Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Card Captor Sakura - Altered World ❯ Sakrua, Kero-chan, and the Mysterious Teacher ( Chapter 23 )

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

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

Notes: This fanfic is S+S, and has mature concepts. Read at your own risk. I'm poor; don't sue. I don't own CCS at all.

Chapter 20: Sakura, Kero-chan, and the Mysterious Teacher
Sakura stood on top of building near the Tokyo Tower at night. The full moon hung with the backdrop of the twinkling stars. The wind made her hair sway gently as she stared in front of her. A woman with long red hair raised an ancient bell, which purple ribbons hung from. Kaho stood on the opposing side with the bell held in her right hand, and the ribbons held in the other.

"Mizuki-sensei." said Sakura, now able to recognise the mysterious figure.

Another eye flashed open. It was amber in colour, and silver bangs fell around it.
Sakura saw a large white wing, high and erect. The feathers were swayed due to the wind. The figure wore clothing of white and purple, and its hair was the colour of silver. A strip of cloth hung over the figure's right shoulder and the collar was done traditional Chinese-styled.

"There is another person." said Sakura in surprise. Cerberus was now beside her, and the Clow Cards fluttered in the air.

"Who?" wondered Sakura, tightening her grip of her wand, as nameless Clow Cards fell past her. Sakura raised a gloved hand to grasp a few of the falling cards and the disappeared before she could make contact with one.

"The Clow Cards."

A bell raised in the air.

A woman with red hair, billowing in the wind.

A person in white and purple clothing, with long silver hair.

A red iris. Red bangs being swayed by the wind.

A yellow iris, with silver bangs falling over it.

Sakura and Cerberus, with the Clow Cards fluttering in the air.

A large white wing.

The moon shining brightly behind the tower.

"Who are you?"
*****
Sakura was sleeping peacefully under her covers. The small arm of her alarm clock was pointing to seven, and the long arm was almost at six. In a few seconds, her alarm clock began to ring. Sakura's hand felt the surface of her shelf for her alarm clock. The alarm clock was placed on her desk, to ensure that she would wake. Sakura grabbed a doll, a replication of her, instead of the alarm clock. After failing to shut off the "alarm", Sakura blearily looked at what she was holding. After focusing her vision, she looked at the doll in front of her. The alarm stopped suddenly.

"The alarm is over here," said a voice with an Osaka accent. Sakura turned her head towards her desk. Cerberus stood on the clock, his hands pressed against the bell. "Didn't you put it over on the desk so you wouldn't fall back asleep?"

"Oh, that's right!" cried Sakura, as she pushed her upper body up from the bed. Sakura placed her doll back onto the shelf and rose from her bed with a yawn.

"Geez," said Cerberus, as he watched Sakura drag herself around to do her morning routines. He turned to the doll and asked, "You've had this doll since before you woke me up, didn't you?"

"Yes," Sakura's muffled voice replied, as she struggled with a sweater, "About a week before I met you. Tomoyo made it for me for my birthday and getting into high school. It's me"

Cerberus pointed his head closer to the plush doll. It had Sakura's hairstyle under a pink cap. A cape hung over the shoulders of the doll, tied together by a red ribbon. It looked like how Sakura would appear if she were super deformed.

"I see. It does look like you. Tomoyo is really good at sewing." Cerberus thought for a moment and he peered at the doll. "Why is this doll wearing clothes like that before I awakened?"

Sakura approached Cerberus from behind, fully clothed in yellow shirt with a Chinese styled collar. "Even before I became Card Captor, Tomoyo said someday I'll make costumes for you to wear. So, she started with a doll."

Sakura stopped suddenly, with a feeling of deja vu. On top a building, she stood with a cap, and a cape tied together with a red ribbon. "It looks like it. It looks like my dream."

Sakura stood in front of the tower, the moon illuminating the sky.

"There was a huge moon. A full moon," said Sakura from her memory of the dream that was haunting her for the past year and a few months.

Clow Cards fluttered in the air.

"The Clow Cards."

