Disclaimer: I don't own CCS...
Hi everyone, I've finally finished this chapter! I've been working on it for a while, trying to detail everything, and I hope you all like it. Enjoy it, and please review!
Chapter 3: The Watery Strikes Again
An entire month had passed since Sakura had captured the Shadow card, and no strange events had occurred afterwards. Of course, had something happened, Sakura wouldn't have been able to stop it, as she wasn't supposed to get out of bed due to the injury that she had received fighting Fly and Shadow. This only managed to irritate Sakura, as she didn't like the thought of her friends being in danger without being able to interfere.
Tomoyo came by each day to tell her the interesting things that had happened at school, and every time Sakura would ask about anything strange that might have occurred, and Tomoyo always reassured her by telling her that everything was fine. Sakura was starting to feel restless by the time the month had come to end, and the family doctor finally told her she could return to school if she promised not to strain herself physically. Sakura complied, and the following day, the young woman was already walking past the gates of Seijou High school, clad in the blue uniform that all the students wore.
Sakura was warmly greeted by her friends, welcoming her back, yet when Chiharu found out that she had returned, she almost leaped into the air for joy, as the same exact day, Yamazaki had been allowed to return as well, though he couldn't participate in P.E class, just like Sakura. She finally felt like her life would take a turn for the better.
They all sat down in their seats as their teacher, Yoshiyuki Terada, walked into the class for homeroom. Sakura then felt someone tapping her shoulder. She turned to her right where she saw Tomoyo looking at Rika. Sakura herself looked at the young woman, who had a lovely pink blush spreading across her cheeks, trying not to look at Terada. Sakura silently chuckled to herself. Over the years, she had finally been let on by Tomoyo that Rika and Terada loved each other, and were even engaged. At first, Sakura had been slightly angry at Tomoyo for not telling her sooner, but when she replied by saying that at the time, when they were 10, she hadn't been ready for such information, Sakura found nothing to say back to her, as she knew all too well that Tomoyo was right, yet again.
Sakura had always felt sad for Rika, as she wasn't allowed to show her love openly to Terada, as he wasn't allowed to do so with her. At least she and Syaoran could show themselves together in public. But then again, it took their friends an entire year to find out that they were going out, and at first, Yamazaki thought that Syaoran was cracking a joke. He had been extremely embarrassed when she and Tomoyo had confirmed his statement.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Terada, who was announcing to the class that tomorrow they would be going to Tomoeda City's aquarium, and after that to the pool for P.E class. He finished his speech and turned to the right, saying,
"As for you two, Yamazaki-kun and Kinomoto-san, as we are having our physical education class at the pool, you may go swimming apart from the class, but remember that you must not strain yourselves."
They both nodded, and Terada dismissed them, and they all went to their respective classes.
A few hours later, it was lunch time, and Sakura and Tomoyo had joined Chiharu, Yamazaki, Naoko, and Rika underneath the large tree that bordered the elementary school fence.
"Sakura-chan, Tomoyo-chan, where were you two? Come on, if you don't hurry, there won't be any left for you, seeing how Yamazaki seems to be eating everything!"
Both girls giggled at this, as Yamazaki made feeble attempts to prove that Chiharu was only trying to make fun of him. They both sat down and Tomoyo instantly commenced a conversation with Naoko about her latest story she was writing. Sakura meanwhile began to speak with Rika, while Chiharu and Yamazaki were trying to get the upper hand at eating the most sushi rolls.
Suddenly, Terada came out and sat alone on a bench that seemed rather isolated from the rest of the grounds. As expected, Rika instantly blushed. Noticing this, Sakura looked at where Rika was staring at, and upon seeing Terada, she linked him to Rika's reaction. Thinking over her idea first, Sakura then bent over and whispered,
"Go ahead Rika. I'll cover up for you."
Rika looked at Sakura with shock, obviously considering Sakura too dense to realize what she had been thinking about. Yet once she had recovered, she broke into a smile and whispered back,
"Thank you Sakura-chan. I think Tomoyo-chan has rubbed out on you..." and with that she silently got up and left, going towards Terada.
Sakura herself smiled, glad that her friend might be able to have some quality time with the one she loved, her number one as Yukito had put it.
