Disclaimer: I still don't own CCS...
Hello, I'm back again! Even though I haven't gotten around to updating my two other on-going fics, 'Darkness Rising' and 'Spiritual Tasks', I'll manage to do it sometime soon enough. I've been basing myself on the anime so far, but I will try and combine both the anime and manga situations, and slightly alter them into something interesting, so that you lot don't get bored. I'm basically working on the first arc of this story, which is the Clow Card Arc, and for the next two chapters, I'll try to work a bit more on the other characters of CCS and their relationships, like the first 7 episodes do, as well as the first manga, and these characters will of course be Chiharu, Yamazaki, Naoko and Rika. Hope you enjoy this extra long chapter that took me two whole nights to write up correctly!
Chapter 2: Fleeting Memories and Truth be Told
Sakura ran down the deserted streets of Tomoeda, violent gusts of wind blowing against her lithe form. Yet she never faltered as she advanced towards the source of the magical aura that leaked into the air surrounding her, Kero-chan trying his best to keep up with the dexterous young woman.
As Kero-chan watched Sakura expertly dodge flying branches ripped away by the wind, he silently questioned himself on this girl who seemed far more initiated in the arts of magic and combat than she let in on. How had she known about the Clow Card, 'The Fly'? Why had she sensed the presence of the card before even he himself had even noticed, he who was the guardian of these cards? What other sorts of fighting skills could an ordinary girl have? Yet again, the part of his memories controlled by Clow Reed tugged at him. She seemed so familiar, he had a nagging feeling that he had seen her before.
Before he could continue, he heard Sakura come to a halt, standing tall against the winds, facing a gigantic bird, which remained poised across the street.
Sakura stared at the bird, which had, over the years, become one of the most useful cards. She clearly felt the presence of the Clow Card overwhelm her senses, yet there was another presence, which was rather unsettling. An aura of darkness, veiling that of the card, which had belonged to the dreaded demons Sakura had fought along side her friends and love. With such knowledge, her heart filled with fear, as she knew better than most the outrageous strength that such entities possessed. Eriol had warned her of this as well. She would be a fool to take the card lightly, as she had done in the past.
Without warning, the great bird before her moved, letting out a cry, telling her that he was prepared to attack. Sakura instantly took up a fighting stance, as the circumstances of the past had brought Syaoran to teach her the ways of martial arts. She stood still, waiting for a sign of attack. Kero then flew to her, clearly distressed, shouting,
"Something isn't right! The aura doesn't feel like it should! Quick Sakura, the key, remember how I summoned it?"
Sakura could have yet again smacked herself mentally. Physical skill alone wasn't going to defeat a demon possessed Clow Card. She pulled out the key and chanted,
"The key which holds the power of the stars, reveal your true form before me. I, Sakura, command thee under our contract! RELEASE!"
Nothing happened. It took her a few moments to realize she had spoken the incantation for the key of the Sakura Cards, not that of the Clow Cards. Kero-chan would certainly become highly suspicious. The Fly remained still, watching her, waiting for her to call upon her magic. She supposed that the small part of the card that remembered her was trying to keep the demon at bay, so that she could invoke the key of the seal.
Kero-chan frowned deeply. He had heard such a chant somewhere, but where? Sakura once again interrupted his thoughts.
"The key which holds the powers of the dark, reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command thee under our contract. RELEASE!"
This time, Clow Reed's seal materialized beneath her feet as the key transformed into an elegant staff with a bird's head. Once the staff was held firmly in her hand, the bird spread its wings and came charging at her, full speed.
Without enough time to react, Sakura was hit full force by the bird's head, sending her flying for a good 100 feet before she landed in a crumpled heap.
"Sakura!" yelled Kero-chan, worried about the young woman.
She slowly raised herself to her feet, clutching her side, slightly wincing. As she looked towards the sky, she saw the bird turning back around and its form charging at her once more. She ran to the side and pulled out the sole card in her possession. When she was about to summon it, she saw the bird halt in midair.