Kaho stood by the tower, with the bell held in her hands.

"And Mizuki-sensei was there."

A large white wing was gently swaying due to the wind.

"And now there's this person with wings," said Sakura, surprising Cerberus with her last sentence. Cerberus's eyebrow lowered in a frown.

"Has fine purple clothing and silver hair."

Cerberus lowered his head.

"The clothes I was wearing looked very much like this," continued Sakura, focusing on the doll.

Sakura turned around and looked at her clock. "Ah, I have to go! I woke up early too!" she cried as she ran out of her room.

Cerberus magically opened Sakura's drawer and drew the Clow Book out. He closed the drawer and flew to the book, propped up on Sakura's desk. Cerberus's eyes travelled down the cover of the book and stopped on where "The Clow" was written, concentrating on the title. "Yue."
*****
"Good morning!" greeted Sakura, running to the kitchen with a blue apron held in her hand.

"Good morning," greeted her father, standing by the sink of the kitchen , "You woke up early as planned."

Sakura smiled and blushed slightly. Her father continued, "The rice is almost ready."

"Thank you," said Sakura, as she pulled the straps of her apron over her head. She walked over the rice cooker while tying the waist straps of her ribbon in a bow.
*****

Sakura had many bento boxes arranged on the counter top. Rice balls were organized in the boxes. Sakura was rolling the rice with her two hands, which was partially covered by roasted seaweed, in her hand. Her father looked over shoulder and she raised her hands for his approval.

"They are looking very nice," he commented and returned frying more food for the bento boxes.

"Really?" asked Sakura, as she continued to diligently roll the rice together.

"Tsukishiro-kun is competing in Japanese archery today, right?" asked Fujitaka.

"Yes, it's supposed to be a big event," Sakura answered cheerfully. "I promised Yukito-san that I will make lunch for him today."

"The side dishes are done, so let's add them in also," said Fujitaka.

"Yep!" said Sakura happily as she continued to roll rice balls together.

Inside the bento boxes were Sakura's rice balls, fried octopus and other foodstuffs. Sakura and her father were using chopsticks to place the food neatly in bento boxes so that each was almost identical to the other. Sakura placed the last octopus piece into the bento and cried, "It's done!"

"Good job," commented Fujitaka, already finished laying out the bento boxes.

Sakura counted the boxes as Fujitaka carried the dishes to the sink to be washed.

"Tomoyo-chan. Li-kun. Li-kun. Yukito-san. Yukito-san. Yukito-san. Me."

Sakura stopped counting, and said in dismay, "Oh no! I made too much!"

Her father smiled and said, "I'm sure Tsukishiro-kun will eat them all."

Sakura looked down shyly at her father's words.

"It's rather large and you have to commute a bit, will you be okay carrying them all?" Her father asked in concern.

"Don't worry! It'll be fine and I have friends that help me," replied Sakura as the doorbell rang. "Ah, it's them! Coming!"

Sakura ran to the front door, her backpack lying at the entrance of the door.
She opened the wooden door and greeted, "Good morning, Tomoyo-chan!"

Tomoyo stood in front of her with her hands clasped together. She wore a simple burgundy dress with a black collar and cuffs. She said politely, "Good morning, I'm glad the weather is so nice."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement and said, "Li-kun too."

Syaoran was facing away from her and stood to side, a meter away from Tomoyo. He turned his head at her words. Sakura smiled and said, "Thank you for coming."

Syaoran quickly turned his head forward and said, "It's easier to capture Clow Cards when you are around."

Sakura smiled at his excuse and said, "You're right." She turned to Tomoyo and informed her, "The lunch is done. I'll get ready."

Sakura ran into the house and bent down to put on her slippers.

"Yo!" greeted Cerberus as he popped out of her backpack.

"Hoooeeee!" cried Sakura, as she fell backwards in shock.

"You made lunch for me too, right?" said Cerberus as Tomoyo and Syaoran stood in the doorway to see what had caused Sakura to cry out. "I must come along."