Suddenly, Yamazaki's head popped out of no where in front of her, and Sakura yelped in surprise. Tomoyo chuckled at this, as well as Chiharu and Naoko. Neither of them asked where Rika had gone, as they knew pretty much the answer. Yamazaki took a deep breath and began,
"Sakura-chan, did you know that sushi rolls were used to make futons back in the old days, until people finally figured out that they were edible?"
Sakura stared cluelessly at Yamazaki. Was this one of his lies? Maybe, but she would let him continue.
"Yes, you see, they needed something rather bouncy to sleep on, for comfort. But most unfortunately, it was far too wet, and the practice was abandoned in a few decades."
Chiharu's hands were suddenly seen, and Yamazaki found himself being yet again strangled by the young woman.
"Of course Yamazaki, always lying! Stop telling lies!"
At this point, the poor boy was incapable of speech, since he was lacking in air. Chiharu finally gave him mercy, saying that it was because he was still hurt. She seemed relatively annoyed, but a few minutes later, she was already falling asleep in his arms. That was loves forgiveness, as Tomoyo put it.
Sakura meanwhile, was still utterly stumped. Yet again, she had almost fallen for Yamazaki's lies. It was a bit embarrassing, seeing how old she was, and she knew that she should know better, especially seeing what she had lived through, but it seemed as if she would forever remain naive.
Tomoyo, watching the scene intently, giggled upon the expression plastered onto Sakura's face at the moment. Again, she had fallen for Yamazaki's lies. It had always made her laugh in the past, and today was no different. So caught up in the hilarity of the moment, Tomoyo almost forgot Sakura's recent injuries and the whole ordeal they were yet to go through. She almost did. Tomoyo snapped back to reality when she saw Sakura wincing slightly when she lay down on the grass, quite obviously due to the lingering pain caused by her not yet completely healed injuries. This only brought Tomoyo back to their current dilemma; being the Clow Cards.
Certainly, when they were but children, the whole ordeal had seemed rather impressive, especially for herself, as Sakura had rapidly become used to dealing with the magical world, and even more so when Syaoran made his first appearance. Yet today, in this rerun of their past feasted by dark humor, even though they knew most of magic's limits and boundaries, Tomoyo had been quite spectacularly impressed by how such docile cards had become vengeful beings filled with bloody ambitions. Though Tomoyo did trust Eriol's judgment, she had been rather unbelieving at first, as she knew all too well the nature of a Clow Card. But after having seen Shadow's brutality, going to the point of injuring Sakura in a drastic way, Tomoyo now knew that the demon's control over the cards was far more dramatic then she thought any of them had possibly imagined.
Tomoyo was pulled out of her thoughts by Sakura's voice, calling out her name.
"Tomoyo? Come on, answer me..." she asked softly.
Tomoyo stared into Sakura's emerald eyes, who were slightly questioning, with a hidden concern.
"What is it Sakura?" Tomoyo answered just as softly, not sure why her friend had decided to have a conversation in this tone of voice.
Sakura sighed with relief when Tomoyo finally answered her calls, glad that nothing had been wrong.
"No, it's all right Tomoyo, it's just that you weren't responding to anybody and I wondered why."
At this Tomoyo smiled, some what happy that her friend would house this much concern for her.
"Don't worry about me Sakura, I'm fine. Nothing happened, so just try to relax a bit." she replied.
Sakura smiled back, a smile that could melt the coldest of icy lands, as Syaoran put it.
Just then, Rika came running back, as Terada obviously was on his way back to class. She sat down and sighed in happiness, thrilled with her small given time with the one she loved. Tomoyo smiled at this, as well as Sakura, though Yamazaki most likely hadn't even noticed Rika's return, as he was too busy watching lovingly upon a sleeping Chiharu. Naoko, who had suddenly immerged from the book she had picked up after Tomoyo had stopped talking to her, greeted Rika warmly with a,
"Welcome back Rika-chan!"
Rika smiled in utter happiness, as the sound of the bell chime at the nearby Tomoeda Elementary School rang out loudly, calling them back to their afternoon classes. They all sighed, and Yamazaki was forced to awaken his sleeping beauty, having a group of chatting people walk by followed by another which seemed to still be half asleep. Perhaps Chirharu would fall asleep in their upcoming mathematics class. Sure enough, it had been the case for poor Chiharu, who was jolted awake by the teacher's scolding.