'This can't be anything good...'she thought.
Indeed, the bird opened its great beak and a ball of dark energy began to form itself, and Sakura had an overall idea of what its potential target was. The orb had taken shape and was projected towards her at a blinding speed. She ran out of the way before she could take any damage, feeling a slight pain pulsing through her side. She avoided the blow, but a small part of the street hadn't. The bird was preparing another attack, and Sakura decided to take matters into her own hands. Pulling out the card again, she threw it before her and chanted,
"Wind, guide my form to the entity lying yonder, WINDY!"
The gentle spirit of the wind appeared and carried Sakura towards the bird at breath taking speed, before the released card had the time to react. She landed gracefully on its back, but the bird would have none of it. It threw itself around, its head rearing in anger as it's wings beat wildly taking it higher in altitude as Sakura hung on to its back for dear life. At that, she pulled out Windy again with her free hand, which was also holding her staff. She threw it out before her and hit the card with her staff as it began its fall towards earth.
"Wind, become the chain that binds it, WINDY!"
The card shot out, far more violently that before and swiftly captured The Fly in its binds. The bird fell from the sky, Sakura with it, and landed with a great thud upon the cold concrete. Sakura fell off the birds back due to the shock of landing in such a brutal fashion, managing to land on her bruised side. Groaning in pain, she clutched her injured side and used her staff to raise her body off the ground again. She walked up to the bird's front and summoned Clow's seal.
"Return to the guise you were meant to be in, Clow Card!"
As the staff hit the air, the form of a card was distinguished, and the entity of The Fly was sucked in. At the same moment, a dark essence floated out of the card and disappeared into the night. The card had been captured, and a demon defeated. The card then floated down to her hands, revealing the drawing of a majestic bird with 'The Fly' inscribed in bold letters. Sakura smiled, content at her work.
Kero-chan, as expected, floated towards her, and Sakura was awaiting his praise or his awe at her skills, as he had always displayed. Yet neither came. Instead, he spoke in a darkened tone.
"Sakura, what is the meaning of this?"
She whipped around to face the guardian beast, who bore a somber expression, and she innocently asked,
"What do you mean?"
She somehow feared that Kero-chan would question her about her abilities, and had no idea what sort of lie she could brew up. But she never expected the answer he supplied her.
"Sakura, I know what happened. I know you captured all the cards, that you became their master, that demons took over the world."
Sakura stared at him in utter shock. Certainly he couldn't be making such an accurate wild guess? Eriol had told them all that they would be the sole individuals to remember what fate had claimed humanity. She decided to play dumb, to see if he truly did know.
"Kero-chan, I don't know what you're talking about."
He frowned deeply at this.
"Don't pull that on me Sakura. You want proof? Your best friend is Tomoyo Daidoji, right? You know Clow Reed's reincarnation, Eriol Hiiragizawa. You fell in love with that damned brat, Syaoran Li. Don't even try to fool me Sakura Kinomoto."
Sakura didn't know what to say. Eriol's spell wasn't working? If that were the case, then people remembering the alternate past would lead to awful problems. If it wasn't the case, then why? When her voice returned to her, she spoke in a tone of voice that reeked of experience and knowledge in the present subject.
"Kero-chan, how do you know this? Why do you remember? Eriol clearly stated that only he, Tomoyo, Syaoran and myself would remember."
Kero-chan sighed, preparing to explain to his mistress.
"While you battled the card, and even before, I was suspicious. I had a feeling that I knew you, and that all came from the part of my mind that is still under Clow Reed's jurisdiction. As Eriol is his reincarnation, and you are not officially the master of the cards, he managed to feed his memories of the events to me. He most likely wanted to spare you the difficulty of constantly dealing with me."
Sakura was yet again stunned, but grateful for Eriol's good judgment. Hiding everything from Kero-chan would have been extremely difficult. She suddenly broke out into a smile.
