Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Secrets ❯ The Saturn Cards ( Chapter 2 )

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Secrets, Chapter 2:

The Saturn Cards

Hotaru woke up to find a person attached to her. This did not surprise her, as she was used to sharing a bed with ChibiUsa on occasion, and her young friend was the affectionate type. She was a little surprised, but not at all disappointed, when she realized that the person was her younger cousin, Daidouji Tomoyo, and not ChibiUsa. Then she remembered the events of the past few days.

Hotaru carefully slipped out of Tomoyo's grasp (she'd had a lot of practice with ChibiUsa) and started to return to her own room. "Started to" was a good phrase for it, since an iron grip around her hand suddenly prevented her from going anywhere. She looked back, smiling when she realized that Tomoyo wasn't about to give up her cousin/pillow so easily. Hotaru went back to the bed and gently kissed Tomoyo's forehead. "Wake up, juumai," she whispered.

Tomoyo's eyes fluttered open. "Juushi?"

"It's me. May I have my hand back, please?"

Tomoyo looked down and blushed slightly. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Don't you have other things to hug when I'm not here?"

"Well…not really."

"Juumai, your mother owns a toy company. How can you not have at least one stuffed animal?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "I guess I never asked for one."

"Then it's settled. I'm going to get you one today."

Tomoyo smiled a bit. "You are?"

"Yes. And one for every other morning you won't give me back my hand."

Tomoyo sat up and hugged her cousin. "Arigato, juushi."

Hotaru returned the hug. "It's nothing. Now, get dressed. We're leaving right after breakfast."

* * * * *

"You think Tomoyo's cousin is a CardCaptor?" Kero asked.

"Yes, Kero-chan," Sakura replied. "I got a weird feeling when I touched her, and that girl at the museum…seemed so familiar. I'm almost certain it was her, too. Almost…"

Kero shrugged. "Well, until I meet her, I can't be sure."

"Meet her? Kero, you can't meet her! You're supposed to be a DOLL, remember?"

"If she was really a CardCaptor, she'd sense me, anyway."

"But…what if she's…dangerous?"

Kero didn't look concerned. "Sakura-chan, I thought you said you liked her?"

"I do, but…I might end up fighting her over the Cards."

"IF it's even her," Kero corrected as he flew over to the window. "Hey, is Tomoyo supposed to be coming here today?"

"No. Why?"

"Well, she's coming up the driveway, and she's got a girl with her."

Sakura practically leaped over to the window. "That's HER, Kero-chan! Tomoyo's cousin!"

"Calm down, Sakura-chan. I do sense some magic in her, but I don't think she's a CardCaptor."

"Then how do you explain the magic?"

"She could be another descendant of Clow Reed. The Li Clan wasn't the only family connected to him."

The doorbell rang.

"What do I do, Kero-chan?"

Kero stared at Sakura as if she'd lost her mind. "What do you mean? Go get the door!"

"But…but…"

"But what? Just because someone has magic doesn't mean you can be rude!"

"Kero-chan, you're not helping! What if she's dangerous?!"

"Then I really don't think Tomoyo would be bringing her over here."

"Sakura! Visitors!" Sakura's father called up the stairs.

"Um…be right down, tousan!" Sakura replied, shooting Kero a glare. "Fine. But I'm bringing them up here. Then we'll find out how dangerous she is together."

Kero rolled his eyes. "She's probably no more dangerous than you are, Sakura."

* * * * *

Syaoran was not obsessed. At least, that's what he told himself to rationalize the search, anyway. He felt it (the search) was very necessary, and constantly recalled the reasons to memory, just so he didn't lose focus:

Sakura had sensed something from the girl. And Sakura was no expert, so chances were if she sensed something, it wasn't exactly hiding itself.

Somehow, the girl had known his name, and he had known hers…although he was positive they'd never met before.

The girl (or someone who looked an awful lot like her) had sealed The Silent. Whether it was her or not, the person at the museum was definitely a CardCaptor, and that alone was reason enough for the search.

