Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ A Boy, a Girl, and a Halloween Party ❯ It Begins ( Chapter 7 )

:hides head in sand: remember me? I'm afraid to say anything more because you'll all just get pissed. hey look, notice how there's no endless excuses? ok, I'll shut up and begin.

Recap: for those of you who've long since forgotten what in the world this story was about in the first place... here goes:: Tomoyo threw a Halloween Party- s'posed to be super scary, with 'everyone' invited. Sakura is wandering the 'maze' Tomoyo had set up prior to the actual party. Without further ado....

A Boy, a Girl, and a Halloween Party

~BabySmurf~

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(disclaimer- ccs, all affiliated characters and… stuff… belong to someone else entirely. that means not me. this particular story line does however belong to me. :p it counts for something.)

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The dark hallway was no longer silent; heavy breathing interrupted the uncanny silence. The swish of fabric against the hardwood floor punctuated each cautious footstep. This hallway was more harshly lighted than the one she had previously been in, Sakura noted. The old-fashioned torches threw ghastly shadows at the walls and floors, the flickering shapes sending shivers running down her back.

In this crazy house, dark, gloomy hallways followed brightly-lit corridors. The twisted corridors seemed to jump up and switch places every time she turned her back. Sakura couldn't even guess how much time she'd already spent wandering the endless maze of hallways. Sakura couldn't believe that Tomoyo hadn't burrowed underground to extend this wretched maze even further. Helplessly lost, Sakura sighed in despair and continued walking.

A shrill "AIEEEE!" echoed down the hallway as she walked straight into an invisible cobweb. "Oooh, when i find Tomoyo..." she muttered as she glanced around nervously, although Sakura's unfinished threat didn't sound to convincing considering the definite squeak in her voice.

After a brief dash through the initial entrance, Sakura had slowed down and attempted to get herself in a holiday mood. She would stay calm, as any mature young woman would, and find Tomoyo in an orderly fashion, by systematically searching one floor at a time. What she'd do when she'd found Tomoyo, however, would be an entirely different story. Of course as all plans do, Sakura's had predictably fallen to pieces after a run-in with a flock of bats that she could have sworn appeared directly out of a wall, followed by a hallway that… thought out loud...

And as a finishing touch the plan had lost all hope of being reinstated when a rusting suit of armor had turned her way with a "Greetings to you, Lady." Sakura had bolted up the nearest flight of steps, in her haste nearly trampling 2 fellow party-goers whom Sakura realized, after further consideration, probably could have helped her on her way.

Now randomly wandering up and down these frightening paths, Sakura began to panic-- the fact that she knew she was panicking only causing her to panic even more. She was a cardcaptor, and there was no room in that business for people who panicked; she'd learned that soon enough... So why was she? Sakura grimaced as she passed by a window framing the full moon. Yes, that probably had something to do with it. The story Touya had shared with her earlier in the day had set her nerves on edge, and the details were still fresh in her mind.

Considering this as she paced up another dark hall her wild imagination set to work... that horrible night so long ago had been just like this one... late in October, a dark night... Okay, so she wasn't actually outside, but the halls were so dimly lit she might as well have been.

Sakura began to walk faster, attempting to push those thoughts from her mind. ... ... ... And she was alone, just as Touya had been. Sakura couldn't help herself. She began running blindly, chasing invisible shadows, then running from them in turn. She turned abruptly down another hallway, this one surprisingly bright. Was that someone up ahead at the end of the hall? Sakura stopped dead, not moving, not speaking; to scared to think whether or not it'd be safe to meet him. Still, her heavy breathing must have been loud enough to alert the person of her presence. He turned slowly, still a ways away from Sakura, to discover her frozen in her tracks still contemplating if she should run away or join the mysterious figure.

Not yet sure if she was looking at a fellow party goes or a spook taking part in the festivities, she took a risk. "Can you help me find the party?" she called out, the words swallowed by the stifling silence.