"I'm glad you're back Kero-chan. I missed you..."
The small guardian flew to perch on Sakura's shoulder and cuddled up against her.
"I'm glad you're all right Sakura, I missed you too..."
They stayed like this for a bit, until Kero-chan suddenly raised his head and flew out in front of Sakura.
"Didn't Tomoyo find out about you by filming you just this night?"
Sakura's eyes widened and without uttering a single word, she instantly pulled out The Fly. The seal appeared beneath her and she threw the card into the air.
"Bear your wings upon this staff, FLY!"
Feathers grew on the staff's head, and Sakura jumped upon it, Kero-chan quick to follow her. She took to the sky, soundless, enjoying the dark and silence of the night to relive the sensation of flight she so missed, letting the wings guide her to destination.
Tomoyo laid upon her bed, in a white tank top and lilac pajama bottoms, the same as Sakura's attire. She stared blankly at the ceiling, questioning her tormented mind about the dream she had experienced. She tried several times to get her mind off it, yet she couldn't. Her mind had the twisted sense to recall the image of the handsome boy with entrancing midnight blue eyes, which had come to haunt her in the past 24 hours. She also wondered about the other boy with amber eyes, the one her friend had loved, and she resisted the urge to call her emerald-eyed friend to ask her. Sakura would think she was crazy. It was then that she recalled how she had found out about the Clow Cards in the first place. Hoping that she could finally prove herself that magic indeed existed, she pulled out her faithful camera and filmed the night sky from her balcony.
She filmed the moon and scanned the skies for almost an hour, and her heart sank as each minute ticked by on the clock. She was about to give up and return to bed when she saw something as a speck upon the milky whiteness of the moon. Tomoyo zoomed with her trusty camera and caught a sight that made tears rise in her eyes and made her cry out in happiness. She clearly saw a girl flying upon a winged stick of sorts, with a small creature beside her. Even if she had been hallucinating, she would have cried out in joy anyway.
But the figure changed directions and came charging at her, and the speck began to resemble something quite larger. Sure enough, falling from the sky and landing gracefully upon the balcony of the Daidoji residence was Sakura Kinomoto, along with the guardian beast of the seal, Keroberos.
Tomoyo felt the tears of joy trickle down her cheeks, but she no longer cared about such trivial matters. She ran towards her best friend and flung her arms around her. Sakura returned the embrace tried to shush Tomoyo's light sobbing.
"I thought it was all a dream..." she let out.
"So did I..." replied Sakura.
Both girls stared at each other, their eyes of emerald and lavender spilling tears of happiness.
"How did we doubt them? The cards, the boys, especially the boys..." asked Sakura.
"I don't know Sakura, I don't know..." she replied.
She then let go of the card captor and in turn embraced the small bear like creature.
"I missed you as well Kero-chan."
Kero didn't reply, yet Tomoyo knew that her feelings were returned. At that moment, Sakura motioned Tomoyo towards her staff and climbed upon it. Without asking twice, Tomoyo jumped aboard herself and with that, Sakura took to the skies, feeling at peace with herself at long last.
One week later...
"Sakura, wake up!" yelled Kero-chan towards the limp form draped across the bed.
Yes, Kinomoto Sakura was in a deep sleep, her facial expression at peace, slightly clutching her sheets. Kero-chan watched her, exasperated by the inability to be woken up displayed by the young card captor, and to be mistress of the cards.
"I'll bet that even a Clow Card right next to her wouldn't wake her up..." he muttered under his breath.
Of course, he knew that the slightest presence would send her running outside half dressed to chase after it. But for the moment, she was still asleep, and he had the slight impression that she would be dashing about wildly to avoid being late when she woke. Sighing deeply, Kero-chan took a deep breath and yelled at the top of his little lungs,
"WAKE UP!!!"
Sakura sat up, startled by the outburst of her guardian. Upon seeing only Kero-chan, she slumped back down tiredly onto the bed.
