran, rolled their eyes. The door at the back of the room opened and Sakura walked in, panting.
"You're late, Kinomoto-san," the sensei called sternly, but amused all the same.
"Oh! I'm sorry, sensei!" Sakura said, bowing hastily.
"You seem to be making a habit of it," he said. "Well, hurry to your seat."
"Yes, sensei!" Sakura quickly walked to her seat and sat down, still panting for air. Behind her, Sakura could feel Syaoran's eyes on her. She turned her head slightly to the left. Syaoran's eyes had a meaningful, serious look about them and he raised his eyebrows slightly at her. Sakura nodded her head slightly, but it was enough for Syaoran to see. So he felt it too, she said to herself as she turned to face the front of the class.
"As I was saying," the sensei continued, "we have another new student joining us today. I'd like you all to welcome Hernandez Rohan, who is a student from America. Hernandez-san, you may come in now!"
The door slid open and all eyes were fixed on the new arrival. He was a tall, thin and well built. His hair was jet black and reached to the bottom of his neck in length. His fringe swept over his sky blue eyes. He was the American girls' description of 'tall, dark and handsome.' Rohan stood at the front of the class and smiled at his fellow classmates. His eyes lingered on Sakura and Syaoran for a moment.
"Hernandez-san, would you like to take the seat by the window?"
Rohan nodded. "Yes, sensei," he said in his American accent. Several of the girls melted on the inside at the sound of his voice. He took the empty seat that was in front of Sakura.
Sakura and Syaoran had both lost track of the aura as soon as the classroom door had been opened and the sensei had walked in. It was almost like as if it had been turned out.
Sakura turned her head to stare out the window. Was that powerful person nearby?
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"Hernandez-kun is quite intriguing, ne, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked at lunch time. She, Sakura, Syaoran and (to Syaoran's annoyance) Taisho were sitting on the grass after the tough morning.
"He's so different from us," Sakura said. "I've never even met someone from America!"
"He is quite unusual," Taisho said, gazing at the clouds. "But we should not judge; we have not properly been introduced."
"Well, there's no time like the present," an American accent came from behind them. They all turned to see Rohan standing above them, grinning cockily. "Whoa, I feel tall, you all look like ants." He sat down on the grass with them. "There much better," he said, grinning at them all. "I believe proper introductions are in order. Hernandez Rohan," he said, bowing his head at them. "Born and bred in Michigan, America. Came to Japan for, well, personal reasons."
"I'm Kinomoto Sakura," Sakura said bowing her head.
"Kusatsu Taisho," he said, smiling at the new comer.
"Li Syaoran," Syaoran said, not making eye contact.
Sakura elbowed him. "You'll have to forgive my friend," she said to Rohan, "he's very blunt with introductions." Syaoran scowled at her, but Rohan wasn't paying attention;
Rohan had caught eye of Tomoyo and put his hand on the grass, leaning ever so slightly towards her. "And who might you be, my violaceous-eyed friend?"
To Sakura's surprise, Tomoyo's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink. "Daidouji Tomoyo," she said gently.
"A name full of worldly wisdom," he said, gently picking up Tomoyo's hand. "It suits you well, my dear." Rohan softly kissed the back of her hand.
Sakura giggled to herself at the display; Syaoran looked about ready to pummel the guy; Taisho just raised his eyebrows in Rohan's direction. Tomoyo's blush became slightly more prominent but she did not loose her composure.
"You have quite an unusual name," Tomoyo said when he released her hand. "What does it mean?"
"It's a name of Irish origin," he said, "and it means 'red'."
Red…Sakura thought…that aura I felt earlier was red…
"So, what's the workload like here?" Rohan asked just as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
"It's not too much," Sakura said as the gathered up their bags. "Some of the teachers just give us work to make us suffer, though."
"Ah, the hardships of junior school," Rohan said, walking in between Sakura and Tomoyo. "It is much different in America…"
Behind them, Syaoran and Taisho walked side-by-side. Syaoran looked sideways at Taisho, and then looked away. Taisho did the same.
"You dislike him?" Taisho asked after much silence.
"Very," Syaoran said. "You?"
"Also," Taisho said, smiling slightly at Syaoran.
Syaoran gave a genuine, small smile back.
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At the end of school that day, Tomoyo and Sakura stood together in homeroom discussing what they should do once they get out of school.
"We should invite Syaoran, Kusatsu-kun and Hernandez-kun too!" Sakura said.
"That's a great idea, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said.
"Well, I'm up for it," Rohan said from his desk.