Sakura was sprawled against the floor with her slippers lying on top of her, sporting a huge sweatdrop. "Ke... Kero-chan!"

"What's wrong?" asked Fujitaka as his footsteps signalled his approach.

Sakura flew forward and pushed Cerberus back into the bag. Fujitaka stood near Sakura with the bento all bundled in a cloth, held with both hands. He blinked and Sakura looked backwards slowly. "It's nothing!" said Sakura as she laughed uneasily.

Inside the bag, Cerberus' eyes spiralled. "It's not nothing..." he mumbled with Sakura's pencil inside his mouth.
*****

Syaoran set the bento boxes on the floor of the bullet train, carefully so they wouldn't topple over.

Sakura apologized, "I'm sorry for making you carry all that, Li-kun. I'll carry it when we get off at the next stop."

Syaoran blinked rapidly and turned his gaze to the side. "I'm okay."

"But..." protested Sakura softly as Cerberus unzipped Sakura's bag and stuck his upper body out.

"Still not there yet?" complained Cerberus, taking a deep breath.

Sakura looked behind her and said, "No Kero-chan, you can't stick you head out.

"We're going to get there soon," said Tomoyo optimistically.

"I told you it was better to stay home, right?" said Sakura, "I can always make you lunch."

Cerberus crossed his arms and protested, "I'm not coming with you just because there is lunch. I just want to stay near you if possible. It's all about to end..."

"End? Are you talking about the Clow Cards?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah," replied Cerberus. Tomoyo and Sakura brightened but Cerberus' frown was still present.

"So, I'm almost gathering all the cards?" Sakura concluded happily.

Tomoyo clasped her hands together and said joyfully, "It's almost over, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled back at Tomoyo. The train went under a bridge and the beams covered the windows so the view of the city could not be seen. When the train cleared the bridge, Tokyo Tower was visible. Tomoyo stopped smiling and noticed Sakura's expression as she stared at the tower. She seemed to be lost in thought. To Sakura, she was seeing the tower at night with the presence of the glowing moon. Tomoyo and Syaoran watched her in concern.

"What is wrong?" asked Tomoyo, bringing Sakura out of her trance-like state.

Sakura raised her head, and looked at Tomoyo and Syaoran staring at her worriedly. She smiled and replied, "No... it's nothing. Sorry."

Cerberus stared out of the window with a dark expression. Yue, it seems that it is almost time for us to meet.
*****

"Li-kun, really let me carry it!" Sakura said as Syaoran continued to carry the bento boxes.

"I'm okay," he replied as the continued to make their way to the archery range.
"What kind of man would I be if I made you carry it? Besides, it's not very heavy."

Sakura opened her mouth and then shook her head. "Li-kun is really nice!" chirped Sakura as she spun a full circle, halting to give him a bright smile.

"Uh... uh." Syaoran's mouth worked as he found his gaze concentrated on her lips. He wetted his own lips unconsciously and tugged at his collar with his free hand. I can still feel her lips... Oh, shit. Turning bright red, he muttered, "Not really."

Syaoran increased his pace and sped towards the shrine.

"Li-kun! You don't have to hurry! We have time!" called Sakura.

Tokyo Tower stood close by as they continued to walk past the skyscrapers that surrounded the tower.

"Ah, there it is!" said Tomoyo as they approached a Shinto shrine.

Many people were gathered around for the tournament it seemed, as the bustle of the people was heard. After asking directions and turning a few corners they arrived at the gallery.

"There's an archery field in such a place," wondered Sakura, her eyes sweeping over the scenery.

"There are rituals that involve drawing the bow as well," said a voice from behind them.

Sakura spun around and cried happily, "Yukito-san!"

"Good morning," greeted Yukito, dressed in a black and white yukata.
Sakura, Tomoyo, and Syaoran bowed and replied, "Good morning."

"You guys came to cheer for me?" asked Yukito.

"Yes!" A... umm, we made lunch too!" answered Sakura nervously. Syaoran heaved the package in front of him and said, "He-Here it is."