"Sakura, if you don't get up, you'll be late again..." Kero-chan warned.
Sakura stared blankly at him for a few seconds. He knew what was coming next. No matter how many years of maturity the young woman would gain, she would still act as dense. When the half asleep girl finally processed the information, her eyes widened and she yelped,
"Hoe!!"
With that, she sprinted out of bed and dashed about to dress and get ready for school. When she at long last exited the bathroom, dressed in a lovely navy blue skirt and a pale blue buttoned shirt with the Seijou crest on the chest pocket, she grabbed her bag and bid farewell to Kero-chan, who instantly dashed towards the video games and television when she'd left.
Sakura dashed down the stairs and caught sight of her brother chomping on pancakes, talking to her father about his latest part time job.
"Ohayo onii-chan!" she greeted cheerfully, knowing all too well what came next.
"Late morning, kaijuu..." he replied, smirking.
Sakura glared at Toya, who simply smiled in return. She decided to ignore her brother's typical comment and proceeded to sit down and eat breakfast.
When she'd finished and finally departed for school with Toya, who'd met up with Yukito along the way to the bus stop to go to the nearby university, she silently gazed at the cherry trees that lined the street, finding her thoughts wandering off to Syaoran. It had only been one week since Sakura and Tomoyo had found themselves without the company of the two young men who had spent nearly all their free time with them during the past 5 years, who also happened to be the ones they loved. Yet she couldn't help but wonder if he had thought of her, or if he too had thought that their meeting had been a dream. Her thoughts were interrupted by Toya's mention of,
"Here's the school..."
She turned around and waved towards her brother and his best friend, and remembering that she was supposedly 'attracted' to Yukito, she called,
"Bye Yukito-san!"
He smiled back at her, obviously aware of her 'infatuation'.
She turned around and unexpectedly came face to face with a smirking Tomoyo.
"Sakura, you certainly do have a way with men. First Syaoran, and now Yukito-san."
Sakura stared at Tomoyo questioningly.
"Tomoyo, I only just said good-bye to him..."
Tomoyo gave her a knowing look, clearly showing that she hadn't been serious. The two girls began to walk towards the school entrance when Tomoyo suddenly asked,
"Sakura, have you felt any Clow Cards around since last time?"
Sakura shook her head. She had been straining her magical vision to extremes in hope to find the distinct aura of a Clow Card. Apparently, no matter what sort of experience she had in such matters, the cards and the entities possessing them didn't want to have anything to do with her until they decided to take action. She had looked back to all her captures in the past and knew that, if the cards were to respect the same timeline as before, The Shadow card would strike next. When and where, she couldn't be certain. Perhaps it would be at school, like the first time. Or the card might find another way of disrupting the daily lives of the inhabitants of Tomoeda, along with herself. Tomoyo's voice broke into her deep thoughts as she stated,
"There is only one real positive side about this return to old times..."
Sakura said nothing, waiting to hear what she could possibly find good about their current situation.
"I get to film you and your great deeds all over again!" she said dreamily, whipping out her Sony digital camera.
Sakura sighed. Even if Tomoyo liked Eriol, she would always consider Sakura as the only person worthy of being filmed. Sakura was just glad that she'd abandoned the idea of creating costumes for her, as Tomoyo's creations had always been rather... extravagant.
The two friends proceeded to class, and spent their morning like all of the other 9th year students attending Seijou High School. After lunch, during which the two had shared a bento made by Tomoyo, they girls, along with their class, attended physical education class. They were going to be playing badminton in doubles, so they all had to choose their partners. Naturally, Sakura and Tomoyo were together, as well as Chiharu and Yamazaki, and Rika and Naoko. Their teacher set up the tournament, and the matches began, soon, the finalist teams were facing each other, and it was none other than Sakura and Tomoyo, against Chiharu and Yamazaki.
