Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Card Captor Sakura - Altered World ❯ Sakura's Courage Test ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Card Captor Sakura - Altered World
Card Captor Sakura - Altered World

Notes: This fanfic will be S+S, and will deal with more mature concepts later on. Read at your own risk. I'm poor; don't sue. I don't own CCS at all.

I decided to stick this episode in, because there are obvious changes between Sakura and Syaoran's relationship.

Chapter 5: Sakura's Courage Test

"It's so hot…" said Cerberus, sitting on Sakura's desk, "And since no one's here, I can't turn on the air conditioner."
He began to fan himself with his left wing and then stopped, "Doesn't work. It just makes me feel hotter. I want go to the ocean too!"

Sakura dove in the sparkling water and swam. It was summer vacation and the whole class had gone to a summer camp located on the beach. She broke surface, and gasped for air. She was greeted by the sight of a rocky outcropping, containing a cave. Standing still in front of the cave was Syaoran, his gaze focused on it. He turned and looked at her. She blinked in confusion. He dove into the water.
"Sakura-chan!" a voice called away from a distance. She looked up and saw a group of figures on the beach, namely Chiharu, Rika, Naoko and Tomoyo.
"Sakura. Let's play beach volleyball!" Chiharu called again.
"Sea, sea, sea! I'm here! Let's play," Sakura said cheerfully as she arrived on shore, in front of her friends.

The ball landed into the water behind Sakura.
"Sorry," apologized Chiharu.
"It's okay. It's okay," said Sakura, as she was about to pick up the ball. A spout of water rushed beneath the ball. Sakura stood still, shocked and then sweatdropped when she realised it was actually Takashi holding the ball.
"You know, about beach volleyball... It started on the beaches of Hawaii a long time ago with coconuts," said Takashi with a free index finger pointed up, obviously telling tall tales again.
"With coconuts?" asked Sakura, being very gullible. Behind her, the group of girls made exasperated faces.
"And you know, coconuts are hard and heavy, right?"
"Yeah, hard and heavy," answered Sakura.
"I heard that beach volleyball caused numerous injuries," whispered Takashi as he leaned forward secretively to Sakura's right ear.
"Hoeeee," said Sakura, as she clasped both of her hands on her cheeks.
"It's a lie. A lie," said an extremely annoyed Chiharu from behind her.
"It's a lie?" questioned Sakura naively to Chiharu.
Chiharu sighed and dragged Takashi away.

"I'm sorry," repeated a buried Takashi as Chiharu continued to rebound a beach ball off his head.
"It seems that Li-kun is good at swimming," said Tomoyo from beside Sakura.
"Really," said Sakura turning around from Takashi and Chiharu to watch Syaoran swimming from a distance.
"He has been swimming about for a while. Could it be that he is doing distance swimming?"
"You know, about long distance swimming…" said Takashi popping in front of the duo.
"Okay. Okay," interrupted Chiharu as she pushed him back into the sand.
"Assemble," called the camp supervisor.
Chiharu pulled Takashi out of the sand and proceeded to drag him towards the supervisor.
"Long time ago in the Edo era, there was this samurai..." trailed Takashi as he was being dragged.
"Okay. Okay," said Chiharu, quickly cutting him off from another fib.
"You'd think that Chiharu-chan might have been able to cure his lying habit by now…" said Naoko.
"Some things will never change," said a smiling Rika.
"It is good that some things do not change," said Tomoyo looking in Sakura's direction.
"Huh?" said a confused Sakura.
"And there, holding up the honour of their house, the two samurai..."
"Okay. Okay."