Sakura could see the person ahead of her grin, and she sighed in relief. Finally, this nightmare was ending! With a smile wider than her face she raced to join the person ahead, which she could now identify as just a boy, not some crazy ghoul. Only a few feet (or seconds) later, Sakura forgot she was wearing a dress-- she tripped over the many layers of fabric she was wearing and fell forward, throwing her arms out to brace herself only just in time. Sakura squeaked as she fell... and heard a loud rip. Gasping and completely forgetting about the boy in front of her, Sakura grabbed at the folds of fabric surrounding her in search of the imperfection.

There... a small tear in the front Oh, Tomoyo would be so upset! ... Sakura couldn't help thinking a small, 'serves her right,' which she scolded herself for immediately after thinking it. Holding the tiny slit closed, Sakura stood up and glanced around. The hallway was empty. Despair clung to her now, watching as she ran to the end of the hallway, then back again, trying all the doors, desperately trying to find that silly boy. "No!" Sakura moaned slumping against the last locked door. "I'll never make it back..."

She sat dejectedly on the floor feeling nothing but sorrow for herself, for a few moments, when something swatted her sharply on the head. She started and her green eyes jerked open wide... to stare right into a mirror she hadn't noticed (perhaps because it hadn't been there...) before. She saw not Sakura, Cardcaptor extraordinaire, but a sad little girl feeling sorry for herself and doing nothing to improve her own situation. How very pathetic. What was she doing here?!? This was ridiculous! 'Pull yourself together girl!' she scolded herself, then blushed to think, 'What would Syaoran think if he saw you like that!... Well most likely he'd scoop her up in his arms and hold her tell she was all better... Something that would surely be more enjoyable than this, save for the part of having Syaoran think she was nothing but a complete wimp. Well, there was certainly very little chance Syaoran would just come waltzing up the hallway, to do all the hard stuff for her- but who says she couldn't' do it herself! That's right... she'd show 'em all! No haunted house was gonna stop Sakura! Finding herself grinning, and not nearly so scared, Sakura stood up with the girl in the mirror. Determination shined in both their faces. She could do it!

With renewed confidence, Sakura tried the last door. The heavy door swung open easily, startling Sakura, and already teasing her newfound nerve. Fog filled the room from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, thought she certainly couldn't see them from here. Sakura couldn't even tell what sort of room it was, the white clouds were so thick.

Maybe this wasn't the best place to test her recently acquired courage... Sakura turned away, already beginning to close the door. In a blink something whooshed past her and wrapped around her waist. Without time to even gasp the cardcaptor was jerked into the foggy room, the force knocking the wind out of her and dropping her harshly on the ground. For a moment she just sat still and silent on the cold stone floor panting for breath. Sakura didn't dare open her eyes, and her heart was too busy drumming a crazy pattern in her ears to boost her confidence. Before she could convince her limbs to start moving again she heard the door slam shut. Oh this was good.

Sakura tried to throttle her fear and think this through. There was only one way out of this room - the door... all she had to do was find it. Willing her eyes to open to search out the exit, Sakura gripped the only thing she could get her hands on, her dress, all the tighter. Unfortunately her eyesight could do little for her now... an almost comforting but decidedly blinding fog enveloped her. The death grip Sakura had on her dress loosed a bit then tightened again. Sakura couldn't seem to decide if the fog was doing a favor by hiding her from whatever else was in the room, or just the opposite by hiding whatever else was in the room from Sakura. Either way, she couldn't see anything further then a foot in front of her. So whatever the case was, it'd be best to get out of that room as fast as possible, she thought standing up

Sakura circled slowly, looking for any sort of landmark visible from the fog. Nothing. Ok, so it was definitely some very thick fog. No matter, she'd just have to feel her way out. Silently proud of herself for staying so calm and reasonable, but still holding her breath she took a hesitant step forward. The fog seemed to muffle her own footsteps; all she could hear was her own heavy breathing...