The match began, as Yamazaki served from his side, and Sakura slammed her racket onto the birdie, which smacked right onto the concrete mere seconds later. Tomoyo then served, and their team won point after point until they had reached a score of 11-2. When Sakura was about to serve, she suddenly felt a magical feeling tug at her senses, and she remained still, using her enhanced magical senses to detect what was causing her uneasiness. Right there, behind her. The aura of a Clow Card. She stood still as her unfocused gaze became serious and concentrated. Chiharu and Yamazaki, as well as the rest of the class, couldn't understand why Kinomoto Sakura was no longer moving. Tomoyo, recognizing the expression, knew that a Clow Card must be nearby, so she slowly walked towards Sakura and took the birdie from her. She whispered to her ear,
"It's a Clow Card, isn't it?"
Sakura quickly nodded, and Tomoyo spoke loudly,
"I'll serve if you don't feel up to it."
They switched places and Sakura gained the front of the court.
"Are you all right Sakura-chan?" asked a concerned Chiharu.
"I'm fine Chiharu-chan, don't worry."
Though she only half believed her, Chiharu accepted the explanation and the match continued. Tomoyo served and the birdie was sent flying over the net and Yamazaki, who was at the back, was prepared to receive it. That was when Sakura saw it. Yamazaki's shadow, which wasn't moving the same way its original was. The two auras of the card and the demon flared, burning bright in her magical eye, and Sakura knew that the young man was in danger. But before she could cry out a warning, the shadow had grabbed Yamazaki's leg, and pulled him to the ground, twisting the leg all the while, earning a pained expression from him. The shadow's clawed hands slashed his chest, and a deep gash formed, turning his sports shirt from pale blue to a growing stain of deep red. Chiharu cried out and ran to him, abandoning her racket upon the ground. The teacher came quickly, along with the rest of the class.
Tomoyo and Sakura didn't move. The Clow Card had acted, and it wouldn't stop until it was captured, and broad daylight was the best moment to do so for this particular card. While the whole class was crowed around Yamazaki, Sakura and Tomoyo ran off, following the now moving Clow Card. They sprinted all across the field, until they reached a darker part of the grounds, shaded heavily in trees and by a small storage shack. The ideal place for The Shadow to lurk. As they scanned the area in search of any manifestation of the entity, the shadows of the two girls began to move independently from their masters, swiftly taking to the darker environment beneath the trees. When Sakura at long last felt the magical presence, it was already too late.
All too suddenly, Tomoyo let out a yell of pain as she felt a burning sensation creeping along her leg, as dark blood leaked out of the wound.
"Tomoyo!" cried Sakura, swiftly running to her friend, supporting her lithe form that was starting to limp due to the pain issued from the wound.
"I'll be fine Sakura, just capture the card. It's all that matters." she replied in uneven breaths, still under the shock of the painful burning sensation.
Sakura stared worriedly at her friend, but let her down against a tree before turning towards the shaded space.
"Shadow, I challenge you! Show yourself!"
She didn't need asking twice. The card swiftly slashed at her side, digging deep into the one she had bruised the week before while fighting The Fly. She bit her lip so as to keep in her cry of pain, yet a soft yelp escaped her lips as she collapsed to her knees. Several other shadows began to gather, coming from the whole school, all being summoned by The Shadow. She struggled to stand, despite the pain shooting through her side. The Shadow's true from was then revealed, the black hooded figure that she knew all too well. Knowing that if she didn't capture it now, it would attack again and make even more damage, she pulled out her key and chanted,
"The key which holds the powers of the dark, reveal your true from before me. I, Sakura, command thee under our contract. RELEASE!"
The key transformed into her staff, and she instantly pulled out a card, throwing it into the air in the process.
"Wind, become the chain that binds it! WINDY!"