The girl was apparently Tomoyo's cousin. That by itself meant virtually nothing, but frankly, being a friend or relative of Sakura's automatically made anyone a candidate for magical powers, and Tomoyo was her best friend.

So far, the search hadn't been very successful. But then, Syaoran hadn't really expected a ton of information on a strange girl in a sailor fuku. It just wasn't the type of thing people saw everyday.

And then, as he clicked on an unassuming link and was flooded with images of pretty girls in sailor fukus, Syaoran realized that last assumption had been very, very wrong…

* * * * *

"He's very cute, Sakura-chan, but what exactly is he?"

Sakura blinked and stared at Kero, who was half-hidden in Hotaru's arms. "Um…I like to think of him as my little beastie," she said at least, resisting the urge to laugh.

Tomoyo had to cover her mouth to hold in her snickers.

Kero shuddered slightly in rage, but Hotaru didn't seem to notice.

"Anyway, I don't think Tomoyo would want one of these," Sakura went on, plucking Kero out of Hotaru's hands. "I mean, it's so OLD and BORING and SILLY now. It just LOOKS like it would FALL ASLEEP on the JOB…"

This time, Kero let out a muffled squeak as he attempted to bite Sakura's thumb.

Tomoyo nearly fell off the bed from giggling so much.

"Did I miss something?" Hotaru asked slowly.

"Nothing, Hotaru-chan. Tomoyo's just being silly."

Hotaru suddenly looked past Sakura. "Where…did you get that?" she asked.

Sakura looked in the direction that Hotaru was pointing. "Oh! I guess you haven't seen this." She picked up the doll in her image and held it out. "Tomoyo made it for me a few years ago."

Hotaru stared at the doll, then at Sakura. "It's very well done, juumai. I didn't know you were this good."

Tomoyo blushed. "It's not THAT good. The limbs are a little plump, and for months Sakura thought I was insulting her weight problem."

"WHAT weight problem?!" Sakura asked heatedly.

"I'm kidding, Sakura-chan! Honest!"

"You KNOW I'm sensitive about that, Tomoyo-chan!"

Hotaru looked at the doll again. "Well, now that your cheeks are all flushed like that, you really do look a lot like the doll."

Sakura glared at her and forced the red out of her cheeks. "So you think I'm fat, too?"

"There's no safe way to answer that, juushi," Tomoyo muttered under her breath.

* * * * *

Syaoran swallowed his pride and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, Meiling answered the door. "Ohaiyo, Syaoran!" she said, smiling.

"Meiling, I need your help. It's very important."

"Sure! Come in!" Without waiting for a reply, she dragged him into the house. "What is it?"

Syaoran looked very nervous. "I need you to tell me everything you know about Sailor Senshi."

He was not quite sure what kind of answer to expect. Certainly, he did not expect Meiling's eyes to turn into huge stars.

"Um…Meiling?"

"The Sailor Senshi are the toughest and prettiest heroes EVER! Jupiter's my favorite, and she-"

"Yes, that's very nice, but what do you know about the one who wears violet?"

"Nani? Oh, that's Saturn, the Senshi of Silence, Death, and Destruction. Or was it Rebirth…Syaoran? Where'd you go?!"

* * * * *

"How about this one, juumai?" Hotaru suggested, pointing at a soft, smiling teddy bear.

"No…I want something different," Tomoyo said. "But I don't know what…"

"What about this one?" Sakura asked, holding up a warrior elf with a sword. "The tag says he's supposed to protect you from bad dreams."

Tomoyo stared at the elf's green robes. "He looks a lot like Syaoran-kun. Are you sure you don't want him for yourself, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura turned bright red and shook her head. "No, no, NO! This is for YOU, Tomoyo-chan!"

"Well…okay. Arigato, Sakura-chan!"

"Who is Syaoran?" Hotaru whispered.