But... she wasn't breathing heavily. Sakura stopped in her tracks, her eyes squeezed closed once again, and held her breath. Yep, there was definitely some one, or something in this room with her. 'Stay calm!' Sakura tried to force her hands from shaking for fear she'd tear her dress further. The words in that first poem Tomoyo had placed at the entranceway echoed in her mind: 'Be quick- the longer you spend in the maze, the hungrier THEY will get'

A tiny sliver of courage hiding somewhere in Sakura (or was it just common sense?) sent Sakura's feet moving. Not daring to run when she couldn't see anything, she trotted backwards a few steps. The breathing just grew louder, and Sakura jerked herself forward instead. Icy sweat dappled her skin. She swallowed hard, and thrust out her arms in hopeless last-chance search for the door. The breathing seemed to be surrounding her on all sides. Sakura turned wildly about, eyes wide, but all was pitch black. A whimper escaped Sakura, and having yet no luck finding... anything, she hurriedly began walking forward. Surely if she could find a wall, she'd be able to feel her way out one way or the other.

She couldn't find a wall. Instead, she stumbled into something wet and let out a pent-up shriek. Warm liquid flew in all directions as the now completely terrified girl panicked, kicking her way away from anything she deemed unnatural (pretty much everything). Trying to keep her balanced as she danced out of the wetness, her dainty shoes slipped and Sakura was sent backwards with a rush. Overwhelmed and barely able to keep herself from having a heart attack, she gave up on trying to brace herself against the hard floor. A tiny voice somewhere in the back of Sakura's head grinned; at least knocked out cold she wouldn't be feeling so scared she thought her she might explode out of her skin. But the relief promised from the hard ground never came, and curiously enough, Sakura found herself not unconscious on the cold wet ground, but being held aloft quite comfortably... by a thick pair of hairy arms.

She screeched and once more began thrashing about. Tears spilled recklessly out of Sakura's eyes as she threw herself at whatever was holding her captive. Her desperate wails drowned out all other noises. Sakura couldn't even think straight, all she knew was that she was surely going to die some horrible death at the hands of some monstrous creature. She couldn't even feel anymore, her emotions had been so ravaged that night; tossed back and forth from fright to relief to fright to relief. So distraught and distracted was she that Sakura didn't understand why she wasn't being shredded to pieces or tortured to death. She didn't understand the cautious words being spoken from behind. Feeling completely miserable and helpless, even a bit disgusted with herself for being so utterly helpless, Sakura blacked out, succumbing herself to whatever fate lay in store for her.

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Tomoyo laughed with her friends and eyed the entrance door one more time. She'd decided that around 8:45, almost an hour after the party had started, and 10 minutes from now, to officially open the doors to pull in any guests still struggling to find the party. 'Including Sakura!' Tomoyo thought distractedly. She idly wondered if Sakura was merely having an exceptionally hard time with the maze or just much more late than usual. Either way, she should've been here by now. Tomoyo tried not to feel irritated at her sometimes helplessly genki friend and instead concentrated on getting a few more clips of the band members currently taking a break from their excellent music making to flirt shamelessly with any and all young ladies nearby, including Chiharu, who was at the moment without her faithful boyfriend. Tomoyo smirked to herself at the cuteness of the situation, wondering also where Yamazaki had gotten off to.

At the moment, the 4 band mates were taking advantage of Yamazaki's prolonged absence to compliment Chiharu on her 'bodacious' costume. She politely turned down their various offers but laughed along with the rest of the band's growing (and dominantly female) crowd. Tomoyo's grin grew--surely the boys would extend the same welcome to Sakura, quite possibly among the more beautiful of the guests. The thought of Sakura nagged at her again. Maybe she's just... check on her.

Tomoyo turned around, pulling her camera away from the rousing action, and began walking to the small side room hidden by large black curtains that were scattered about the large 'ballroom.' The whole room had a mostly dark look at the moment. Candelabras placed every few feet lit the large perimeter of the room, and larger ones hanging from the ceiling cast a soft glow on the rest of the room. More lights were trained on the band's stage, and others not yet lit were waiting for later.

