Sorry for the late update. Just got caught up in stuff.

Disclaimer: Do I even need to say that I do not own CCS.

Chapter 3: A New Problem

Sakura found herself standing in complete darkness. She looked around but found nothing. She looked at her own self carefully. She shone with a faint white light in the darkness. She wore her nightdress and was barefoot. She looked at her feet and tried to feel the ground. However, she felt nothing under her feet. Nevertheless, she was not floating. She was standing on something but she felt nothing. She again looked around to find some clue as to where she was.

'Mistress.'

She heard the faint voice. It was soft, painful and pleading. She had a feeling in her heart that she knew the voice.

'Sakura.'

This time she recognised the voice. This one was different from the earlier one but she knew both the voices.

"Yue. Kero. Where are you?"

She could not make out the direction of the voices since they came from every direction. Her two guardians were calling for her. She could not mistake their voices.

'Save us Mistress.'

She recognised this third voice as well.

"Mirror." She ran in the direction she thought it came from.

After running considerable distance, she tripped over something and fell on the ground. Just when she fell, she felt a gush of wind pass over her head. Sakura quickly turned around and saw 'Fight' at a distance. The card attacked her again and Sakura closed her eyes with a scream. She was frightened and did not know what to do. She could not fight the strongest fighting card of her deck head-on. She protected her face with her arm and waited for the blow but it never came.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and saw the fist inches away from her. The card had stopped but it was shaking. Sakura could see it clearly. She looked at the girl's face and saw tears flowing down her cheeks. Sakura had never seen this before. Suddenly she noticed a yellow shine on the fist. She carefully looked at it and found a yellow string attached to the card's wrist. She looked closer and saw several cards attached to the card.

"Save me Mistress."

The card spoke to her for the first time ever. Sakura wanted to do that but she had no idea how.

"Save us all mistress."

Her voice was full of pain and pleading. Suddenly all the strings pulled the card back in a hurry. She vanished in the distant darkness and Sakura felt her voice caught in her throat. Her throat pained at her attempt to speak. Tears flowed down her cheek.

"How?"

That was all Sakura could speak. She stared in the darkness where the card had vanished for a while. Suddenly the darkness in front of her vanished and she saw all her friends. She stepped closer but stopped dead as soon as she saw their faces. Each one of them was crying pitifully. They were tied to yellow strings and were on the floor. Suddenly the strings attached to 'Thunder' pulled and thunder attacked Sakura. She knew the strings were controlling him. She could tell that the card was reluctant to hurt her but the strings overpowered him. She saw crackling sparks near its eyes. He too was crying. He shot lightening at her but each time it deflected away from her before it touched her. Thunder did that to prevent hitting her. The same as 'Fight' who stopped the punch from hitting her.

Sakura followed the yellow strings high in the sky and saw him. The cloaked man who stole her cards and guardians stood high in the sky. Now he was making them fight her against their wills. He was the puppet master and her friends were the puppets. Her cards and her guardians stood before her helplessly.

They spoke in unison, "Save us Mistress. Please."

"How? Please tell me."

Tears trickled down her cheek as she said that. As soon as she finished her words, a blinding light forced her to shut her eyes. The next instant, Sakura woke up with the alarm.

Sakura looked around in confusion. She was in her room, in her bed, in her nightdress. How did she get there? Was it all just a dream? Hope began to build in her eyes as she got off and ran to the table. She looked around it as if searching for something. She opened the drawer and even checked the video game console. Nothing. Kero's tiny bed was tidy. The book of cards was missing and the console was shut.

Her face dropped and she fell on the floor. She realised that it was no dream. Her cards and her guardians were indeed taken away from her last night. She remembered her recent dream about her cards. She felt remorse, powerless all of a sudden. She could do nothing but watch them become puppets. Sakura felt water droplets wet her tightly clasped hands in her lap. She looked at them and noticed tears running down her cheek as if they were two rivers in turbulence.

She wiped them off but they did not stop. She looked at the clock. She had only half an hour before her school starts. Suddenly she did not want to go. She did not want to leave her room at all. Her mobile began to vibrate on her table. She heard its vibrations on the table. Slowly she got up but it stopped before she was on her feet. Sakura picked it up and saw Syaoran's five missed calls. She wanted to talk to him but something inside her stopped her from calling him back.

Her mind was not working any more. She wondered what she should do. Soon she found herself standing against the mirror. She stared at her face. Tears no longer flowed anymore. They had dried on her face. The marks were visible on her face. She looked below and found herself in her school dress. She could not remember how she got into them. She was fully ready to go the school. Her hair were done as well. Only her eyes were not ready. They did not have the usual brightness in them. They were dark emerald and dull. She was tidy head to toe except for her face. It was gloomy with tear marks.

Ten minutes later, she slowly descended the stairs and silently sat on the dining table. Her father and brother sat beside her for breakfast. They did not speak anything to her. Her sad and glint less eyes worried her. She had washed away the tear marks so there was no evidence that she cried except for her eyes.