"You guys have gotten up early. It must have been troublesome," said Yukito, his eyebrows creasing slightly.

Sakura and Syaoran stared at him with determination written across their face. "No! Not at all!"

Yukito smiled and brought his face near the two, causing them to flush slightly. "Thank you."

Hanyaan, thought Sakura with a bright smile.

Yukito withdrew and announced, "I have to go. I'll do my best."

Sakura answered, "Yes! We'll cheer for you with all we have!"

Tomoyo smiled and commented, "He looks nice like that."

Sakura said immediately, "Yukito-san always looks wonderful, so no matter what he wears looks nice."

Syaoran's smiled faded. You must love him a lot... Sakura turned around with a smile. "Don't you think so too, Li-kun?"

Syaoran flushed and nodded, forgetting his previous trail of thought.

Cerberus, popped out of Sakura's bag, his frown still present. I can sense the aura of the moon.
*****

An arrow flew through the air and struck one of the outer rings of the target. Yukito stood up and the three spectators watched with the utmost attention

Yukito nocked his arrow onto his bow and then concentrated on the target. Placing a hand on feathered tip of the arrow, he began to pull his bow and aim.

In one stroke, Yukito released the arrow and it flew into the bull's-eye. Sakura made a happy gasp and Syaoran stood up to look more closely at the target. As, Syaoran rapidly applauded, Tomoyo said, "Tsukishiro-san won!"

Yukito bowed his head slightly and withdrew to his seat.

"Huh," said Sakura in surprise, "That's..."

Syaoran's expression turned cold and Kaho pulled on her bowstring.

"Mizuki-sensei." finished Sakura as Kaho released her arrow, flying into the rim of the inner circle.

"Why is Mizuki-sensei, here?" wondered Sakura, as other spectators rapidly applauded Kaho.

"But she is also very skilled," remarked Tomoyo. Sakura nodded in response.

*****
Cerberus surfaced from Sakura's bag and looked around quickly for any unwanted spectators. Cerberus frowned as he focused on the gallery. Just as I thought, the aura of the moon.

An attendant removed the imbedded arrows from the targets and cleared the scoreboards.

"Tsukishiro-san has advanced to the finals," commented Tomoyo.

Sakura faced Tomoyo and said, "Yeah but his opponent is..."

Sakura turned. Kaho and Yukito were kneeling on the floor with their bows balanced on a knee and steadied by an arm. They patiently waited for a judge to announce the next round. Kaho tilted her head slightly towards Yukito. "Tsukishiro-kun." Yukito looked at her in response. "My best regards."

Yukito blinked rapidly, and then replied, "Same here."

*****
Yukito fired his arrow and it landed on the inner ring of the target.

Kaho released her arrow and it fell slightly under the bull's-eye.

Yukito fired yet another arrow and it fell short of the bull's-eye by a centimetre.

Kaho's bowstring snapped forward and her arrow impaled the target slight under her previous arrow.

Another arrow and Yukito neared closer to the bull's-eye.

By the clap of Kaho's bow, an arrow struck the bull's-eye.

The arrow sped through the air, and Yukito had another arrow marking the inner circle of the target.

Yukito aimed as Sakura thought, I don't know who to cheer for, Yukito-san or Mizuki-sensei. Cerberus stared solidly at the red-haired teacher.

"Neither of them is giving any mercy on each other," remarked Tomoyo as another arrow sped through the air.

"Whoever loses their concentration will be the loser," stated Syaoran, his eyes still focused on the tournament.

Kaho nocked an arrow and pulled on her bow. Cerberus motioned his head closer in concentration. Kaho's eyes grew wide and her grip on the arrow slipped. The arrow sped off to the side of the target. Yukito blinked and started at Kaho in confusion. Applause was sounded and Kaho bowed her head slightly.

"Tsukishiro-san won!" cried Tomoyo. Sakura nodded and continued clapping.
Syaoran ceased his clapping and crossed his arms in thought. "Sensei seemed to be distracted by something and lost."