The rest of the day went by without much incident, excepting by the gates, where Yamazaki was unexpectedly overwhelmed by a surge of pain from his not yet completely healed injuries, and Chiharu was in obligation of taking him home. On Sakura's part, she hadn't felt much from her injury, only slight stings of pain every so often. To everyone, she showed how her injuries were almost gone and that she was perfectly capable of doing what she had always done. Yet deep inside, she was immensely worried about the appearance of a Clow Card. Having seen how vicious they were only lead her to think that if one attacked her in her current state, she might not come out of the battle unscathed.
Once she had at last closed the door to her bedroom behind her, she slumped down onto the floor and sighed. This behavior didn't go unnoticed by Kero-chan, who put down the book he had been reading, obviously about video games, and flew over to Sakura's side.
"What's wrong. Did something happen? Does it hurt somewhere?" he asked all at once.
Sakura looked up at the small guardian beast of the seal and gave a small smile.
"I'm fine Kero-chan. You can go back to what you were doing."
Kero-chan frowned at this, not at all pleased that she still lyed about her state.
"Sakura, I've known you long enough to know that when you act like this, then something is wrong." he stated matter-of-factly.
Sakura drew another long sigh and raised her lithe form from the ground, dragging herself onto the large pink bed and collapsing onto its many blankets and pillows. She stared at the ceiling, her eyes now reflecting her worry.
"It's nothing much really. I'm just scared that I'll be incapable of handling a new card. I've only just gotten out of bed today, and I'm already fussing over the Clow Cards."
Kero-chan stared sadly at his mistress, his heart hurting seeing how she seemed to consider the current situation. Certainly, Sakura had gotten stronger and far more mature because of what she had lived through, yet she was still quite the emotional person, especially when it came to things like these. When Kero-chan looked back at Sakura's eyes, he saw the emerald color swirling beneath a brim of tears waiting to fall. Sure enough, the small drops of sadness fell from her eyes and streaked down her face as she let out light sobs.
Why was she crying? It had been at least a year since the last time she recalled feeling the burning tears run down her face in streams of sadness. But she couldn't help it, her worries had taken over and she knew that she'd gone all emotional again. She knew that her current worries about the cards wasn't the only reason she was sobbing into her pillow with Kero-chan by her side. Even though she knew he wouldn't want it, she still cried because she missed Syaoran. Only one month and two weeks had gone by since the last time she had truly seen him, and that time alone was enough to make the tears fall, as she had seen him lying on the ground, dying in agony, slashed by monstrous claws of foul demons.
It reminded her of when she was 11, the day he had told her that he was going back to Hong Kong. She had run up into her room and cried her heart out, realizing just how much she loved him. All of it seemed so far away, so out of touch with the reality she was living in. Yet the reaction was the same, no matter how much time had passed. So for one day, she would allow the tears to fall, just so she could finally let it all out. Kero-chan stayed with her, trying to comfort the crying young woman with soothing words, but when he saw his attempts were in vain, he simply lay down next to her and cuddled against her, in a final attempt to ease her sorrows.
The next morning...
When Sakura woke up the following day, she felt her eyes were sore from their crying, and yet she felt far better than before, having drowned away her sorrows, if only for a short time, away with her tears. She rose from her bed, seeing Kero-chan sleeping, curled up in a ball on her pillow. She smiled at the cute sight before her, and noticed that she wouldn't need to change into her uniform this morning, as she was already dressed. She simply packed another bag with her swim suit for the later swimming class, and her notepad, so she could write down important facts when at the aquarium. When all of her things were in order, she smiled one last time at Kero-chan and ran down the stairs. Perhaps it was better to not confront him about her sobbing from the previous night. Or at least, not yet.
When she'd finally walked silently down the stairs, hoping to perhaps escape breakfast, she bumped right into the one person that she had fully expected to be their, Toya.
"Ohayo onii-chan..." she sighed, awaiting his usual morning reply.