"A friend of ours…especially of Sakura," Tomoyo whispered back. "But don't tell her I said that!"

Hotaru nodded and turned around, only to bump into someone. "Oh, gomen nasai, I didn't…"

Syaoran stared back at her, his face red from running.

"Ohaiyo, Syaoran-kun! Did you come here to get something for Meiling?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yes," he agreed after a moment. "I thought I might get her…a Sailor Senshi." His gaze never left Hotaru.

"Oh, really?" Sakura asked. "I hear they're very popular right now."

"Yes. One might even think they were real." Syaoran was still staring at Hotaru.

"That's right, you haven't met Hotaru yet!" Tomoyo said, placing her hands on Hotaru's shoulders. "Juushi, this is Syaoran."

"Then…you're Daidouji's cousin?" Syaoran asked, looking as if he'd expected it.

Hotaru nodded. "And you're Sakura's friend?"

Syaoran blushed very slightly. "We're more like partners," he said without thinking.

"Partners?" Hotaru repeated. "What an interesting way to describe her…"

Both Sakura and Syaoran turned bright red.

"Anyway," Syaoran muttered, the red fading from his cheeks, "Meiling wanted a Jupiter doll."

"You don't have the slightest idea which one that is, do you?" Tomoyo asked with a grin.

"Of course not. I didn't even know what a Sailor Senshi was until today."

"Well…I'm sure Sakura would be HAPPY to help you find one."

"Nani? I would?" Sakura asked, blinking slowly.

"Yes, you WOULD," Tomoyo insisted, pushing her towards Syaoran. "Hotaru and I got what we came for. Right, juushi?"

Hotaru nodded, a knowing smile on her face. "Yes. Have fun, you two."

Before Sakura could protest, both girls had vanished.

"Actually, I do need to talk to you," Syaoran said, walking further down the aisle.

"About a Card?" Sakura whispered into his head.

Syaoran smiled approvingly. She'd been practicing. "More like a CardCaptor. I'm convinced it was Sailor Saturn that we saw last night."

"I thought that's why you kept mentioning Senshi. Were you trying to tell me that by looking at Hotaru?"

Syaoran frowned. "No, I was looking at her because I think she IS Sailor Saturn."

"Hotaru? I thought it might be possible, but I wasn't sure. But if you think so, too, then maybe…"

"There is a way we can find out," Syaoran went on. "Try to stay with her and Daidouji. The next time you sense a Clow Card, watch how she reacts."

"What about you?" Sakura asked.

"I'll be watching her, too. But hopefully, she won't know that."

"You're going to spy on her…?"

"Sakura, we don't know why she wants the Cards. She might even be an evil sorceress. We can't take that chance."

"Well…you'll be careful, won't you?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran blinked and looked at her. "What?"

"We know she's got The Silent…but she probably has more. Maybe even more than I do."

"I'm not exactly powerless, Sakura."

"I know that, Syaoran. But I'd be so upset if something bad happened to you…"

Syaoran started to say something, then froze. He saw a similar expression on Sakura's face. "Parking lot."

She nodded, and they both ran out of the toy store, the Jupiter doll forgotten.

* * * * *

It was the one capture that Tomoyo had little or no interest in catching on tape. Mainly because she was right in the middle of it.

The walls of flame had sprung up everywhere, and she'd been separated from Hotaru. The only thing she could do now was wait for Sakura and/or Syaoran to show up and save her.

But they were certainly taking their sweet time with it.

Tomoyo happened to look up and see what appeared to be an angel. And when she realized the angel was on fire, she knew that The Firey Card had taken a personal interest in her. Why, she wasn't sure, but never had she wished to be more unpopular.

A bright beam of light came out of nowhere and tore through one of Firey's wings. She snarled in pain and flew away, chased off by what appeared to be a large firefly. Only fireflies didn't come out during the day.

A second figure with wings flew overhead, but it was Sakura on her wand. "Tomoyo-chan, are you okay?!" she shouted, swooping down beside her.

