AUTHOR'S NOTE: So… I suppose Sakura's death came as a bit of a shock? No? A disappointment maybe? Hmm? Well, allow me to don my thick Scottish brogue and say: "I warned ye, Din' I? I warned yeeee!" Okay, that's enough of that. Trust me, folks. There's a reason Sakura died. And if you've been paying real close attention, you might figure out why…. Or maybe not. I suck at this.

THE FINAL CHAPTER

The streets of Tomoeda were all closed due to the funeral procession already in progress as the rain slowly fell from the gray sky. Nobody seemed to mind, however, as the majority of the city was standing behind the lines and watched as the carriage pulled a small, gold-plated casket surrounded by a plethora of flowers. The carriage was followed closely by several black cars and the cars belonging to Sakura's family and closest friends.

Watching the event from his 28 story office, Kanaye slowly lowered his head and heard nothing but the rain softly tap on the glass. Just then, one of the older board directors walked in the room and grabbed Hiroshi's attention.

"Kagawa." The man said as he turned around. "What do you want?"

"I just thought I'd let you know Masuyo Industries is looking for a buyer." The old man grinned. "They suffered from Lorca's rampage and they're in talks to come here and--"

"Kagawa.." He interrupted. "A young girl has died while trying to protect this city and you're talking business. Why don't you show a little respect and get the hell out of my office?"

"I'm only trying to bring a little light to our situation."

"There is no situation, Kagawa. What happened was unforgivable but I'm willing to look past that. This company has survived harsher blows than this. My only regret is that Sakura Kinomoto's life is the reason for its survival."

"If I may suggest, sir… the Genesis Elixir?"

"What about it?"

"Wouldn't that be able to revive young Sakura?"

"Yes. It would. If we had an available supply in stock."

"What?"

"As I recall, Mr. Kagawa… it was you who ordered the Genesis Project to be scrapped. It was you who went behind my back and had all the vials disposed of. Therefore, it's your fault Sakura Kinomoto remains dead to this day."

"Sir--"

"Just go, Kagawa. We'll talk another day."

"Yes, sir." The old man bowed and left the room as Kanaye remained watching the gloomy march along the streets.

¬¬¬¬¬

The procession had now reached the Amatsu Cemetery, where Sakura was to be buried. As the gates opened, the police escorts immediately backed the crowds of people away in a calm and dignified manner. They all obliged willingly and watched as the carriage took the casket to the top of a hill, where the memorial service was already waiting for them.

Amongst those sitting under a black tarp waiting for the service to begin was Tomoyo and her mother, Meiling, Kaho Mizuki, Nakuru, Chiharu, Naoko, Rika, Maki Matsumoto and almost every member of the magic army she had fought alongside with on Alcatraz. Kero-chan and Suppi sat on Tomoyo and Nakuru's laps respectively with a white flower pinned to them as they wiped away their tears.

When the carriage stopped in place, the pallbearers immediately went to work and slowly carried the casket out and over to its proper setting. A very tearful Fujitaka, along with an angry Touya, guilt-ridden Yukito, confused Eriol, saddened Takashi, regretful Terada and seemingly emotionless Li, lowered the casket onto the platform and seated themselves with the others.

Sonomi wasted no time in giving Touya and Fujitaka a comforting hug and kiss while Yuki found himself embraced by Nakuru. Eriol wrapped his arms around a trembling Tomoyo, meanwhile, as Li slowly walked away from the group. With Takashi and Chiharu holding each other, Terada sighed and noticed Kaho's hand placed on his shoulder.

"I can't believe she's gone." He said in a soft voice.

"No one can." The principal shook her head.

The service then went underway as a familiar face stepped up and read from the bible. Jimmy Craig Corin, the preacher man from Texas and one of the symbols from Sakura's army, gave his words of comfort and eased everyone's mind with the hope that Sakura was now in a better place.

As the service went on, Tomoyo noticed Li was missing and slowly turned her head around. She spotted him near another gravesite, his head down and expression lost and cold. It seemed to her that all of this was too much for the young boy and that burying his beloved was something he could not do.

As the casket lowered into the ground, Jimmy stepped back and watched as the men in black took turns dropping their cherry blossoms onto its surface in honor of their savior. Soon after, everyone else dropped their pink flower until Li was the very last one to step up. He paused for a moment then held his hand out slightly, his expression remaining the same.