Yet it never came. Sakura looked at her brother, who was silently chomping down on his morning eggs, in a vain attempt to avoid looking at his sister. Sakura knew that Toya cared for her. She'd always known, but he truly showed his love for her a year back, when he'd jumped in front of a demon to save her, much like Syaoran had done some time later. He told her how much he cared about her well-being, and swore that if the gaki, in other words, Syaoran, didn't take good care of her, he'd haunt him from heaven. How she'd cried that day, as it had also been the day she'd seen her father, Yukito and Kero die. She never got over the fact that they were dead, but did her best to continue living while she could. Toya's words broke through her train of thought,
"You all right kaijuu?"
Sakura ignored her brother's teasing and simply replied,
"I'm fine Toya.", the fact that she'd called him by his name not passing him by.
For the first time, Toya chose not to reply. The rest of their breakfast was eaten in silence, until Fujitaka entered the room, and they both greeted him with a warm,
"Ohayo!"
With that, she departed from the house, following Toya to the bus stop where she would then greet Yukito. She watched the leaves fall off every tree as she passed, announcing the start of autumn. This over joyed her in more than one way, as it meant time was passing, and soon spring would come again, and it also meant that she was getting closer to seeing Syaoran again.
In the distance, she caught sight of Yukito, his golden honey colored eyes shining in happiness upon seeing Toya and herself.
"Ohayo Sakura-chan!" he called to her.
"Ohayo Yukito-san!" she answered just as merrily.
Yukito smiled at Sakura, as she smiled back. Though she wasn't in love with him any more, Yukito remained someone close to her heart, just like her brother, or Kero, or Yue. Speaking of which, she wondered how he was doing.
"Ohayo Toya." greeted Yukito to her brother.
"Ohayo Yuki." Toya answered, using the affectionate name he had for Yukito. As they started chatting, Sakura looked at Yukito, and whispered,
"Ohayo to you as well, Yue-san."
Yukito seemed stop for a moment, staring blankly at Sakura, and she was certain that somewhere, deep down, Yue had heard her and was expressing his own greeting. Sakura smiled at the thought. That was when Yukito chose to speak.
"You know Sakura-chan, Toya got some tickets to the aquarium for free, and since he doesn't plan on using them, I was wondering if would you come with me?"
Sakura remembered how she'd gone to the aquarium with Yukito back a few years ago, and who excited she'd been at her first date. It certainly had been fun, but it had been interrupted by the Watery card. Which brought her mind make to the current problem. If it popped up, she would at least be prepared, yet she was scared to take on a card just yet, as she had expressed her worries last night. But after all, the confrontation couldn't be avoided, and with a little luck, the card might not be there at all.
"If you don't want to, I'll understand of course." Yukito then said.
"Oh no, it's all right, I'd be glad to go with you Yukito-san!" she replied, noticing the fact that she'd given no response.
"It's settled then!" he said happily, just as their bus was rounding the corner.
"Well then, we'll be off. Have a good time at school Sakura-chan!" he said.
"I will!" she called back, and ran off towards Seijou High School.
Upon her arrival, she was naturally greeted by Tomoyo, followed by Chiharu, Yamazaki, Naoko and Rika. They attended homeroom as usual, and Terada had led them all towards the large bus waiting for them at the gates of the school. They boarded and Sakura was of course seated by Tomoyo, who brandished her faithful camera, as always.
"Sakura, today is certainly going to be a lovely day, I can feel it!" Tomoyo, her expression determined.
Sakura believed her, as Tomoyo had a natural talent for guessing all sorts of things, like the outcome of certain situations, as Sakura had learned.
"What could possibly make you think that Tomoyo?"
"Why, I'm finally getting real footage of you for the first time in a year! How wonderful is that!" she replied.
Sakura sighed. Tomoyo was never going to change. She should have seen that one coming. But Tomoyo was the only person, apart from Kero who knew anything about the old past, and Sakura felt the need to tell her about her concerns regarding the aquarium.
"Tomoyo, I don't like this. You do remember where we got the Watery card, right?"
Tomoyo's face instantly took on a grave expression, understanding why Sakura was fretting so much.
"Then we'll have to stay alert. Knowing these new cards, they'll attack when we least expect it..."
