Chapter 4.- Women fight.

~Back with Sakura.~

In that exact moment Sakura stood up and went out the opposite way Eriol had.

"Wait S…Cherry, you're next." Tomoyo called.

"They'll wait fifteen minutes before the next duel." Sakura said. "And there's something important I need to do." She paused. "And you and Dae will help me. Come on."

Tomoyo nodded and immediately followed her, the same as Daeron.

They walked to the beach, where Sakura took something that seemed to be floating in the air. It was a card, a Clow Card.

"Tomoyo, I need you to create a Shield," Sakura said. "But use the energy of your own aura."

"But I've just started practicing that." Tomoyo replied. "And I'm not very good at it."

"I know it'll be good enough." Sakura assured her. "And I need you Daeron to extend your aura around us."

"Why?" he asked.

"There's something I need to do." Sakura answered. "But I'll need my staff, I don't want them to find me by my aura."

"What are you gonna do?" Tomoyo asked.

"I need to change this card." Sakura answered.

Tomoyo and Daeron nodded. He extended his aura as Tomoyo raised her ring.

"Shield, listen to me, take the energy from my aura and help me protect your Mistress from being discovered." Tomoyo pleaded.

With that the shield was created.

Sakura took out her key and called her staff. Then she hit the Card.

"Card created by Clow, abandon your old form, and be reborn, by the name of Sakura. ¡Seer!" she chanted.

The Seer Card shone brightly and turned pink, as well as the rest of the Cards.

"It's done." Sakura said as she put the Seer Card with the rest and turned her staff back to the key.

Tomoyo and Daeron stooped too what they were doing.

.---.

~Back in the fighting grounds.~

"That aura again." Eriol murmured.

"You felt it also?" Shaoran, next to him, asked.

Eriol nodded.

"It's the second time that aura is extended that way in less than one hour." He said.

"Its power is fairly good." Shaoran said. "But there's something else."

"It seems to be protecting something or someone." Eriol ended.

"Exactly." Shaoran nodded.

"Is it something bad?" Meiling asked.

"No, in fact I believe it's exactly the opposite." Eriol answered.

Shaoran nodded in agreement.

"Then there's nothing to worry about." Meiling said as cheerful as always.

Eriol stood in silent, he remembered the dream, and what Seer had told him just a couple of minutes ago. Now he was really sure something was about to happen.

.---.

"Ready competitors?" The announcer asked. "Begin!"

Sorceress Cherry/Sakura and Witch Mel followed all the steps the past duelists had. As Sakura had said, she wasn't using her staff.

In one second the Witch threw herself to Sakura, in a frontal attack.

"Shield!" Sakura called.

Everyone seemed shocked by the attack of Mel. But then Sakura felt something, a thin cut in her cheek was bleeding. She turned to her opponent and noticed something, her nails, they had grown like some kind of monster's.

"Defeated already are you?" Mel asked with an evil grin.

"Not yet." Sakura answered, she got both hands together and concentrated, she needed to be really exact to canalize her magic without the staff. "Thunder!" she summoned.

A bolt of electricity formed in her hands and was shot to the witch, who was thrown backwards a few meters.

"That's all you have got?" Mel asked standing up, ready to strike again.

"Oh no," Sakura replied. "We've barely begun."

"Dark fire!" Mel summoned.

"Watery!" Sakura called.

She was immediately surrounded by some kind of water wall that protected her from the fire.

"This is fire against fire." Sakura said. "Firey!"

What looked like a fire arrow emerged from her hands and went directly to Mel who barely missed it. But the witch reacted and attacked back. And Sakura wasn't behind. They were both really powerful.

"Be careful Sakura…please be careful…" Tomoyo repeated again and again in a low voice.

.---.

~In the benches.~

"This is really incredible." Some of the guests murmured.

"I had never seen a fight like this." Another said.

"What surprises me is that she isn't using anything to canalize her magic." A third added.

"That'll just wear off her magic quicker." The first of them said.

"But look at her, she isn't even sweating." A fourth said.

"Neither of them is using all their power." Eriol murmured to his friends.

Meiling, Shaoran and Nakuru turned to look at him with shocked looks on their faces.

"Are you sure Master?" Nakuru asked looking at both women fighting. "But the level they're now is really incredible."

"I know Nakuru." Eriol said. "But what I say it's true. You can feel it also Shaoran, can't you?"

"Yes I'm feeling it." Shaoran nodded. "It's incredible. Too much power, but at the same time, neither of them seems to be making much effort."

Suddenly a comment from the Wizard Juel to his assistant called their attention.

"That girl, Sorceress Cherry." Juel said. "If that's what she can do with her own body, I don't want to imagine what she can do with a staff."

Eriol, Shaoran and Meiling looked at each other, Wizard Juel was right. But just then something interrupted their thoughts.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Sakura screamed as the shield protecting her broke down and she was thrown against the wall at the back of the fighting grounds.

Tomoyo had to bite her tongue not to scream her friend's name, she was really worried.

Daeron stood up, like with a resort, he was fighting his impulse to fight that Witch.

Also Shaoran stood up, even though he didn't know why he had done it. It was just that suddenly he felt a big pain in his heart.

"What's wrong with you Shaoran?" Meiling asked.

"I don't know." Shaoran said looking at her.

'What's this I'm feeling? What is it?' He asked himself confused.

.---.

~Back in the fight.~

Sakura had to hold all her strength to stand up.

"No matter what, everything will be alright." She told to herself. Those were her magic words. Her special spell as Clow had called it once.