"If it's not too much trouble," Taisho said from behind them.
"Not at all," Tomoyo told him.
Sakura looked expectantly at Syaoran. He sighed and got up form his chair. "Well, where should we go? The town?"
Tomoyo's eyes glanced nervously in Sakura's direction. It was so quick that Syaoran almost didn't notice the concerned look.
Sakura seemed to freeze for a millisecond but quickly replied, "That's a good idea."
The five of them set out from the school and walked in the direction of Tomoeda centre. Rohan and Tomoyo walked in front while Sakura, Syaoran and Taisho walked behind.
"Quite an unusual character," Taisho commented softly to Sakura.
"He is," Sakura reasoned, "but I suppose that's just a part of who he is."
"I for one can't ever remember seeing Daidouji blush," Syaoran stated.
Sakura shook her head. "She has never done it before; especially in front of a boy."
"All the more reason to be suspicious of him," Syaoran replied.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Syaoran, you're suspicious of everyone."
He scowled.
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"Kero-chan! I'm home!" Sakura called.
"Sakura-chan!" Kero floated down the stairs to see his mistress taking off her coat. "How was school?"
"It was okay," she said, taking off her shoes. "There was another new student joining our class."
"Hmm…" Kero thought. "That's the third time in one week. Was there anything suspicious about this new student?"
"Not really," Sakura said, walking up the stairs to her room. "He is nice, but there is something that's different about him."
"Like what?"
"Well, he said that his name means 'red'," Sakura told him, collapsing on to her bed, "and earlier in that morning, Syaoran and I felt a red aura about."
This seemed to catch Kero's interest. "Another magical person?"
"I don't know," she said, sighing. "The aura was gone by the time I walked in to the classroom."
"Just be careful, Sakura," Kero told her, floating over to turn the games console on. "You can never know who to trust."
Sakura thought about Kero's words for a while before she remembered that she had math and science homework to complete. She sat at her desk for the next hour solving problems and answering physics questions. By the time she was finished she already felt tired and was ready to take a nap.
Before Sakura could reach the bed she felt a strong presence hit her. It wasn't the strange aura; it was one of the mysterious forces that had attacked her last week! Kero had noticed it too; he had stopped the game he was playing and was looking out the window intently.
"Sakura…" he began.
"Yeah," she said. She picked up her phone and dialed Tomoyo's number. When she picked up, Sakura told her to meet her at the park. Tomoyo was ecstatic at the chance for Sakura to wear one of her new costumes. Sweatdropping, Sakura hung up and dialed Syaoran's number.
"Syaoran?" she asked when he picked up.
"I felt it too," he said. "Are you going over to the park?"
"Yes."
"I'll see you there." And he hung up.
"Kero-chan," Sakura said as she jumped out her window. The sun was setting and she checked to make sure no one was around before she released her staffed and said, "Fly!" The wings sprouted from her back and Kero floated beside her.
"Let's go!" he said as they flew up in to the orange sky.
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In his house, Tsukishiro Yukito was making dinner when he felt his other self calling out to be revealed. Sighing, Yukito said, "Let's hope this is quick; I'm quite hungry." He allowed himself to transform and Yue stood in the cluttered kitchen.
"Humans," he muttered, rolling his eyes ever so slightly. He was about to leave the house when he noticed that the cooker was still on. "They have the worst memory." Yue quickly switched off the cooker and then left.
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"Tomoyo-chan…is this really necessary?"
Sakura stood in the middle of the park wearing one of Tomoyo's most recent creations. It was a black halter neck dress with black leggings on underneath, some low-heel, knee-length boots and a pair of black fingerless gloves.
Syaoran personally thought that this was one of Tomoyo's less eccentric designs.
"I thought I would try a new style this time with Sakura-chan," she said, walking around Sakura with her camcorder on. "These clothes certainly do show off your figure more. Don't you think so, Li-kun?"
Syaoran immediately blushed and responded, "Well…I suppose…if that's what you…um…yeah…" He looked anywhere but at Sakura.
"But…Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said, looking down at herself, "I feel like a dressier version of Charlie's Angels!"
"I think that's what she was going for," Syaoran muttered. Sakura shot him a look.
In the background, Cerberus and Yue stood watching the exchange.
"Yue?" Cerberus addressed him. "If you were forced too, would you ever let Tomoyo-chan dress you up?"
Yue gave him the iciest of stares.
Cerberus huffed slightly and looked away. "I was only asking," he muttered grumpily.
