Disclaimer: I quite unfortunately don't own CCS, all the credit goes to the amazing ladies of Clamp...
Well, I finally managed to post the next chapter! I'm so glad I did, since I was starting to think that I'd never get this story back on track, but I did!
That's why I'm giving a huge and hearty thanks to Cheeseycraziness for her awesome work as a beta for this fic. Without you, I don't think I'd have managed to get this done! -
So, without further ado, here's the next chapter (finally!):
Chapter 4: Wishful Thinking
The autumn wind blew in swirls of color as the falling leaves fell to the ground in its wake. Sakura marveled at this display of the change of season, while following the street that led her to school. This morning, Toya and Yukito weren't going to their university, having the obligation of finding a job. This left Sakura on her own to walk to school, all alone to contemplate the Clow Cards that lay in her hands. Her gaze searched the street for any passersby, and upon seeing none, she quickly jumped into an alley on the side. About her floated seven Clow Cards, each glowing with an ethereal light.
As Sakura proceeded to school by her secret route, she studied each card, recalling her adventures in retrieving them. The Fly, Shadow, and Watery cards had caused her enough trouble, and twice she'd ended up getting hurt enough to knock her out. The remaining three cards, The Wood, Rain and Jump, had been difficult enough, but she'd avoided getting herself into a compromising situation. To think that those three cards had popped up on the same day, at the same time. Sakura thought back to the incident that had occurred only two weeks ago...
As The Wood entangled around her house, Sakura was being chased by the Rain, which was having a dandy time of filling her basement with water. Once the water level had reached her waist, Sakura found herself unable to continue running from the Rain, thus resulting in a cascade of water drowning her, as she was unable to breathe underneath the immensity of the water she was being buried in. Just then, Wood, swooped down from the ceiling and attempted to wind about her, choking her in its hold.
With the last bit of freedom she had, Sakura pulled out the Watery and struck the tip of her wand upon the card. She tried her best to chant beneath the waters,"Water, come to my aid, become the binding chain! Watery!"
With that, the Watery encircled Rain and Wood, dragging them both off of Sakura, giving her the time to cry,
"Return to the guises you were meant to be in, Clow Cards!"
Within the minute, Sakura had in her hand two new Clow Cards, and she gleefully watched the two demons who had taken possession of the cards disappear to wisps of air. Tomoyo, who stood in the background, was about to congratulate her along with Kero-chan, but a rumbling sound outside caught their attention.
The three burst through the door, only to find the Jump towering high above the ground, destroying all in its path. Sakura rapidly pulled out the Fly and chanted,"May these wings rise me to where my enemy stands, Fly!"
Up on her staff, she was chased about by the gigantic bunny, until she twisted around to find herself swatted right off her staff. In panic, she grabbed at the staff as its wings disappeared and she quickly summoned the Windy, which wove itself about the Jump, and thus Sakura had been able to capture it. Luckily, she managed to land in a tree, but not without breaking her wrist in the process...
Looking at those three cards, then back at her bandaged wrist, Sakura sighed. Owning 7 Clow Cards gave her more strength, and she hoped that this strength would only help her protect her loved ones more efficiently than she did now.
Sakura soon saw Seijuu High School up ahead, and broke into a sprint, hoping to catch her friends before the bell rang. When she passed the gate, she was instantly greeted by Tomoyo, who gleefully brandished her camera, filming Sakura as she waved to her.
"Good morning Sakura! I hope you slept well last night." Tomoyo greeted.
"Good morning to you too Tomoyo. I did sleep well last night, but why do you ask?"
Tomoyo giggled softly, and gave Sakura a full smile.
"Must I have a reason to worry for my friend's welfare?"
Sakura chose not to respond to the comment, as she was happily greeted by Chiharu, who gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her so they could be face to face.
"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" she greeted enthusiastically.
Sakura smiled back at Chiharu, and responded,
"Good morning, Chiharu-chan!", then, looking around behind Chiharu, asked,
"Say, Chiharu-chan, where's Yamazaki-kun?"
Chiharu looked back at Sakura with a rather confused expression.
"Well, he should be here by now, it's rather odd..."
Chiharu began looking around, obviously annoyed at her boyfriend's sudden disappearance. Her hands on her hips, she sighed, Sakura and Tomoyo watching her intently.