Sakura's frown deepened, as Tomoyo only confirmed her impression. She was practially certain that the Watery would show itself today, and though she'd rather stay back with her recently recovered injuries, she knew that it was either a bit of pain for her, or devasting damage to the rest of Tomoeda. Sakura knew which was the more rational of the choices.
"Sakura, remember the invincible spell. Everything will definately be all right. I believe in you, and so does Kero-chan. So stop getting all flustered like that!" Tomoyo told her, her eyes shining with determination.
Sakura smiled at her. She was right, she was getting far too flustered by the cards. Of course she'd delt with them before, she knew their every weak point, she knew when and how she'd captured each one. She was only reluctant since she knew about the Clow Card's new aura of agressivity. With a new born determination, she stood up and followed Tomoyo out of the bus, which had stopped right in front of Tomoeda's aquarium.
Once Terada had split the class into groups of four, Sakura, Tomoyo, Chiharu and Yamazaki set off across the halls of vast aquarium. In an hour, they had to see as many different sort of fish as possible, and with Yamazaki dragging the three girls to every tank in record time, by the time they'd arrived in front of the tropical fish tank, the group had seen quite a large amount of the aquarium. They had a little less than 5 minutes to get a good look at the fish before heading back to see the rest of the class.
Running up to the tank, fascinated by the varitey of color, Sakura stared as if in trance at the dance of the creatures in the clear blue waters.
"Amazing!" she let out in awe.
Tomoyo giggled, filming Sakura in the midst of her fascination.
Yamazaki laughed as well, seeing the behavior of a 15 year old girl that looked more like that of a 10 year old one. He and Chiharu began to leave, Tomoyo following when she realized that Sakura wasn't behind her. Expecting her to have stayed stuck to the glass, Tomoyo met a far different sight that didn't please her at all.
Sakura stared at the tank, no longer with fascination, but with cold look that mixed fear, worry, and determination, all in one swirl of emotions turned emerald green. Only one thing could put Sakura into a state like this. The Watery card must have made its predicted appearance. Tomoyo backed away from Yamazaki and Chiharu, who were too occupied with Yamazaki's new lie to notice.
"It's here, isn't it?" Tomoyo whispered, her eyes tensing.
Sakura only nodded, her gaze scanning every inch of the tank in search of the cause of all the thoughts in her tormented mind. The Watery would surely manifest itself while she was there, it was a certain. But when it would choose to do so, she didn't know. Her concentration broke the instant Yamazaki and Chiharu popped up in front of her.
"What are you two doing? What could possibly be so interesting about this one tank?" asked Chiharu, who hadn't taken the time to notice that something was wrong.
Yamazaki, though, seemed to have realized that Sakura wasn't in her ordinary state. He himself gazed at the tank before giving her a slightly concerned look, saying,
"Sakura-chan, are you all right?"
It was then that it happened. At first, Sakura didn't spot it correctly, but when the whirlpool began to take bigger proportions, it was then that she knew, and that it was the momen to act.
Wondering how she was going to make her move amongst the crowd, especially with her friends nearby, she wished that she the Time card with her, which had proven itself as an uncontestable help in many situations. So she did the only reasonable thing. She took off towards the stair case leading to the top of the tank, no longer caring how many people she pushed on her way there, only thinking of the way to use her magic in such conditions.
"Sakura!" cried out Tomoyo, who instantly took off after her, yelling to Chiharu and Yamazaki to go fetch help.
The two agreed and ran in the opposite direction.
'At least it'll stall them for a while. It'll give Sakura more time to seal the card.' she thought.
As Tomoyo began her ascencion of the stairs, she noticed something that could prove itself to be a great help in the their current predicament. If anyone saw her, then she would have to face the nessesary consequences. She dashed to the wall and pulled the fire alarm lever, as a deafening sound rang out through the rooms of the aquarium. People ceased their current activites and began to rush out in a panic, wondering where there was a fire, and how they were going to get out in time. As the crowd filed out of the room, Tomoyo smirked and proceeded up the stair case yet again.