The card of the wind shot out and winded itself rapidly around the rebellious Shadow. Still clutching her side in pain, she lifted her staff and yelled,
"Return to the guise you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" and she slammed the bird's head down to let a card materialize out of thin air, and the spirit of the Shadow was sucked into it. Yet again, a darker entity disappeared into the air, proving itself as defeated. The card floated down to her, and she caught it with her free hand. Sakura smiled weakly, and looked down to the ground. A small puddle of blood had begun to form, and she suddenly felt weak and unable to stand. As she collapsed all together onto the ground, the last thing she heard was Tomoyo calling out to her,
"Sakura!"
An hour later, Sakura woke from her deep sleep, surrounded by the warmth of her blankets and slowly opened her emerald eyes to gaze at her bedroom and the face of a concerned Kero-chan hovering over her face.
"Sakura, what happened? Tomoyo said it was The Shadow card that did this. Are you all right?"
Sakura stared at the floating stuffed animal and smiled.
"I've seen worse Kero-chan. I'll be all right."
The guardian sighed, knowing he couldn't push the matter.
"You know, Toya's worried about you, and so is your father. They're both pacing about downstairs, and they won't stop coming up here."
Sakura felt guilty that her brother and father would cancel their activities for her sake. It had been her fault if the card had injured her. They shouldn't need to become involved in her perilous escapades. Yet she knew that they would react like this towards her being hurt.
Foot steps were then heard coming closer, making Sakura attention turn towards the door and wonder which one, between her brother and father, would discover her wide awake as Kero-chan quickly stood still to portray himself as a plush toy. Toya then entered the room seconds later, merely staring at his sister for a few fleeting seconds before he walked up to her and began pestering her with questions such as, 'What happened' or 'Are you all right', even if he added 'kaijuu' each time. Sakura knew that behind his antics, Toya had been truly worried about her welfare, but she decided to ignore such a detail, and try to persuade her brother that she was feeling perfectly fine, even if she did feel slight jolts of pain when she made exaggerated movements.
Toya explained to her as casually as possible that she'd been treated at school and brought home, as her injury wasn't too serious. Sakura did, however, notice that her torso was wrapped in white bandages that she felt were slightly damp against her skin. Recalling the confrontation against the Clow Card, The Shadow, she locked eyes with her brother and asked him with a worried gaze,
"What happened to Tomoyo and Yamazaki-kun?"
Toya returned her gaze and sighed, answering,
"Tomoyo-chan is fine, she's only got a gash on her leg that didn't seem too serious, but is Yamazaki-kun the one who got his chest ripped open?"
Sakura nodded, confirming Toya's guess.
"Then he's in about the same state as you, as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure he'll be all right."
Sakura sighed in relief, glad that her friends were out of danger. Toya then left the room, guessing that his sister may want some time to herself. Once the door was closed, Sakura gently let her lithe form fall back onto the bed and sighed. She wouldn't be getting out of her bed for a while, and even though the two cards she had faced had proven more difficult than any of the others in the past, she knew that the challenges that she would be facing along side Tomoyo and later, Syaoran, would be far more difficult and dangerous. She felt her eyelids grow heavy, and before falling back into a deep sleep, she pondered on the image of her love, wishing he were here with her.
Kero-chan, meanwhile, watched this scene worriedly, eyeing his mistress with care and thought,
'I can only fear about her safety in the trials to come...'
Phew... that was long! Or at least longer than I usually do. Hope you all liked it, even if it was a bit Sakura and Tomoyo centric ( ok, maybe a lot! ) If anyone was wondering, I won't be writing all of the episodes of the anime, only the ones I have planned in my stories, but if anybody wants a particular episode uploaded, then feel free to ask me through PM or review, by giving me an idea of what is expected. I may or may not reconsider it. Next is 'The Watery'.
On another note, (this is turning into a long A/N!) I have written a one-shot for the OC challenge made by 'The Fireplace' forum. If anyone is interested, I would appreciate reviews. Dropping by the forum to view some of the other posted one-shots would be great, as many of the stories there are worth the read! I will try and update soon!