"Just a little scared," Tomoyo replied, climbing on behind her. "What was the Card you used to chase Firey away?'

Sakura stared at her. "What Card? I've only used Fly to come get you, and Sleep on the crowd."

Tomoyo looked down, not surprised to see Syaoran putting out the flames with strong jets of water from his sword.

It was another ten minutes before they found The Firey, lying on the roof of the mall. She'd been tied up with some strange-looking violet rope that didn't seem to burn. There were several large holes in her right wing.

"Who did this?" Sakura whispered.

"The Shot Card," Li muttered, frowning. "You don't have that one, Sakura."

"No, I don't," she agreed. "Tomoyo-chan, where's Hotaru?"

"We got separated. Didn't you save her first?" Tomoyo asked, panic in her tone.

"We…didn't find her," Sakura replied, looking worried.

"Oh no…juushi, no," Tomoyo whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Found her," Syaoran said suddenly, peering over the edge of the roof.

Hotaru was lying on the sidewalk. Apparently, the heat from the flames had caused her to faint.

"She's always been very sickly," Tomoyo said later on. "And she used to have fainting spells all the time."

Syaoran didn't know if that was true or not, but he knew for certain that Sailor Saturn had chased down Firey.

* * * * *

Hotaru woke up in her own bed. That was a big relief, as she remembered passing out back at the mall.

She was only slightly surprised to see Tomoyo curled up next to her.

Hotaru smiled and brushed a strand of hair away from her cousin's face. "I'm sorry for all this, juumai," she whispered, "but I'm only trying to keep you safe." Silently, she slipped out of bed and walked over to the window.

"I hear there's been an earthquake warning downtown," a voice whispered in her ear. "Be careful, aijou."

"Of course, kenja."

* * * * *

"New plan?" Sakura asked quietly.

Syaoran swallowed noisily. "I think so."

"Okay. Your turn."

"What?!"

"Well, mine didn't work!"

"I don't HAVE one yet!"

"Then why'd you agree to a new plan?!"

"I thought you had another!"

Sakura sighed in frustration. "Well, we can't just sit here!"

"Fine. Then you go, and I'll back you up like always."

"I think I liked you better when you were braver," Sakura muttered.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing! Let's go!"

"Let's not," said a voice behind them.

Sakura and Syaoran spun around to see the strangely dressed girl from the museum staring at them.

"Sailor Saturn?" Syaoran asked.

The girl said nothing, but her eyes drifted to Sakura. "You have The Freeze?"

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Yes, but how-"

"Not now. When I signal you, use it."

"Wait," Syaoran said. "Who do you think you are?"

"I think," Sailor Saturn replied, "that I'm the only one that realizes how powerful The Earth is. I also think we should move…NOW!"

The ground beneath them split open, even as boulders came raining down upon them. Sakura and Syaoran both dove away, but Sailor Saturn leaped at the dragon-like rock formation towering over them.

"What's she planning to do without any weapons?!" Sakura asked.

"I guess we'll find out," Syaoran muttered.

As Saturn drew closer to the rock dragon, the Silence Glaive materialized in her right hand, while a Card appeared in her left. "Sword, guide my hands!" she shouted, raising the Glaive over her head.

Sakura expected to see a sword at the very least…but there was none.

Instead, the Glaive took on a silver glow as Saturn screamed in rage and brought the weapon down with uncanny accuracy.

For a split second, nothing happened.

Then the mighty rock dragon split into two perfect halves and crumbled as it hit the ground.

"Now, Sakura!" Saturn shouted.

"Um…right!" Sakura pulled out The Freeze and struck it with her wand. "Freeze Card, release and dispel!"

"Snow, unleash and entrap!"

The combined power of the two Cards instantly covered The Earth in a thick blanket of snow and ice.

And then Syaoran realized something. "Who's going to seal it?"

Saturn lowered her Silence Glaive. "This capture is yours, Sakura."