To the left of the initial entrance was the stage for the band, curiously named, Chimerical. A crowd of party goers surrounded the stage, even though the band was taking a break. The crowd was so large, in fact, that it trailed to the corner diagonal to it, where couches and chairs were strategically placed for those who'd prefer to 'sit quietly' and enjoy a 'friendly chat'. A few couples cuddled here or there, but most were talking and laughing animatedly. Still more people were crowded around the tables of food, snacks and more that were to the left of the entrance, opposite the stage. Tomoyo's discreet surveillance room was concealed somewhere along the left wall. The final corner was occupied by various games; the usual bobbing for apples and pin the whatnot on the figure, but what made it the most populated place besides Chimerical's stage area was the extensive wrap around balcony. There were of course, large windows set in alcoves complete with window seats along the back wall, but the balcony was obviously a mini garden.

The enthusiastic hostess had just reached the door to her surveillance room when she heard her name called. With a smile on her face she turned around. It was surprisingly Syaoran, heading towards her looking pretty preoccupied. Tomoyo's smile grew as she eyed him, "Why hello Li, you're looking marvelous-- if I do say so myself..."

He managed a sheepish grin; "Yeah, you really did a great job on the costume Tomoyo..." he trailed off. The boy obviously had something else on the mind.

Tomoyo decided to tease him. It was so fun to! It was easier for Tomoyo to see how Syaoran had changed, from that snobby brat way back when they were capturing cards, to the boy who cared so much for his friends. Well, in particular, one certain female friend, but still... he cared. "Having fun, Li? You look a little nervous?" Tomoyo hid a grin.

"Oh, no, no, It's ... great... you did a ... good job... on the party... and everything..." The half mask Syaoran was wearing hid his embarrassed blush. The tall boy was looking around expectantly, and didn't hear Tomyo's next words. "What?"

"Oh... nothing... " Li was much too distracted eyeing the crowd to pay much attention to her. His search through the partygoers apparently fruitless, he turned back to Tomoyo, who was in turn distracted by something at her waist. She was frowning slightly and examining what looked like a beeper, "Oh, dear..." she muttered. Forgetting Syaoran was even there, she turned immediately to the small door. She'd pulled back the heavy curtains hiding it and had her hand on the knob when Syaoran interrupted her.

"Hey, wait, I wanted to talk to you-- hey, is anything wrong?" her worried expression had him concerned.

"Probably not..." She opened the door, still frowning and walked inside. "Come on in." The small surveillance room glowed blue from all the television screens crowding the walls. Syaoran marveled at the dozens of screen showing every possible place in the mansion. Most were empty hallways, dark rooms etc, now that most of the guests had arrived, but a few remained animated. There was one guy conversing with a suit of armor, and a gaggle of girls hiding out in a bedroom, to name a few. Syaoran turned to Tomoyo again, who'd immediately headed over to a control board and pushed a small button. She spoke into a walkie-talkie and a speaker crackled to life.

An uncertain voice began, "Er-- I gotta problem here..."

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"... Ms Tomoyo," The large man in black mumbled into the walkie talkie. He eyed the pale girl lying on the ground and continued after the curt reply, "Well, uh, one of your guests stumbled in here, and i gave her the usual, just eh, she didn't take too keenly to it. I tried to calm her down but eh., she's well... unconscious right now--no serious damage," he paused, "...at least i don't think so," He stopped short for a moment, as more orders came from the transmitter, then continued "I'm in the 3rd hallway on the 2nd floor, room 13 if i remember right... ... yeah, the one with all the fog," he glanced down at the girl, as the woman on the other end spoke again, "Well, eh, it's pretty dark but, hold on, i gotta light... oh! well, she's a pretty little thing... got some sort of gown on, about 15, 16 years old, the prettiest brown hair you ever saw," he spoke softer and smiled at the unconscious girl until a voice different than the previous erupted from the walkie talkie--

"THAT'S SAKURA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER YOU CRAZY--" The man in the foggy room stared curiously at the walkie talkie as the male voice was abruptly cut off. Something muffled the voices on the other end of the receiver, but he could make out his bosses voice as well as the other's pretty clearly.