"Knowing him, he'll show up right when we don't expect it, which should be right about..."
"GOOD MORNING!!" yelled out a voice right above Sakura's shoulder.
She yelped in surprise, resulting in her hand bumping into Yamazaki's side. White hot pain shot through her wrist, and she noticeably winced, trying not to clutch her aching hand. Chiharu who noticed this, abruptly grabbed Yamazaki's ear, yelling,
"Look at what you did! You hurt Sakura-chan!"
Sakura tried to stop her, but knew that whatever she said wouldn't halt Chiharu's actions. Sighing, she turned to Tomoyo, who studied her in mild concern.
"Are you all right Sakura?"
Sakura nodded, assuring her friend that there was nothing to worry about. Just then, Naoko was seen walking through the gate, waving towards them joyfully. Just as she walked up to them, the bell rang, calling them to their homeroom. Naoko's grin faltered slightly and as she passed by, yet she called them over with another wave of her hand.
"Good morning, Naoko-chan!" greeted Sakura, Chiharu and Tomoyo, suprisingly quite simultaneously.
Yamazaki popped up behind the girls, grinning widely, greeting,
"Good morning, Naoko-san!"
After Naoko's return greeting, she snapped her fingers and her eyes suddenly glistened with a new found passion. Upon seeing this, Sakura inwardly groaned.
'If Naoko-chan has that face, it can only mean one thing...'
"I found a ghost! I'm absolutely sure of it!"
Indeed, Sakura's inner fears were revealed to be true. Even though her few years of struggle with demons had flushed her fears of spirits and occult entities, she still remained slightly uncomfortable when the subjects of ghosts came up, usually courtesy of Naoko.
As the courtyard emptied itself, Chiharu looked towards the door with a significant pout on her face.
"Darn, we have to get to get to class before Terada-sensei arrives in the classroom. I think you'll have to tell us more about it at lunch this afternoon, Naoko-chan!"
As they began walking with ease towards their homeroom class, climbing up a flight of stairs along the way, Yamazaki let out a sly remark that caught their attention.
"Apparently, because of an extremely important meeting, we'll be off of school by lunch time. The teachers have been talking about it to a good number of students."
Chiharu gave him a skeptic look, as if questioning his reliability.
"Chiharu-chan, you should know I wouldn't lie about something like this..."
Chiharu gave a long sigh, accepting his explanation, which surprised Sakura greatly, and, considering the look on her friends' faces, it had surprised them as well.
They at long last filed into the homeroom class, sitting down in their seats, waiting for Yoshiyuki Terada-sensei to come into the class to announce the daily schedule. Sakura contemplated the classroom, filled with her fellow students and friends. Somehow, they had gotten the same seating arrangements they'd had in elementary school, with Sakura seated by the window, Tomoyo to her right, and as she looked behind her, her heart filled with a surge of sadness while she gazed at the desperately empty seat that was normally occupied by her number one person, the one she so dearly missed. Tomoyo, being the uncannily observing person that she was, sadly contemplated Sakura's expression, her enticingly beautiful emerald gaze filled with a hidden, deep pain. She gently grasped her friend's shoulder, feeling her own heart fall at the sight Sakura offered.
"Sakura, you know what I mean when I say that is never fares well to dwell upon the past..." she whispered into Sakura's ear.
Sakura's eyes widened, and her mouth broke into an unexpected smile, instantly feeling slightly better at her friend's encouraging words. She looked to Tomoyo, who gave her a radiant smile, filled with warmth and kindness. A small fraction of the heaviness in Sakura's heart faded to nothingness as Terada-sensei came through the door.
He indeed explained that their lessons would be interrupted starting from lunch, and from then on they could do as they pleased. Sakura was even let off of her cheerleading practice, since apparently the club's coach was also involved in whatever meeting the teachers had planned. The morning went by without much interest, and soon enough, the five girls and Yamazaki were all standing beyond the gates of Seijuu, impatiently waiting for Naoko to reveal her newest discovery, though Sakura was a bit apprehensive. As the rest of the students filed out, Chiharu nudged Naoko gently,
"Hey, Naoko-chan, tell us about your ghost, we're all getting older while waiting for you to start!"
Naoko giggled at Chiharu's impatience, and began her story, the others listening intently.