"Oh. Um…thanks?" Sakura said slowly.

"You're welcome. But you would be foolish to count on my assistance a second time." The Snow materialized in her hand, and with that, Saturn faded into the darkness. "And do tell Keroberos he is also very welcome."

Sakura quickly sealed The Earth. "How'd she know about Kero? He didn't go to the museum with us."

"I guess we'll have to ask her," Syaoran muttered.

"You think she'd tell us?"

"No. I think we'll have to force it out of her."

Sakura sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

* * * * *

Hotaru was tackled the instant she stepped into her bedroom. Acting purely on instinct, the Silence Glaive appeared in her hand, and she raised it to strike.

"Juushi, don't you EVER do that to me again!" Tomoyo cried, pressing her face against her cousin's shoulder. "I was so worried something horrible had happened to you!"

Hotaru blinked in shock and quickly moved the weapon behind her back, trying to send it away before Tomoyo noticed. "I-I'm so sorry, juumai. I didn't mean to upset you. I just went for a walk."

"Hotaru, you can't just go walking around whenever you feel like it, especially not this late at night! It can be dangerous, and you don't-" Tomoyo's gaze finally landed on the Silence Glaive, and her jaw dropped. "Juushi…Hotaru…what IS that?!"

"I….I…can't…" Hotaru paused, realizing there was no way out of it.

"I'm waiting, Hotaru!"

Hotaru shook her head and backed away. "Juumai, please. I don't want to lie to you, but…you can't know. You just can't…"

Tomoyo stared at her cousin in disbelief. "Juushi, you could always trust me before."

"This…this is different. You…wouldn't understand."

"What I don't understand is why you can't trust me," Tomoyo whispered. "All I know is I can't trust you, if you won't tell me why you have that…thing with you."

Hotaru bit her lip, and then sighed. "Juumai…if it were anything else, you have to know I would tell you. But…just this once…I need you to trust me."

"Just tell me you're not hurting people with that."

"Of course not!" Hotaru answered at once.

Tomoyo sat down on the bed. "Are you…a CardCaptor?"

Hotaru's head snapped up. "How did you…?"

"Just a feeling. Come and sit with me, juushi."

Hotaru sat down beside her. "Juumai…I never wanted to lie to you, but you know I couldn't tell anyone."

"I know, Hotaru." Tomoyo squeezed her hand. "But next time, please tell me when you're going out."

"Okay," Hotaru said slowly, a little surprised at how easily her cousin was accepting this.

"Maybe I can even go with you next time."

"What?!" Hotaru cried. "You can't! It's dangerous, and you-"

Tomoyo pressed a finger to Hotaru's lips. "Do you really just expect me to sit here while you're out there? You should know me better than that, juushi."

"Tomoyo, please listen! If something were to happen, and I couldn't protect you…"

Quite suddenly, a figure emerged from the darkness and touched Tomoyo's shoulder. She instantly closed her eyes and fell into Hotaru's arms. "That was a little too close," he sighed, frowning.

"Kenja…what did you…?" Hotaru asked.

"She's only asleep, aijou. She won't remember you leaving tonight, or this conversation."

"But…are you sure that's wise?"

"Would you rather I didn't? As long as Tomoyo knows you're a CardCaptor, she'll insist on going with you and placing herself in danger."

Hotaru bit her lip. "All right. But I hate deceiving her like this."

"That is why you shall leave the deceiving to me," he replied. "Just worry about the remaining Cards."

* * * * *

Next Chapter: Saturn Cards Unite!

Sailor Saturn seems to be collecting only those Cards that begin with S. Will she take The Shadow from Sakura in battle? Or steal it as Hotaru? And what will Tomoyo have to say about that?

Vocab Lesson!

Arigato - thank you

Ohaiyo - hello

Nani - what

Senshi - soldier (Sailor Scouts are known as Sailor Senshi in Japan)

Gomen nasai - I'm very sorry