"Goodbye, my love…" He whispered softly.

Adding the final touch onto the casket, Li closed his eyes and sighed heavily with the knowledge he will never see his cherry blossom again.

When the rain had stopped and everyone spread themselves out along the park, Li was approached by preacher Jimmy.

"How are you holding up, son?" He asked with a heartfelt smile.

Li took a deep breath and kept his eyes directed on the grass. "Not so good, padre…"

"I don't blame ya. Sakura was really one of a kind, huh?"

"…The best."

Jimmy could notice Li was in no condition to talk right now and handed him a card. "Look, I'm gonna be in town for a couple of days. If you ever want to talk, just… just call me. All right?"

Li took the card and nodded. "Sure. Thanks, Jim."

The preacher nodded and started to walk off when he turned back one last time. "She's not really gone, you know." He clutched his hand to his heart. "… So long as you keep her here."

Having heard that so many times before in his life, Li found little comfort from the preacher's words as he walked down the hill. He knew deep down that Sakura was, in fact, gone. End of discussion.

¬¬¬¬¬

In a small room, Lorca sat at a table dressed in his prison garb with his arms handcuffed behind him as one of the guards let Fujitaka in. It had been hours since the funeral and Fujitaka thought it would be best to speak with his daughter's killer.

"Could you give us a few moments, please?" He kindly asked the guard.

"Are you crazy?" The man in uniform crossed his arms. "Do you know what that man is capable of?"

"I'm perfectly aware. In case you haven't noticed, my daughter's dead because of him."

The man was taken aback by his comment and slowly nodded. "All right. He's handcuffed anyway. Just… try not to take too long."

"Thank you."

The guard exited the room and closed the door completely as Fujitaka stood at the other side of the table, his hand clutched onto a chair.

"Hello, Christopher." He said to his so-called friend in a calm voice.

"Fujitaka… my friend, I'm incredibly sorry that--"

"Friend?" He interrupted. "You think after all that's happened, you still have the right to call me that?"

Lorca looked down in shame and shook his head. "…No."

"No. You don't have that right anymore."

"If you would just let me explain…"

"What's to explain? You went on a rampage, destroyed half the city and killed my daughter in the process."

"Yes but the circumstances behind it were--"

"Circumstances!?" Fujitaka had now broken the calm. "Did you not hear what I just said!? You killed my daughter!"

Furious, he kicked the chair aside and pulled Lorca closer to him. "It's because of you, I will never see my little girl grow up and live a full life! You took that away from me, you took that away from the only boy she ever loved and you took that away from her!"

Lorca started to breathe heavily as he realized the position he was in. "Fujitaka, I'm sorry! I'm really, really--"

"Sorry won't bring her back!" The man yelled as he pushed him away and caused him to fall back over his chair.

Using this to his advantage, Fujitaka picked Lorca up by the hair and landed a strong punch across his face, causing him to fall back again. It was at that moment when the guard came back and noticed what was going on. He held Fujitaka back as two more men went in and helped the criminal back on his feet.

"What the hell are you doing!?" The guard demanded an answer.

Fujitaka released himself from the guard's grip and headed for the door. "I was just saying goodbye to an old friend…"

"Fujitaka!" Lorca called out as he was being taken back to his cell. "I don't know what you want me to do…"

"I want you to die, you son of a bitch."

And with that said, the archaeologist left the building as his former friend was escorted back to the holding cell.

¬¬¬¬¬

Inside the Kinomoto residence, Touya hung up the phone with a displeased look on his face as Yukito walked in.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I just got off the phone with Kanaye. Project Genesis was scrapped." Touya sighed. "It's over. It's all over."

Eriol, Meiling and Tomoyo had overheard the news from upstairs as they descended from the steps.

"You mean… the vials have all been destroyed?" Tomoyo's voice broke.

"It looks like it."

Yuki shook his head and took a seat on the couch, his hands running through his hair. "It's my fault, Touya… I should never have let her do this on her own. With Kero's help we could have--"

"Don't." Touya placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "No one's to blame. Sakura made a choice. And she carried it out, knowing the consequences. There's no reason for you to feel guilty."

Nakuru, Spinel and Kero were next to enter the living room as Eriol looked over to them, waiting for a response.

"Well?" He asked.