"Well, it happened just last night while I was heading home from piano..."
Naoko walked leisurely down the path of Penguin Park, contemplating the different colors of red, orange and yellow that streaked the sky as the sun set over the horizon. Humming to herself, she thought about her latest piano lesson, during which her instructor had openly congratulated her on her performance. She was proud of her progress, and she was even happier, seeing her parents had bought her a wonderful book as a reward for her efforts.
"I feel so happy, I could skip about like a little girl!" she said out loud.
At that moment, she heard a rustle in the bushes bordering the path, and she abruptly halted, curious at what was hidden behind it. She thought back to her book that her parents had bought her, where a terrifying ghost had slaughtered a little girl, its face covered in blood, a ghastly white. Naoko then eyed the bushes with a certain apprehension, not quite sure of what she was going to find there. Silently approaching the source of the noise, she was about to touch the bushes, when the rustling ceased.
"What...?" she wondered aloud.
In one swift movement, the entity of a pale white, covered with deep red blood rose out of the bushes, holding a head in its right hand. Seeing the horrified expression beheld by the small head that was laid before her, Naoko held back a scream. She lost it when the ghost spoke without a word, though she quite clearly read its lips:
"You're next..."
By this time, Sakura had taken refuge behind Tomoyo, and Chiharu was nervously clinging to Yamazaki's arm, in search of some comfort from the one she loved. Rika still stared at Naoko, clearly thrilled by the story.
"It scared me half to death, but I'm sure of what I saw!" Naoko concluded.
Since no one spoke after that, she swiftly turned around and began making her way across the street.
"Naoko-chan, where're you going?" called out Sakura.
"I'm heading back to Penguin Park to show you all! Come on!" she replied.
Rika started after her, and Yamazaki dragged along a still nervous Chiharu, while Tomoyo nearly hauled Sakura behind her. Though Sakura was somewhat scared, she couldn't help but think that the whole ordeal was rather familiar. Now where had she heard this before...?
"I just hope it won't jump out at us all at once..."Chiharu frightfully said to Yamazaki.
He chuckled slightly and embraced her when Naoko pulled them to a full stop.
"It's here!" she stated simply.
As if her statement had been an order, the bushes began to move and shake violently. Somehow, each person pictured something different being in the bushes, and Tomoyo felt her stomach grumble at the climax of the moment.
"Darn, I'd like a nice, warm, pork bun..."
As suddenly as Tomoyo had spoken, the thing in question shot out of the bushes, standing now to the right of the green plants. Naoko screamed in pure terror, with one word on her lips: "GHOST!"
Rika gasped and took a step further back, mumbling something along the lines of,"Mummy, zombie..."
Both Yamazaki and Chiharu scrambled away, pointing and yelling, "It's got three eyes!"
"And four legs!"
"It's got an ax!"
Tomoyo stayed put, contemplating the thing in confusion.
"A giant pork bun? How odd..."
Sakura was the only one who gasped, taking a few daring steps forward, not daring to believe the sight her eyes held before her. Her expression spoke of joy and confusion, shock even at the sight before her eyes. While her friends watched her dangerously approach what they perceived as a ghost, and in Tomoyo's case, a pork bun, they heard her utter one word that stumped them all,
"Syaoran..."
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She ran. She blindly ran, tears blurring her vision, as far as her tired legs would carry her. She desperately wanted to distance herself from the sight that had been bestowed upon her, the one that so deeply split her heart in two.
When Sakura had first laid her eyes on Syaoran, her heart had started beating at the ecstatic tempo it always did when she was in his presence, the empty hole deep within her soul slowly filling itself, drinking in the happiness that she felt upon seeing him.
Then it had come. In her mind, the image of his horrible and bloody death had surfaced, breaking apart whatever joy she'd felt. Syaoran's murder replayed in her mind countless times, each time breaking her even more, sending rivers of tears to her emerald eyes as she felt her lungs constrict in grief.
"It was my fault, all mine..." she whispered, out of breath, after having ran for what seemed like hours, but was only minutes.
At long last, Sakura collapsed from exhaustion, her legs and feet numb from running, her mind clouded from crying, her heart too pained from the mere sight of her love. She lay upon the ground, beside a tall tree, deep within the woods bordering Penguin Park. She couldn't tell for how long she'd ran, though her tormented mind felt as if hours had passed by, and all she seeked was release from the pain, the pain of Syaoran's death replaying again and again.