Touya spoke, "Hey Monster."

Fujitaka wanted to say something to his son but was surprised that Sakura did not respond at all. She showed no reaction at all. It was as if she did not hear him at all. Father and son exchanged confused as well as worried looks. Sakura silently ate her breakfast, lost in her thoughts.

Fujitaka tried to break the long sickening silence, "By the way Sak…"

Sakura unconsciously cut him off, "Hey dad."

Fujitaka was surprised slightly to see her finally respond. Her voice was not as melodious as every day.

"Yes my dear."

"How did I get home last night? I do not remember anything."

Fujitaka and Touya exchanged knowing looks. They were not surprised with her words. Sakura stared at her breakfast without any more words.

"Last night, someone rang the doorbell. When we opened it, we found you unconscious outside. We just put you in bed and called for a doctor. Nothing seemed wrong with you. The doctor asked us to let you rest. You must have been tired."

Sakura did not respond at all. Fujitaka stared at his daughter very worried now.

Touya spoke, "So what did you do in the evening?"

Sakura did not respond. She continued to eat her breakfast silently. Touya did not speak any more.

After a while, Sakura got up, "Thank you for the food."

Fujitaka spoke, "Maybe you should take a day off Sakura. I will call your teacher and tell him you are sick."

Sakura shook her head, "It is all right. I am fine."

Sakura picked up her bag and went to the door. Touya opened his mouth to say something but Fujitaka placed his hand on Touya's shoulder. He saw his father shake his head to prevent him from saying anything to her.

Sakura stopped at the door and spoke, "So…who changed me into my nightdress?"

Fujitaka and Touya looked at each other confused this time.

Fujitaka replied, "No one did. We put you bed in your school uniform."

Sakura showed an expression of surprise. Sakura showed an expression other than sadness for the first time.

"But I woke up in my nightdress. Who changed it?"

Sakura left the house still wondering about the question. Touya and Fujitaka stared at her from the window for a while before Touya ran after her.

"I will watch over her. Do not worry dad."

Fujitaka nodded and Touya was gone. Sakura walked all the way to her school lost in thought. She did not notice her brother walking beside her all the way to the school.

Sakura opened the door to her classroom.

Tomoyo gave her a hundred watt smile, "Good morning Sakura."

Sakura gave a small smile, "Good morning Tomoyo."

Tomoyo was taken back at her reply. She watched Sakura as she made her way to her seat. Rika, Chiharu and others had seen everything and knew exactly what shocked Tomoyo. It shocked them as well. They stepped forward to ask Sakura about it but Tomoyo signalled them to leave her alone for now. She wanted to handle this on her own. It had to be a big trouble to depress Sakura so much.

Tomoyo asked, "What is the matter Sakura?"

Sakura looked at her and smiled faintly, "Nothing. Everything is fine."

"Nothing is fine when you are like this. I can see through your fake smile Sakura."

"I am fine Tomoyo. You are just…"

Mr. Terada, their homeroom teacher, came in at that moment and Sakura did not finish her sentence.

"Settle down class."

The students hurriedly returned to their seats. Mr. Terada turned in Sakura's direction as soon as the class was silent. He immediately figured out she was depressed. Her eyes were too dull.

"Is something the matter Miss Kinomoto?"

Sakura was slightly surprised, "No sir. Why?"

"We received a phone call from some male person who asked us to take some extra care of you. He said you were very depressed for some reason and asked for your friends to try to cheer you up."

Sakura lowered her gaze with a smile, "That must have been either my father or brother."

Terada showed a little concern on his face, "Do talk to your friends about whatever is troubling you. I am sure you will feel better after talking to them."

Sakura nodded and the lessons started. Tomoyo sadly stared at her cousin and best friend for a while before glancing at the empty chair behind Sakura. It was always empty and Sakura would sometimes sit there during lunch daydreaming about Syaoran. She returned her gaze to her friend and then to the teacher.

Every teacher that came to the class tried to cheer her up and asked her to talk to her friends about whatever troubled her. Sakura would faintly nod with a forced smile. None of the teachers said anything to her if they found her mentally absent from the class. They knew Sakura well enough to know that the thing had to be real big to bring so much change in her in a single day. Just yesterday she was cheerful, lively and radiant; normal Sakura. Today, she was down in the dumps, worse than ever; depressed Sakura.

Tomoyo shifted her camcorder to the back of the bag. Today was not the day to record Sakura. During lunch, her friends surrounded Sakura; however, no one asked her anything. Sakura tried her best to smile around them but they could see her sadness behind it. She was very bad at hiding things.

Tomoyo asked, "Will you not tell us what is bothering you?"

Sakura looked at her for a moment and then tears began to appear in her eyes. Tomoyo took her one hand in her own and Chiharu did the same with the other. Sakura looked at them friendly.

"Thank you guys. I am all right."

Rika asked, "Will you not tell us what it is Sakura?"