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Sakura asked from her bunk bed. The girls were roomed together in a cabin. It was night, and they were all about to go to sleep.
"I think it is the courage test," answered Tomoyo.
"Oh yeah," said Sakura as her eyes contracted.
"In that cave," continued Tomoyo.
"The cave that we can see from the beach?" asked Sakura, remembering the cave she swam to earlier in the day.
"Yes," answered Tomoyo.
"Now that you mention the cave... Do you know this story? All of you..." said Naoko, about to start a horror story, a thing she loved so much. Sakura raised her hands to cover her ears. Her mouth started to tremble in fear. Unlike her friend, she had no love for such things.
"You know, a long time ago, a group of students... came here for a seaside school. The first day, they swam in the sea and caught fish at the beach. But, the next night, they played a courage test."
"Oh my... They had the same schedule as we do," said Tomoyo.
Sakura shut her eyes tight in fear.
"It seems that they played it in the middle of the cave. In the middle of the cave was a small pond with a bridge over it... That bridge led to a shrine in the middle of the pond. For the courage test, the students were to group in pairs, go to the shrine and leave a candle there. One of the groups went, and no matter how long the others waited, they never returned. The teachers and other students got worried, so they went to look, and there they found..."
Their cabin door opened and they screamed.
"What's wrong?" said their camp councillor.
"The door opened suddenly, so we were taken by surprise," said a nervous looking Tomoyo.
"Oh, sorry. It's time to shut off the lights though. Hurry and go to sleep."
"Okay," answered the girls in chorus.
As the group fell asleep, a wide-awake Sakura lay on her bed.
"I can't sleep..." she murmured and crawled out of her bed and walked out of the cabin.

"I can't fall asleep when I'm scared. Maybe if I take a walk, I'll be able to calm down," said Sakura, walking down some stairs leading to the beach, with her arms wrapped around her. Suddenly she felt an arm on her shoulder. She screamed and huddled to the ground, covering her eyes with her hands. She began to sob.
"What are you doing at a place like this?" said a familiar male voice.
Sakura looked up and behind her. She was greeted by the sight of Syaoran.
She gave a gasp of relief and said, "You surprised me."
"You surprised me too," said Syaoran in a slightly annoyed voice.

Sakura and Syaoran sat about a meter apart on the beach. There was only the sound of the waves rolling.
"You went over to that cave during the day, didn't you?" asked Sakura, breaking the silence.
"I sensed something strange. From within that cave," Syaoran said turning his gaze to the cliff.
"A Clow Card?" asked Sakura, slightly worried.
"No."
"Then, could it be a g...gh...gho..." stuttered Sakura as she covered her ears.
"Are you trying to say ghost? I can't tell what it is yet, but even just now, I sensed something strange from the cave."
"I think I just saw something..." he said as he noticed a flicker from the cave.
"Stop it!!!" screamed Sakura as she clamped her eyes shut. Syaoran quickly raised his hands to cover his ears to block out the noise.
"Let's talk about something else. Okay? Okay?" pleaded Sakura as she clamped onto his arm.
"You're the one who asked," said Syaoran, trying to detach his arm.

"Li, you came from Hong Kong, didn't you?"
"Yeah," answered Syaoran nonchalantly.
"With your whole family?"
"No," he said softly.
"Just by yourself?"
"Yeah."
"Aren't you lonely?"
"I'm used to it," said Syaoran as his expression turned slightly dark.
"Used to it?"
Syaoran blinked and then realised he hadn't meant to reveal so much about himself. He quickly made his expression neutral and stood up.
"I'm going to sleep," he announced and ran towards the cabins.
"Wait! Li-kun!"

"If you could not fall asleep, you should have woken me up," said Tomoyo.
"I would feel bad. And anyway, I talked to Li-kun. He walked me back to the cabin."
Sakura got up from her lying position on the grass. She saw a flicker from the cave, far away. She brought her hands to her eyes and rubbed them.
"Is there something wrong?" asked Tomoyo.
"No, it's nothing."