She knew why he'd died the way he had, and she was convinced that she was at fault, one way or another. She'd seen Syaoran throw himself before her, acting like a human shield, saving her from the deadly blow the demon should have bestowed upon her. Had she been more attentive, Syaoran wouldn't have died.
The tears now flowed in never-ending streams, Sakura's soft sobbing echoing through the newly born night, it being the only sound that dared disturb the tranquility of the rising moon. Pain and love at the same time, forming a deep ache within her very soul, one part of her yearning to see him once more, the other afraid of seeing him, afraid of the hurt it would cause her. Sakura's tired form succumbed to the growing darkness, and as she fell into the void of sleep, her broken voice whispered to the sky,
"I'm sorry Syaoran..."
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Walking along the concrete path winding about Penguin Park, concern and worry burning within her deep lavender eyes, Tomoyo scanned the area, Kero floating nervously by her shoulder. Sakura had so suddenly run off at the sight of whatever she had seen, that Chiharu, Yamazaki, Naoko, and Rika had all remained rooted to the spot in surprise and shock. They'd all been worried at first, wondering what could possibly cause Sakura to take off at such a speed, and without further notice. Tomoyo, having been too far away at the time, hadn't heard Sakura's soft whisper, and was rather surprised when she'd found out. She recalled the conversation she'd had with the lot of them before Tomoyo told them all to go home, and let her go and speak to Sakura herself:
Flashback:
Chiharu nervously clung to Yamazaki's arm, still troubled even if the entity had disappeared, and unnerved by Sakura's sudden break away. Naoko was the first to speak on behalf of the recently run away Sakura, her tone of voice mysteriously strained.
"Did you all hear what Sakura-chan said?" Naoko asked, unsure. They all nodded, except for Tomoyo, who then replied rather worriedly,
"I'm afraid I didn't. What did Sakura say?" They all looked at each other before Naoko resumed with yet another question,
"What's a Syaoran?" Tomoyo's eyes widened at that, and she couldn't restrain herself from gasping, realization dawning upon her at last. How could she have been so silly?
"Sakura said 'Syaoran'?!" Tomoyo managed to ask. The rest of them nodded, clearly wondering how awful such a thing could be to make Sakura run off on such a short notice.
"Please everyone, I'll go look for her myself. Don't come with me, as it might trouble her of too many people start questioning her. I promise to call you when I find her." The four of them stared at Tomoyo, obviously reluctant about letting her set out on her own to find the missing Sakura, but each of them knew that Tomoyo's idea was by far the wisest. The four agreed, though quite reluctantly.
After she'd set out, Tomoyo had instantly called Kero, fully aware of what it was that Sakura had seen. When the small guardian beast had arrived at Penguin Park, Tomoyo had uttered to words that scared the living daylights out of him,
"The Illusion Card." Tomoyo told him with conviction. Instantly, Kero had understood, even without Tomoyo's details, though she told him nevertheless. Together they set out, Kero allowing Sakura's magical aura to guide them.
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Sakura awoke from her dreamless sleep, as a wonderful scent filled her nostrils. She greedily inhaled the sweet aroma of autumn and old books that she so dearly missed.
"Syaoran..." she murmured in her half-asleep state, whimpering softly when the scent left her, as if taking away a part of her very being. Sakura opened her eyes, sitting up, inspecting her immediate surroundings. At first, she was puzzled at finding herself sprawled in the middle of the woods, her blue school uniform smeared with the dirt that littered the ground. Then, in a split second, everything rushed back to her, and the ache returned, lodging itself deep within her, just as it had before. As she felt the tears return, she raised herself and looked behind her, and the sight that greeted her made her gasp as she stumbled to retreat a few steps away.
Before her stood Syaoran Li, dressed as he'd been during their demon siege, slightly leaning on his majestic sword, his amber eyes boring into her emerald ones.