Back with Sakura, Tomoyo suddenly noticed what Syaoran was wearing. "Li-kun, why aren't you wearing your traditional Chinese fighting gown?"
"Uh…I grew out of it and told the Elders not to make a new one," he said, suddenly becoming nervous. He dreaded what was going to be said next…
"But that means I can make battle costumes for Li-kun too!" Tomoyo went starry-eyed again, imagining all the different matching designs she could make for Sakura and Syaoran.
Syaoran just looked at Sakura. She started giggling. Suddenly, Sakura snapped around and looked in the direction of the forest beside the park. Cerberus and Yue also became more alert and had moved forwards to stand behind Sakura. Syaoran focused to where she was staring at, but couldn't see anything. Tomoyo had come back to reality and resumed recording.
"What is it?" Syaoran asked her. Sakura narrowed her eyes (another thing that Syaoran had never seen her do) and continued to stare in to the forest.
"I felt…that red aura again…" she murmured to him.
"Sakura! Look out!" Cerberus called.
Sakura spun around and dodged just in time to evade a fire ball that was sent her way. She stumbled in to Syaoran, who caught her and steadied her.
"I feel the presence of another of those forces!" she said as she held her staff out in front of her and went in to defense mode. Syaoran too held out his sword while Yue and Cerberus stood on either side of them. Tomoyo had retreated to the bushes to continue her recording.
"This presence is very strange," Cerberus said. "I have never felt anything like it."
"Nor have I," Yue said, searching the park with his eyes.
Suddenly another fireball came in their direction. Cerberus stood in front of them and blasted it with his own ball of fire. The offending one headed back in the direction it came from. They heard a pained yelp and distinctly saw a small, flaming creature moving about in the air above them. It turned around to face them and Sakura could clearly see that the creature was incredibly elf-like. It looked at them for a second before the flames around it grew larger and, out of it's own small hands, it sent several large blasts of fire their way.
"Move!" Syaoran yelled as he pushed Sakura out of the way. He landed on top of her and quickly got up. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she said, slightly flustered. She gasped. "Shield!" she called, drawing the card out and hitting it with her staff. The giant golden bubble enclosed them as several more fireballs crashed against it's surface. As soon as the attack stopped, Sakura recalled Shield and took out another card. "Windy!" Windy soared in to the air and surrounded the small elf. It appeared to struggle for a moment before the flames just grew even bigger and it blasted Windy out of it's way. Sakura ducked a single fire bolt that came her way and quickly called out Watery. The little elf tried to evade her but Watery eventually surrounded it and soaked the elf. When Watery returned, the elf was visibly drenched and it was no longer flaming
"You did it, Sakura!" Cerberus called to her.
But the little creature just flamed up again and looked even angrier than ever.
"You almost did it, Sakura," Cerberus corrected before he and Yue flew up to distract the creature while Sakura thought of a plan.
"Tricky little bugger, this one," Syaoran said, standing beside her.
"Don't swear," she said while trying to frantically think up a plan.
"How can you scold me in a situation like this?" he asked, awe-struck, keeping an eye on the elfish creature.
"I just can," she retorted. "Come on, think, think," she said to herself.
"We need to get it to stop moving," Syaoran stated.
"'Stop moving'," she repeated. "Stop…that's it! Syaoran, you're a genius!" she cried.
"Eh?" he said, his concentration braking for a moment before he suddenly shouted, "Move!"
He and Sakura both ducked and rolled in different directions. Sakura drew out the last card which could help her. Throwing it in the air from where she lay, she called, "Freeze!"
The large ice creature soared towards the small elfish one and circled around it. The elf started struggling but only found itself freezing over. When Freeze was done, the elf was encased in a small block of ice floating in the air.
Sakura sighed with relief. She scrambled up from where she lay and walked over to where Syaoran was still sitting on the ground. She kneeled down beside him.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied, still staring at the block of ice in mid air. "Good thinking with the Freeze card."
"It was you who gave me the idea," Sakura said as she stood up with Syaoran. Tomoyo walked over to them, still recording, and stood beside them.
They heard a faint rustling from the bushes behind them. Sakura and Syaoran turned to look at Tomoyo who was beside them, checking that she was no longer in the bushes. All three of them spun around. A tall dark figure emerged from the bushes, along with the strong red aura that Sakura and Syaoran had sensed earlier that day. Syaoran immediately sent out the wind from his ofuda and it rapidly made for the figure.
The figure blocked the wind with a wave of its hand and exclaims, "Whoa! Careful, that's some strong wind in that sheet of paper!" The American accent carried clearly across the park.