It was a clear night. A group of teenagers were gathered outside a cave, holding candles.
"The much anticipated courage test is about to start," said a camp councillor.
Sakura gave a groan of disappointment.
"Deep inside here is a small pond. After you cross the bridge at the pond, you will see a shrine. You will then leave your candle there.
"It's the same as Naoko's story," said Sakura, a bit scared.
"It's quite a common story," reassured Tomoyo.
"Naoko seems to be having fun," said Sakura, noticing Naoko's pleased grin.
"Within your group, make smaller groups of two or three. Inside the cave is a one-way path, which leads all the way to the shrine. There is no need to worry about getting lost. After you leave your candle, you come back here at once."
Tomoyo grasped Sakura's hand. Sakura looked back at her uneasily.
"Let's start! The first group."
Pairs and trios slowly entered the cave by the camp councillor's cue. Slowly the amount of people in front of Sakura and Tomoyo depleted, leaving only Naoko, Chiharu, and Rika.
"It's our turn soon!" said a shivering Sakura, completely terrified.
"It'll be okay," comforted Tomoyo.
"The scarier, the better!" said Naoko cheerfully in front of Sakura.
"Somehow, Kinomoto looks pretty pale," said Takashi from behind them.
"Are you scared?" asked Syaoran from behind her.
"Are you going to be okay?" asked Takashi full of concern.
"Next. Next. Next. We're next!" cried out Sakura, rapidly pulling on Tomoyo's arm.
"It'll be fine. It'll be okay," said Tomoyo as she continued to comfort her.
Tomoyo dragged a completely reluctant Sakura into the cave with her.
"I wonder if Kinomoto will be all right," speculated Takashi.
Syaoran watched the scene with an expression of concern.

Sakura walked with Tomoyo through the cave, whimpering in fear. She closed her eyes and followed Tomoyo. She felt Tomoyo stop and she opened her eyes. In front of them was a wooden bridge.
"This is strange, don't you think? I wonder why we did not see anyone going back. There is only one path in the cave. It is strange that we have not met a single person returning after leaving their candle," said Tomoyo in a slightly worried tone.
"It's the same as Naoko-chan's story!" Sakura said and her eyes began to brim with tears. She grabbed onto Tomoyo. Further down the cave, she heard echoes of screams.
"Naoko-chan! Naoko-chan!" a voice cried faintly.
"That is Chiharu's voice. Maybe something happened?" said Sakura, worried and scared.
"Let's find out," said Tomoyo. Sakura closed her eyes together and tried to gather courage. She nodded. The pair ran down the bridge. They saw Chiharu and a crying Rika at the end of it.
"What happened?" asked Tomoyo.
"Naoko disappeared!" answered a distressed Chiharu.
"What do you mean by disappeared?!" exclaimed Sakura.
"I don't know, but she disappeared! Right in front of my eyes. Right, Rika-chan?"
Rika began to fade until there was nothing left where she was standing.
"It's the same! Naoko-chan disappeared just like that!" cried Chiharu as she faded completely away by the end of her sentence.
"It is the same as Naoko's story!" yelled Sakura in terror.
"Let us go back and tell the others," said Tomoyo.