Sakura could hardly think, her mind in a complete haze, confused, hurt and over-joyed at the same time by such a bold vision, the one of the person she so dearly loved. Upon watching him, simply staring at her intently, not even moving or speaking to her, Sakura began to feel an untamed need build in her chest. The need to embrace him, to hold him close, to feel herself in his arms again, the need to do something before he disappeared, like he had last time. She no longer wanted Syaoran to slip away from her. She let the phrase of uncontestable truth replay in her mind, the one truth she'd realized so long ago,
'I need him...' she thought, her eyes beginning to fill with tears as she walked forward, without uttering a word, her arms wide open, as the lone figure of Syaoran stood up straight and seemed to welcome her into his embrace. When at long last reached the warm cocoon of his arms, she sighed in obvious content.
In the spit second afterwards, she knew something was wrong. The embrace, though it seemed real enough, didn't feel right. It had nothing to do with her, she was sure, yet something was slightly off with Syaoran. At long last she broke the embrace, and for some odd reason, look down. Her school uniform's blouse was drenched in deep scarlet blood. Her blood. When she looked at the figure before her, she saw that the mighty sword he held firmly in his hand was also dirtied by the scarlet river that left her abdomen.
He'd stabbed her. Sakura, while seeking his embrace, had literally impaled herself upon the blade. Yet this Syaoran didn't seem the least bit distressed by her condition. In fact, she could distinctly see the crooked smirk that had plastered itself onto his face. In her mind, she recalled every single time Syaoran had ever worried about her, doted over her, and once more his brutal death replayed before her eyes. He'd died to save her. So why was he trying to kill her now?
The sudden question brought back another memory, from long ago. One where she'd been duped by an illusion of her mother, Nadeshiko, and had almost died as a result, by falling off a cliff. It was then that she realized that the entity that stood before her, the one that had stabbed her, was not Syaoran Li. Within the moment, Sakura collapsed to her knees, weakly grabbing for the key beneath her blouse, pulling it out and chanting softly,
"The key which holds the powers of the dark, reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under our contract. RELEASE!" The elegant staff with a bird's head came to be, as Sakura called out,
"Reveal yourself Illusion Card!" The smirking clone of Syaoran suddenly looked at her with widened eyes before adorning a wicked glare and at long last transforming into a shape, colored by an intricate pattern.
"Return to the guise you were meant to be in, Clow Card!" she called out weakly, and as the card returned to its true form, Sakura collapsed completely, not even bothering to inspect her wound, only whispering to the night,
"I love you Syaoran. No matter what. I know that illusion wasn't you, but please, forgive for mistaking you for that awful thing. I'm sorry..." And Sakura fell into the darkness that seemed so welcoming to her hurt and broken mind.
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Two weeks later...
Kero sat on the desk, watching his beloved mistress sleep soundly, slowly recovering from what should have been a fatal injury. He easily recalled the awful fear he'd experienced when Tomoyo and himself had found the poor girl, knocked out, surrounded by a puddle of her own blood, the Illusion Card lying not far from there. Tomoyo had almost lost all reason then and there, utterly horrified by the state Sakura was in. The sorceress had been quickly rushed to the hospital, where the medical staff had immediately taken her in and had made sure she would go through a good and easy recovery.
Kero was aware of what Sakura had seen with the Illusion Card, and hoped that the ordeal wouldn't lead her to fear the Chinese sorcerer he knew she so dearly loved. The guardian beast slowly floated to Sakura's pillow, cuddling against her peaceful and sleeping form. Within the week she would be allowed to return to school, as her magical abilities had enabled her a much faster recovery. Her entire family and the doctors taking care of her were speechless at how quickly the young girl had healed from her wound.
The Chinese kid, as Kero called him, was bound to arrive in Tomoeda anytime soon, and Kero prayed to whatever entity could hear him that it would be in the immediate future.
"As much as I hate the kid, I must admit he has a way of comforting Sakura that beats all of our efforts." he whispered to no one in particular. Kero sighed before settling down to fall asleep himself. His mistress was learning about fate the hard way, and all he wanted to do was take all the pain away from her, and place it on himself.
"Anything to make you smile Sakura. Anything..."
I made Syaoran evil, when I promised myself I'd never make that awful mistake of OOCness!! But I guess I'll call this an exception to the case since it wasn't Syaoran, it was the Illusion Card...
I might start replying to reviews here, or at the start of the story. I think it's a nice way of communicating!
Next chapter is going to deal with the Thunder Card, so you lot all know what that means!
Remember, reviews are appreciated (please! )!