"You're on your limits." Mel told her with her evil grin. "Give up now."

"Never." Sakura replied as she concentrated her energy.

"Then you're out." Mel told her, she raised her hands with her nails (more like claws) ready to strike again.

"Sword!" Sakura summoned.

She moved fast, it seemed like she was cutting air, but the impulse of her movement reached the Witch Mel, and cut her nails

"No!" Witch Mel called.

"This ends now." Sakura murmured in a soft voice.

The sword disappeared, Sakura stood straight, her arms firmly at her sides, as she started shining, it was a beautiful sight.

Tomoyo knew immediately what her friend was trying to do.

"Please be careful, please." Tomoyo pleaded.

"Light!!" Sakura called with all her might.

All her energy concentrated on her pocket, where the Cards were, then to her neck, to the key, and then that energy was shot forwards, to the Witch Mel, who didn't even had time to move before the light hit her.

Most of the presents had to close their eyes, for the light was so brilliant it hurt.

When the light faded away Witch Mel was on the ground, unconscious, some doctors went to her and said she was fine, just unconscious. And when everyone turned to the other side they found Sorceress Cherry/Sakura on her knees, breathing heavily. Her assistant was at her side, helping her stand up.

"The winner is Sorceress Cherry." The announcer called.

"Are you alright my lady?" A man asked, he seemed like a doctor.

"Yes I'm fine, just a little tired." Sakura answered.

"S…Cherry!" Daeron called running to them. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, don't worry." Sakura said with a tired smile as she started walking, slowly.

"Hold on to me." Daeron told her stepping beside her.

"Thank you." Sakura said.

Both Daeron and Tomoyo helped Sakura get back to the bench, this time, far from Eriol, Shaoran and Meiling.

"Shaoran can you feel the aura?" Eriol asked.

"I can feel the assistant's aura, and the Mage's." Shaoran answered. "Not the Sorceress's."

"That's what I mean." Eriol replied. "Her assistant is covering her."

"How?" Meiling asked, she was mad with herself for not being able to notice those things.

"The question isn't how, but why." Shaoran said raising an eyebrow. "Something really strange is going on here."

"Sorcerer Xiao, Miss Lin, your turn." A woman called.

.---.

~In the other side of the place.~

"Mage Dae, you're next." Another woman was calling to him.

"Thank you." Daeron said. "I'll be there in a second."

"Don't worry for me." Sakura said more calmly. "I'm better now."

Daeron nodded and went to one side of the fighting grounds.

"I told you not to use the Cards without your staff." Tomoyo said as she sat next to Sakura.

"Don't get mad Tomoyo" Sakura said smiling at her. "I'm fine, a bit tired only, I won, everything went alright."

"You think I don't know the last spell you made could have worn you off to the point of leaving you in a coma?" Tomoyo asked, now she seemed hurt.

"Please forgive me." Sakura said pleadingly. "I promise you I'll never risk myself again that way."

"No, you'll do it in a different way, I know it." Tomoyo replied more calm now.

"Well, that's how my life is." Sakura replied with a sweet smile.

"It isn't over yet." Tomoyo said. "Your next opponent will be Eriol."

"I know." Sakura said, this time smiling openly. "But this time he won't trick me, I know him enough."

"I agree with you." Tomoyo said, smiling too. "This'll be fun."

.---.

~In an unknown place, far from the fighting grounds.~

"How could she defeat me?! How?!" a woman screamed.

"Calm down Amelia." A voice called.

"Master, I'm sorry." The woman, Amelia, said dropping to her knees. "I was just distracted a second and she, cut my nails. There was nothing I could do, really."

"I know Amelia, I know." The voice replied. "You underestimated that little girl. But not everything is lost."

"What do you mean Master?" Amelia asked puzzled.

"That Sorceress won a battle against you." The voice said. "But we'll win the war against all the Sorcerers and the Magic World."

Those words were followed by an evil laughter, cold, like the worst ice. Amelia just stayed there, like pinned to the floor.

.---.

~Back in the benches aside of the fighting grounds.~

Tomoyo shivered. Sakura pulled her knees up as she hugged herself in a tight embrace.

"What's happening?" Tomoyo asked Sakura.

"I…I don't know." Sakura said with her eyes closed tightly, suddenly she was afraid of something, but she didn't know what? Or why? "Something's is wrong, something's just very wrong…"

.---.

~In the other side of the fighting grounds.~

Meiling let the wards fall to the ground when she shivered.

"What's happening to you?" Shaoran asked as he picked up the wards and got them in his pocket.

Meiling didn't answer him, she let herself fall on the small chair, suddenly she felt like her legs couldn't keep her standing anymore.

"Mei, what's wrong with you?" Shaoran asked again.

"I don't know Shaoran." Meiling finally answered, her voice was so low, barely above from a whisper. "Suddenly I felt really afraid."

Shaoran couldn't understand his cousin's attitude, she had never reacted this way, not even once since he knew her. He wanted her to explain herself, but how could she when not even she could understand what was going on.

I wonder if I should have called this fic "Cat Fight" instead of "Women Fight", at least on Amelia's part. Je! Anyway, I hope you'll like the chapter, just like I promised, here before the 6th of Jan., since I just received the fifth review less than an hour ago.

In the next chapter we'll get to see the power of the rest of the competitors in the Tournament, our beloved heroes will get some interaction, and we'll find out some people just can't accept a loss! Stay tuned and remember, the sooner you review the sooner you'll get the next chapter!