"Eh.. Ya there Miss?" he offered meekly. After a few more mufled seconds a breathless voice answered, "Yes I'm here, Well, eh, she'll come around soon enough, just put her in the hallwa-- Li Syaoran you come back here this minute, you can't just--"

"Miss?" A few more seconds passed and Tomyo's voice again crackled from the walkie-talkie.

"Sorry, yes, just put her out in the hallway, she'll come around soon enough, and even if she doesn't, I'm pretty sure someone will be around there shortly to see that all is well," she said exasperated.

"Sure thing Miss."

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Syaoran burst out the main doors, startling quite a few guests on his way and hurtled down the hallway. The only thought in his mind was that he must find Sakura. If she was hurt... oh he couldn't even think of the possibilities.

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No sooner had the black-clad staff member deposited Sakura gently to the floor of the hallway and slid back into his station then she stirred. Her eyes opened and closed for a second. Vaguely she remembered a boy... falling to the ground... had she passed out? She took a few deep breaths and sat up easily. Why had she passed out? She remembered fog.. and feeling frightened... Sakura shook her head. Perhaps it was best not to recall why she'd passed out, she thought nervously. She slowly got to her feet...everything stable... and with a shrug she numbly began walking again.

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Syaoran's footfalls pounded against the hard wood stairs and echoed around the atrium surrounding it. One thought pounded through him with each beat of his heart. To find Sakura... To keep Sakura safe...

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Sakura turned onto another hallway, this one illuminated by the moonlight pouring in from a row of windows. Her shadow repeatedly disappeared and reappeared as she passed each window, growing and shrinking, until she stopped short in front of one near the end of the hallway. Could she possibly get her bearing from the outside? Sakura searched the grounds below while a cool breeze caressed her face. She was on the 2nd floor, it looked, to the right of the entranceway facing the front lawn. The grounds looked empty at first glance, but if she stared hard enough, Sakura could just pick out men dressed in black placed here and there, probably as part of activities scheduled for later that evening.

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He was on the second floor now... he knew she was around somewhere, he raced up the first hallway, then the second. He grabbed a girl in a kitty costume he'd thought might be Sakura, managing to startle her quite badly, and moved on as soon as he spotted her golden hair. He didn't even hear her scream, as he darted away, so intent was he on his goal...

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A noise off to her left jerked Sakura's eyes from the view. She involuntarily whimpered, when the sound came again. A ghost? A monster? More talking armor? Swallowing hard and searching the folds of her dress for where she'd stuck her key of Clow, Sakura took a careful step forward. She jumped a foot in the air and toppled to the ground, all pretended courage lost, when something shrieked.

Pointedly keeping her eyes closed, Sakura picked herself up from where she'd fallen carefully. She slowly turned around, facing away from the awful piercing scream. She clenched her fists a few times and after a few seconds, she felt strong enough to open her eyes. She screamed.

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Syaoran charged down the hallway. He'd already been down quite a few already, with no sign of Sakura, but he wouldn't let himself panic. He turned down the final hallway, lined with windows and barreled right into a girl a little shorter than him. She let out a terrible shriek as they both toppled to the ground. Syaoran caught a flash of pink and brown as he landed roughly on top of the girl. He raised himself up a bit to look at her, praying it was Sakura and blinked. Wide, terrified, green eyes stared back at him. Relief flooded through Syaoran-- he'd found her! A smile broke his face and he grabbed Sakura in a hug made quite difficult considering their positions. She immediately let out a hair-curling shriek, and Syaroan turned crimson as he realized where exactly he was. He scrambled to his feet and hauled Sakura up with him, still grinning, too giddy with relief of finding her and happiness at seeing her to speak.

To Sakura that grin was the most frightening thing she'd seen that night. Here she was, scared out of her wits, and this huge masked man comes crashing into her... grabbing her... and grinning at her like some madman. He pulled her to her feet and she turned and ran.

Syaoran stumbled back when Sakura pushed him away and ran from him. Sakura ran from him. His mouth opened but he didn't say anything.... why? She'd looked terrified... was she scared of him? Syaoran's face fell. So that's how it was? He shook the thought from his mind; this was just confusing. Why would Sakura run from him, of all people? He didn't allow himself to think of the possibilities, just began running desperately after her. "Hey! Wait!"