Sakura, on top of the stairs, pacing on the platform above the tank, was in a difficult situation. She knew it was Tomoyo who'd pulled the alarm, buying her some precious time, but it was a whole different problem that imposed itself now. The card, being smart as it was, remained swirling in the darkening depths of the water, awaiting an unfortunate soul who would dare plunge into it's deadly trap.
She had two options. The first was to dive into the water, and attempt overthrowing the card with her power. If she did this, she would be entering the card's domain, and in that case, there were slim chances of survival. It would be a rather foolish idea. Her other option was to attempt to coax the card out of the tank, to then face it. A far better idea, yet there was something telling her that the Watery wouldn't let itself be trapped so easily. Pondering on her choices, it was finally fate that decided on her course of action.
As she continued to pace across the platform, she heard frantic footsteps growing closer by the second, and she spun around, ready to face the newcomer. Thinking that it was Tomoyo, she was utterly surprised by the identity of the person before her.
"Onii-chan?!" she cried out.
Toya was indeed standing at the edge of the stairs, panting and staring straight into Sakura's eyes, as if all the answers were written there.
"Sakura, you idiot! What are you doing here? There's a fire, get out!" her cried out.
Sakura didn;t know what to say. Telling him the truth was certainly not a good idea, but telling him that she refused to leave wasn't very good either. Seeing her lack of response to his accusations, Toya stepped forward towards her, and made an attempt to grab her, whilst saying,
"Come on Sakura, you're getting out of here, whether you want to or not!"
Sakura didn't particularly want to be dragged out forcefully by her brother, so she swiftly got out of his way as he approached her. What she hadn't thought of, was the fact that she had been standing on the edge of the platform, so naturally, when Toya didn't have anything in his way to stop him, he stepped over the edge and fell towards the waters below, into the trap laid out by the crafty work of the Watery. As she watched Toya hit the water, she finally realized what had happened, and she cried out in desperation and fear,
"TOYA!!"
When she saw that he didn't immerge from the bubbling waters, Sakura fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face, sobbing uncontrolablely. She then knew she had no choice. It was just like when she had accomplished the spell to return to this renewed life along with Tomoyo, Syaoran and Eriol. It was a question of life or death, and most of all, it concerned her brother. So she took the only option now left; she jumped.
When she broke the surface, the first thing Sakura felt was the force of the underwater currents, dragging her deeper into the water, farther from the surface, closer to death. She followed it, knowing that it was the Watery's doing, trying to accomplish the deed that Fly and Shadow had failed to complete, which was none other than killing her. She swam to the very bottom of the tank, nothing in her way, as if being invited into death's welcoming arms. Truth be told, she was scared. Terrified to be exact. She knew that going back up would prove itself far more difficult than sinking down. If Toya died, it would be all her fault. If she did, then the Clow Cards would find themselves without a master, and the alternate past they were all living in would no longer be able to fulfill its purpose. Perhaps the spell would backfire, though nothing was certain. It motivated Sakura to keep on going, to try her best in succeeding, no matter the price.
At long last, she spotted Toya, floating near the bottom of the tank, surrounded by tropical fish, unconcious. Sakura kicked her legs and wagged her arms about, trying to reach her brother faster. Once she had him in her hold, she knew the hardest part was yet to come. She had to get back up there fast, or either she or Toya would drown. Looking upwards, she gave the surface a determined look, ready to attempt whatever could be done.
She kicked her legs hard and fast, and gently proceeded upwards, Toya in tow right behind her, she holding on to his arm. But her freedom from the waters didn't last long. As she reached half-way, strong underwater currents broke out all around her, pulling her forcefully towards the bottom once more. Sakura fought, she kicked and flailed, trying to defeat the strength of the card. Yet deep down, she knew that she was fighting a losing battle. A mere human had no chance against the raw forces of nature.
As she continued her attempts to reach the surface, upon seeing that she was failing to move upwards, Sakura felt a true, deep fear claw at her insidess. If she failed, would Toya die? Most certainly. He was knocked out, unable to move by himself. He would drown if left alone. Would she herself die? Perhaps, only time could tell. If she couldn't reach the surface, she would surely die. All ready, she was running out of air, such a precious thing, she now realized.