"Hoe! Hernandez-kun?" Sakura asked, shocked. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to watch the show!" he said, striding over to where the three of them stood. "And, I must say, a show it was. It is an honor," Rohan continued getting down on one knee in front of Sakura and bowing, "to finally meet the Mistress of the Cards. I am at your mercy, Sakura-sama."
Sakura blushed out of embarrassment. "Hoe, please get up, Hernandez-kun! You're making me uncomfortable."
Yue and Cerberus flew down and stood defensively behind Sakura.
"Who are you?!" Cerberus demanded.
"I am Hernandez Rohan," he said. "I transferred her from America and I am an acquaintance of the creator of the Myst Forces."
"What's a Myst Force?" they all asked (except Yue) simultaneously.
Rohan pointed to the frozen elf in the air. "That," he said, "is a Myst Force."
"Does that mean there is a whole new load of forces to be stopped?" Syaoran asked.
"Yes and no," Rohan replied. "They're an odd lot of forces at that, too. Their creator had a weird sense of humor." He noticed for the fist time that Sakura's outfit. "Sakura-san…what are you wearing?"
"Oh, it's one of Tomoyo's designs," she responded, blushing yet again.
"Ah," Rohan said, turning to the camera-clad Tomoyo. "I see…you must design the battle outfits for Sakura-san to wear. A very creative job; I'm impressed. And I like the color." He sure did like the color; Rohan himself was wearing black trousers, black t-shirt and a black jacket on top of it.
"How do you know so much about these forces?" Syaoran asked, feeling there were more pressing matters right now other than clothing.
"I'll explain everything soon but first…" he said, trailing off and glancing up at the sky, "…uh, are you gonna seal that?" he asked, nodding towards the now melting block of ice.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Sakura said as she turned towards the reawakening elf. "By the Power of the Stars, I, Sakura, command you to resign to a new form of contract; Myst Force!"
Knowing the origin of the card certainly made it less draining to seal it. The small elf creature broke out of the ice and obediently began to disintegrate and form in to a card in the air. When it was sealed it floated down to in front of Syaoran, who took it uncertainly.
"But…" Sakura started, staring in disbelief at the new card, "the force from the other day didn't change in to a card…"
"'The Fireball'," he read out. "What am I going to do with this card?"
"You could right a song about it," Rohan said cheerfully. Syaoran scowled at him.
"Does this mean that Sakura-chan and Li-kun will have to compete for cards again?" Tomoyo asked from the other side of her camcorder.
"Ah, well, there isn't much worth competing for," Rohan admitted. "Like I said; the creator had a weird sense of humor."
"But it's a card!" Sakura said. "This force changed in to a card…"
"We still don't know who you really are," Yue stated, speaking for the first time since Rohan's arrival.
"I'll explain to you," Rohan began, "but not here. There's too much risk of being overheard. Come on, we'll go to my apartment."
They hesitantly followed Rohan out of the park, Syaoran silently hoping that Hernandez's apartment was far, far away from his own.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This chapter was also re-edited. Nya!
Who is this mysterious Rohan lad? What are his intentions in Tomoeda? Why am I asking you; you don't know! Well, the end of my second chapter, albeit 8 pages shorter than the first one. There was this little conversation between Sakura and Syaoran that I had to cut out…it just didn't fit the moment. I'll include it in possibly the 6th chapter haha.
Oh, and the name 'Rohan' does actually mean 'red'. I didn't find this out until after I had chosen his name and started writing this chapter. When I saw what that name meant, I thought, "Ooo…that was a good choice of name!" I had written a scene in the second last chapter (yes, I have thought that far ahead) and it was the first time that I clarified to myself that Rohan's aura would be red. Actually, he wasn't even named 'Rohan' then. I was on holiday when I started writing this and had no access to a computer, so I just made up the names of my own characters until I could get to a computer and find some real names. Still, I'm freaked out that I choose red and 'Rohan' without knowing that they were connected. And 'Tomoyo' means 'worldly wisdom', which was what Rohan was talking about earlier on.
I've started reading the 'Fruits Basket' manga and have fallen in love with it; and I've only read the first volume! I can't wait to get the second one. I'm trying to get a hold of some Card Captor Sakura manga too! laughs manically
elmo-doodle xxx
10th August 2007
P.S. please appreciate this chapter…I drank 4 cups of tea to help me write it (I would have drank 4 cups of coffee, but I don't know how to make coffee properly!)