Sakura was running as fast as she could, but she could hear he was still close on her heels. He was shouting at her to stop, but all she could hear was the pounding footfalls of herself and her pursuer. She took a hard right turn, still vainly trying to lose him, but after a few steps, she realized she'd cornered herself in a dead end.

Despair flooded her not for the first time that night. She was trapped all alone in this horrible house with this crazy guy who wanted who knew what. She slumped in despair for a moment and she heard his foot steps slowing too; he knew she was trapped.

Sakura straightened; there was no way she was going to give in this time. She turned around to face the man. His long black cape was swirling around him after their run. She couldn't even make out his eyes behind that black mask. He was blocking the exit, and he held his arms in front of her, as if expecting her to run into them like an old friend. He was talking but Sakura didn't hear a word he said. Instead she charged forward, trying to dodge past him, but he grabbed her arm and turned as he swung her around to face him. Immediately she was kicking and hitting with her free hand, still trying to get away. She managed a few good blows to his face before he at last managed to grab hold of her other arm. In the back of her mind Sakura registered a familiar voice, but she didn't know or care who was speaking.

Syaoran was still horribly confused, and becoming dizzy on to of it, but he wouldn't be satisfied letting her go without knowing why she'd run from him. He didn't even feel the blows she was raining on his shins and feet, just spoke calmly, trying to get her to settle down. She was still struggling valiantly against him, and thought his soft words didn't seem to be calming her, didn't stop speaking in hopes something would get through, "Sakura! Sakura! Calm down! It's just me! Stop.-"

Sakura's flailing legs had finally brought him down, and she fell with him. She landed atop him in a strange parady of the scene that had happened just minutes previously. Even then Sakura wouldn't stop; she continued pushing and clawing with all her strength. Somehow amidst the struggle, she managed to force the dark mask off his bruising face. In a few seconds Sakura caught sight of her 'captor's' face, and just as quickly stopped fighting him. Syaoran dropped back to the floor with a thud, as soon as she stopped fighting him. His eyes closed and he tried to catch his breath while she spoke.

As though she didn't dare believe what she saw, she near-crooned: "Syaroan?" Thoroughly winded with the effort of fighting the not-so-harmless teen, Syaoran only managed to open his eyes and nod. "Oh Thankgoodnessit's you!" Sakura gasped in delight and relief all at once. She practically collapsed on top of him, hugging him tight and began to ramble off apologies of how she was just so anxious and nervous and scared, and if she'd known it was him she never would have tried to beat him to a bloody pulp, and would he ever forgive her... and Syaoran just lied there and held her, his relief at knowing she was here safe and wasn't really scared to death of him blocking out the slightest bit of embarrassment he may have felt at having the girl he'd always dreamed of sprawled across him and holding him like she was afraid he'd disappear if she ever let go.

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[end chapter 8]

:explodes with smug expression: ok! that wasn't too bad for 8 months, dontcha think?!?! :] love to all of you that kept sending me hate mail to keep me motivated!! (er...) Keep it up in the future, or i'll never write anything again (gasp!) anyway, alls i gotta do next is proofread this mess and decide i'm satisfied, [done!]then i'll throw it up on the website. hoohooooooo! :throws miniparty at fiiiinally having completed this: now i just gotta write the next chapter! ^_______^()

keep reviewing! sorry for the wait! email me if you reeealy wanna list of all my excuses! (er, <<lame excuse to get somone to talk to me) pleeeeease review! i have this horrible feeling that i've lost my knack for writing after leaving my talent dormant for 8 months (>_<), or maybe it's just that i suck at action. eheh...

Lurb you allll! (<dedicated to christian and her sexy bandbuds!)

LiB(aby)S(murf)

PS::Is so proud of self:: yaaaay! I can't believe i did it! a few pieces of chocolate cake, Yatta on repeat, and story writing is a breeze!! ::throws jello confetti and annoys everyone with these nifty action colins::