"The cards are safely tucked back into the book." Kero said with an unconcerned voice. "As long as they stay there, they're in no danger of dying out. Their magic will be preserved for another generation."

"What about you?" Yuki asked. "What about us? Will we still be able to…"

"You'll be fine, Yukito." Eriol reassured the boy. "Your existence was never tied to Sakura's or Clow Reed's for that matter. Your magic will remain intact and your transformations unaffected."

"So this is it, huh?" Meiling sat down. "It's all over."

"I don't see why."

"Face it, Eriol. Without Sakura, we're nothing."

"That's not true. Together we can still bring Tomoeda back and repair the damage that has been done."

"What are you talking about, Hiiragizawa?" Touya scoffed. "Meiling's right. It is over."

"No…" Tomoyo stood by her beloved. "I think it's only right that we should carry on Sakura's legacy. She fought for this city on several occasions and in the end, it killed her. There may not be any threat on a magical level but everyday someone is out there, trying to bring this city down by terrorizing its citizens. The media calls us the Tokyo Knights for a reason. And I say we uphold that reason."

Touya and the others nodded in agreement as Nakuru gave the young girl a hug. "You're right. You're absolutely right."

"Yeah but… who's going to lead us?" Spinel wondered aloud.

¬¬¬¬¬

Outside on the porch, Li looked out at the starry sky which had cleared up since the funeral. He heard a slight creak behind him and immediately knew who it was. He turned around to see Tomoyo giving him a deeply concerned look on her face.

"Li?" She said softly. "… I'm sorry. I guess you wanted to be alone. I'll leave if you want me to."

"No." He shook his head. "It's all right."

"You know… I think it's unfair that my relationship with Eriol has only blossomed when yours with Sakura was brought down so suddenly and tragically."

"You have him now. That's all that matters. Make every moment with him count as if it were your last."

Tomoyo could suddenly sense something was wrong. "Why do I get the feeling you're not going to be with us any longer?"

"Because I won't be."

"What?"

"I going back home."

"But why?"

"There's nothing for me here anymore."

"But the team needs you. To lead them."

"I'm passing that responsibility over to you now, Tomoyo."

"But I can't. I'm not ready for something like that. You were always the second in command. I was just--"

"I've already taught you everything I know. And believe me when I say that you couldn't surpass my expectations any more than you already have. You are ready."

Li started to turn away but was immediately stopped by Tomoyo as she grabbed hold of his hand. He looked straight into her crying eyes then gently wiped the tears away with his handkerchief.

"I don't want you to go." She said as she placed her head against his chest.

"I don't either." He said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you, Li." She looked back up at him. "I just didn't want you to leave without knowing that."

For the first time since before the funeral, Li managed to crack half a smile as he gently placed his lips over Tomoyo's forehead.

"I love you too, Tomoyo." He told her, completely aware now that she was the only friend he had left.

Eriol walked in on the two and stood by the door as Li slowly broke away from Tomoyo. The brown-haired boy gave his former rival a positive look in the eye and watched as Tomoyo went to his side.

"You take care of her." He commanded.

As Li walked away from the house, Eriol put his arm around Tomoyo and gently kissed her lips. Their love for each other would now have to pull them through this dark time in order for the city to prosper.

"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" The blue-eyed boy asked.

Tomoyo nodded with an optimistic smile. "We will. He knows where his real home is now. In actuality, he's just… visiting Hong Kong."

With the day slowly coming to an end, a new one was about to begin. The world would now have to wake up with a void as big as itself. It would be a world without a hero. A world without a guardian. And although her friends would carry on the mantle and do their best to protect their city, it would still be a world without Card Captor Sakura.

THE END…

…THE HELL IT IS!

ONE LAST NOTE: Okay, before you start throwing your beer bottles and junk at me, gimme a chance to defend myself! Sakura's death is going to play a huge role in my next story! We're gonna get a chance to get inside the minds of almost every major and minor CCS character and experience what they're going through. How do they feel about Sakura being dead? Are they gonna move on? Are they still gonna mope? Could something have been done to help? Who knows!? And most importantly, we'll get to see Li and Tomoyo's relationship expand even more as they help each other cope with the pain. Nothing romantic, though! We're just gonna see their friendship grow stronger, that's all. Now if I've done enough to regain your trust in me, let me know what you think so I can stop worrying and stop tearing down the wallpaper in my room. Thanks for the reviews! I'll be back soon!