The Watery, as if it sensed Sakura's weakening aura, intensified it's currents, dragging her even further into the depths. And all of a sudden, without a warning, the air within her lungs had run out, and she began choking, her body desperately searching for the air it couldn't obtain. Darkness began to settle into her vision, and inwardly, she screamed,
"No! Not now! I can't give up!"
Yet there was no fighting it. Soon, she could barely see, and her limbs began to cease their movements all together. As she began to float, choking and feeling herself fade away, she looked down to Toya, who began to float away from her, as he hand no longer contained the strength to hold on to him. She could have almost cried, had she been able to. She thought her last words in her mind before blacking out completely,
'I'm sorry Toya... I love you...'
15 minutes later...
Sakura stirred, the first feeling she experienced being a slight pressure upon her chest, making it rather difficult to breath. She forced her eyes open, finally allowing her emerald eyes to take in her surroundings. The first thing she saw was Tomoyo's worried expression, staring down at her. When Tomoyo saw her awake, she cried out in relief.
"Sakura, thank Kami! I thought..." she trailed off.
Sakura smiled slightly and sat up, trying to shake off her sleepiness. And suddenly, she grabbed Tomoyo's arm and pulled her down to eye level.
"Toya! Where is he?!" she cried.
"Calm down Sakura, he's fine!" Tomoyo replied, attempting to reassure her.
Sakura got up, and indeed saw Toya, breathing steadily. She ran to him and cradled his head in her lap.
"Onii-chan..." she whispered, on the verge of tears.
That was when she remembered her impossible situation underwater the last time she'd been concious. Tomoyo, who must have guessed why her friend had suddenly gone stiff.
"Since I remembered how you caputred Watery the last time, I took the liberty of fetching some dry ice from the storage room, since everyone is still outside. When I dumped some in, I suppose the card was surprised and it suddenly shot water up, sending you right out fo the tank. I was worried you'd been burned or hurt, but apparently not. I'm so glad!" said Tomoyo.
Sakura's face brightened up.
"Tomoyo, that's amazing! I'd have never thought of it! Is there any left?" she asked.
"Of course." replied Tomoyo.
So, taking one last worried glance at Toya, she pulled out the Windy, and threw into the air, the richly decorated seal of Clow appearing beneath her,
"Let this burning ice be lifted and dropped upon the water, WINDY!
The docile wind card swooped out and with the force of it's gusts, easily lifted the dry ice and dumped the contents of the bags within the tank. Sakura knew that most unfortunately, the fish inside would have to be sacrificed, and the thought pained her, even if it was only fish. But it had to be done. The water beneath instantly froze, the Watery having no chance of escaping the new attack. Seizing her chance, Sakura twirled her staff and yelled out,
"Return to the guise you were meant to be in, Clow Card!"
The card formed before her, and in a swirl of power and magic, she had in her hands a crimson card, with the inscription 'The Watery' displayed on the front. Sakura couldn't help but smile and cry out,
"I did it!"
That evening...
In the end, Toya had roused from his sleep a few minutes later, and Terada had dismissed Sakura, so she could help her brother return home safely. Toya didn't question her, though she had a feeling that he was highly tempted to.
Sakura entered her bedroom, and was greeted by Kero-chan's face right on the spot.
"Are you all right Sakura?" he asked.
"I'm all right, I caught the Watery, and got one more obstacle out of our way!" she replied happily.
Kero-chan frowned.
"I wasn't only talking about your encounter with the Watery."
Sakura then remembered her outbreak the night before, how she had cried out all the tears in her body. She herself frowned, her heart feeling heavy when she thought about Syaoran. She sighed and said,
"Yes, I'm all right Kero-chan. I promise."
With that, Sakura grabbed the small sun guardian, and hugged him close to her heart, as she slumped down onto her bed and slowly but surely, fell asleep. Kero-chan smiled to himself and cuddled closer to his mistress, seeking to comfort her aching heart, as he knew she wasn't as fine as she pretended to be.
"Poor Sakura. I hope the brat will hurry up and get here, so I can finally see you smile for real..."
So, what do you think? I hope my work paid off, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had a great time writing it! This place is lacking in continuation fics, and I just had write one! If you have any recommendations for cards I should use, do ask away!
Next chapter:
Illusion
P.S – For those who are going to ask, SxS will happen, but in due time!