They ran across the bridge until Sakura realised that Tomoyo was no longer holding her hand. She looked backwards to see the candle Tomoyo was holding fall to the ground. The bridge went aflame. Syaoran ran up from behind her, as Sakura watched the bridge being consumed by the flame.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Sakura turned around with tears in her eyes.
"Li-kun! Tomoyo and everybody!" she said hysterically.
"They disappeared? Yamazaki was with me, and he disappeared too," said Syaoran calmly.
"Is it a ghost? A ghost erased Tomoyo and the others?" continued Sakura frantically.
"That's not it. Calm down and sense it yourself," ordered Syaoran, roughening his voice slightly.
She wiped away her tears and closed her eyes to concentrate.
"It's a Clow Card!" she said finally. He nodded, confirming her.
Syaoran took out his Rashinban and chanted. A light streamed from it and pointed to a cabinet.
"Over there?" asked Sakura.
"Yeah. The problem is how do we get close to it," said Syaoran, looking down at the completely demolished bridge.
"Can't we use Fly?"
"It's better to get close as quietly as we can. So that the card doesn't notice us," explained Syaoran.
"Let me try. Envelop me and take me to that land. Float"
A glowing sphere completely encased them, and slowly headed across the water that was previously crossed by using the bridge.
"Because we don't know our opponent's identity, we must find its true form. I can't find its exact location with my compass."
They landed and the sphere reverted into a card.
"It worked," Syaoran said and then he faded partially.
"Li-kun!"
Syaoran brought up his transparent hand to his vision. He looked shocked for a moment and began to sweat.
"You're disappearing too!"
"Calm down! The card is acting, so you should be able to find its location. Concentrate!" he said sharply. He looked down at her completely distraught face and became angry. "Is it okay for everyone to disappear like this!" he yelled at her.
"No!" Sakura shouted, and clutched her staff in front of her, eyes closed.
"Over there!" she said and ran to the cabinet. She pulled it open and a blue aura seemed to seep out.
"Now!" commanded Syaoran.
"Return to thy form which thou should be! Clow Card!"
Sakura turned around to see a solid Syaoran. She held up the card to him.
"It's the card, Erase. So that's why it made everyone disappear," said Syaoran informatively.
"Here."
Syaoran looked at her in confusion.
"This is yours."
Syaoran blinked several times at the card.
"If you were not around, I'd just be crying and wouldn't be able to do anything," said Sakura softly.
Syaoran closed his eyes and said, "That is yours."
He turned around and walked away from her.
"Li-kun…" she said smiling slightly. She blinked in confusion as he turned around and walked back to her.
"Bring out Float."

Syaoran stood solitarily on the beach. He watched the waves. Sakura approached him from behind. She had seen another side to Syaoran these few days. Not unfriendly and angry. Kind, supportive and somewhat lonely.
"Why doesn't anyone remember anything, Li-kun?"
"Erase also wiped away their memory."
"I see. Thank you for yesterday," said Sakura smilingly.
His eye flickered backwards toward her.
"It doesn't mean that I approve of you."
Sakura's smile fell. She was sure that they could be friends after what they been through.
"Sakura-chan! Li-kun! Do you want to play beach volleyball?" called Chiharu, waving them over.
Sakura began to run over them and then stopped. She ran back to Syaoran. She was determined to be friends with him no matter what he said. She stood in front of him and smiled.
"Do you want to join us?"
Syaoran was completely caught off guard at the sudden sight of Sakura in her bathing suit in front of him. He took a step backwards, tripped, and fell on his bottom."Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. She bent down to look at him, giving him a good view of her chest. He froze and flushed crimson.
"Is it heat stroke?" she asked, noticing his red face. She leaned closer to feel his forehead, giving him better view.
He shook his head furiously and scrambled off the sand, away from her. There was a blur from where he had lain to the cabins.



Author's Notes:
LOL! Makulit… there is no way I'm going to describe what Sakura was wearing. I'm already pretty embarrassed about my "kitty cat" line. I think my face would rival Syaoran's if I did write a description.
Err… Empress Sarah … I'm not going to do 70 chapters, I mean that CCS has 70 episodes and I'm going to skip some of them that I feel are way too filler but I am going to try to follow the plot line. So far I've skipped 12 episodes. I plan to do about 20-30 chapters (including the movies), or whatever that gives a good taste of CCS, yet not as much fillers. (I have a feeling that I'm going to write a lot of chapters in the Sakura Card season.)
My brain is going haywire planning this story, I have no idea which episodes I should keep and other plot ideas…
As for this chapter… I did a similar thing back in grade 6. I had to walk up a lighthouse where mysteriously, a pool of blood was found on one of the steps with the lighthouse keepers' key. The body was never found. I didn't step on that step. ^ ^;;;
Next time: More on Syaoran's problem. (will be like interlude) Well if my plan goes through…
March 25, 2001, Christine Chan aka Kinomoto Sakura of Ffnet