Sakura shook her head, "It is not something I want to talk about. Just thinking about it…"

Another tear fell and her friends understood. They smiled to each other.

Naoko spoke, "You do not have to then. Tackle whatever your problem is. If you ever need our help, just tell us. We will not ask you anything at all."

"Thank you." Sakura felt glad she had such friends.

Tomoyo forced Sakura to eat her lunch though she was reluctant to. Sakura would normally frown but today she did not argue much. Her mood did not change though it lightened slightly after the talks with her friends.

The classes continued and soon the school ended. Sakura silently collected her things and left. Tomoyo was close behind her. Others did not follow because Tomoyo had asked them to leave Sakura to her. She was sure she could get something out of Sakura if it was just the two of them. However, Tomoyo did not disturb Sakura as she watched her back from behind. Sakura stopped next to the school gate and turned to her left. Tomoyo caught up to her and saw Touya standing there with his back against the wall.

Sakura spoke, "I know what you want to ask."

Touya straightened, "I have nothing to ask. If you have something to tell, go ahead."

"Yue, Kero and all my cards are missing. They were captured last night."

Both Touya and Tomoyo were thunderstruck at that piece of news. They stared at Sakura with horror. She did not look at them. Her sudden sadness and behaviour started to make sense to both of them now.

Touya asked softly, "How did that happen?"

Sakura replied, "A sorcerer cast powerful time-magic on the town. We went to face him and stop it but were caught off-guard. He was more powerful than we thought and he captured all my friends. The next thing I remember is waking up in my room after a horrible dream."

Touya stared at his little sister with a worried face for a while. Tomoyo wanted to say something but she could think of nothing. Suddenly she remembered something.

"Hey Sakura. Did you talk to Eriol about it? I mean, he might know something."

Sakura shook her head, "Not yet. I had planned to talk to him after the school. Even Syaoran knows nothing yet."

Touya took her bag from her, "Be extra careful from now on. I am sure you will figure out something."

Sakura nodded and they began to walk to her home. Tomoyo left in her car, worried about Sakura.

Touya stopped opposite an ice-cream van and bought a chocolate flavoured one. He gave it to Sakura.

"I do not think being sad is helping anyone. Try to cheer up a bit."

Sakura smiled slightly, "Thanks."

They sat on a bench. Sakura silently licked her ice cream. Touya stared at her with a worried face. He found it hard to believe that his little sister, who always smiled and stayed happy, could fall so down into depression. She always faced her troubles with confidence and smiles. She never felt this down before.

Something clicked on his mind at that moment and he shuffled through his bag. He took out a piece of paper. He looked at it for a moment with uncertainty and then turned to Sakura.

"Sakura."

Sakura looked at him silently. He shifted the paper towards her. She took it with confusion and opened it.

'Your little sister is down in the dumps. Be a good brother and treat her to some of her favourite ice cream after school today. Try to cheer her up and tell her that tough times do not last long. Tell her that this too shall pass. Tell her to keep hope. AND IF YOU DO NOT DO IT THEN YOUR MOTHER WILL COME TO HAUNT YOU. That will be all.'

Touya spoke, "I found it in my locker. Someone knows about you and cares for you. I do not know who it is but he has a point. Keep hope and cheer up. Everyone is worried for you."

Sakura just stared at the paper silently. She looked shocked and Touya expected it.

"I am sure it is the same person who brought you home last night. He or she, whoever it is, must be a very…" He heard sniffs from his side. Touya saw Sakura crying. "Sakura. What happened to you?"

Sakura's ice cream fell on the ground as she got up and ran towards their home. Touya followed her. When he caught up to her, he was surprised to see a confident look on her face though tears fell down her cheek.

"I have to talk to Eriol. He should know of some way I could get them back."

Touya did not miss the confidence in her voice. Old Sakura was back. He began to curse himself as to why he delayed so much in giving her the paper. He picked up Sakura piggyback in the run to her surprise.

"I believe I am faster than a monster like you."

Sakura flinched at the 'M' word and tightened her hold on his neck.

"I am not a monster!" Touya was so glad she choked him.

Sakura just smiled as Touya carried her back home as fast as his legs could carry. They had forgotten all about his cycle left near the bench where she was eating the ice cream.

Once home, Sakura dashed to her room, picked up her mobile and called Eriol. The bell rang and after a while someone answered.

A female voice answered, "Hello. Hiiragizawa residence."

"Miss Mizuki. Long time. How are you doing?"

"I am very fine Sakura. How are you?"

"I am…alright. Is Eriol there?"

"Sorry Sakura. He is not available at the moment."

"Oh. When he returns, could you tell him to call me immediately? It is an emergency."

"That is the problem Sakura."

Sakura felt it clearly in her voice. She felt her sadness at the beginning but did not pay attention thinking it was her own sadness affecting her. This time, Kaho Mizuki did not try to hide it.

Kaho replied, "Eriol has been missing since last evening."

End of Chapter 3

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