Sakura and Tomoyo turned to him and blinked.

Kaho extended an arm towards Yukito and said cheerfully, "Congratulations."

Yukito blinked rapidly. Then he smiled and raised his arm, "Thank you very much."

Cerberus watched the two carefully as they shook hands.

*****
"Congratulations!" exclaimed Sakura as everyone was seated on a sheet for a picnic.

"Con-Congratulations!" repeated Syaoran identically, except for his stuttering.
"Thanks but that was..." said Yukito softly.

"Hoe?" said Sakura as Syaoran's eyebrows lowered slightly. Wasn't fair, Syaoran finished in his mind.

"Oh well!" exclaimed Yukito, "I'm hungry! Do you mind if I start eating?"

"Okay!" answered Sakura.

"Itadakimasu!" announced Yukito as he lifted a bento box.

"Itadakimasu!" said the others as Yukito took a bite out of Sakura's rice ball.

"This is delicious," remarked Yukito, "Did you make all of this?"

"Otou-san helped me make some of this," answered Sakura.

"This is really good," commented Yukito with a charming smile. Sakura returned his smile. Hanyaan.

Tomoyo picked up the thermos bottle and began to unscrew the lid. "Oh, where are the cups?"

Sakura snapped out of her hanyaan state and answered, "The cups are in my bag."

She picked up her bag and unzipped it, to discover. "Kero-chan's gone!"

Sakura clamped her hands over her mouth after accidentally blurting the disappearance of the guardian. Yukito stopped his eating and asked in concern, "What's wrong?"

"It's. It's nothing!" Sakura replied hastily. Sakura opened her bag once more and wondered worriedly, where did you go. Kero-chan.

*****
Kaho was seated on the side of the shrine with her eyes closed. After a moment, she slowly raised her head, and opened her eyes. Staring straight, in front of her, she greeted, "Konnichiwa."

Cerberus jumped out from the corner he was hidden. "So you did notice me after all." He sprang from the wooden planks of the floor and landed on the fence in front of Kaho.

Kaho began the conversation. "This is the first time I saw you in this shape."

"Yeah, I guess the last time was when the brat and I exchanged bodies," said Cerberus, none to happily, "I couldn't use magic at all, so I couldn't tell."

"I sense a strong power in you," said Cerberus with a frown, "On top of that, it's the power of the moon."

Kaho raised her head slightly.

"Onee-chan, you work with the power of the moon, don't you?" asked Cerberus.

"Yes," answered Kaho simply.

"Created alongside by Clow Reed as a pair, the other guardian of the Clow Cards..." trailed Cerberus, "Yue. Which means moon in Chinese."

Kaho smiled at him.

"Kero-chan! Kero-chan! Where are you?" called Sakura, as she ran around the shrine.

"Did you say anything to Sakura?" asked Cerberus forcefully.

"No," answered Kaho calmly.

"About the Last Judgement?" asked Cerberus hurriedly.

"I know about it, but I didn't mention it to her either," replied Kaho gently, "My task here is something else."

"What is you task?" asked Cerberus in surprise.

"You'll find out, very soon," responded Kaho.

"Mou, where did Kero-chan go?" said Sakura as she neared the building where Kaho and Cerberus were having their conversation.

"I believe Sakura can accomplish anything," stated Cerberus almost defiantly.

"I do too," said Kaho earnestly.

"KERO-CHAN!" yelled Sakura as she turned around the corner where the conversation was occurring. Sakura halted. "Mizuki-sensei!"

Kaho turned her head towards her.

"Why are you here?" asked Sakura uneasily.

"I thought it would be better to talk in a quieter place."

"Talk?"

Kaho smiled and turned her head in front of her. Sakura followed the direction Kaho was pointing to with her eyes. "KERO-CHAN?!"
*****

The group were walking out of the shrine, Kaho and Yukito walking beside each other, and the other three in another grouping.

"That was such a surprise! Kero-chan and Mizuki-sensei were talking!" whispered Sakura to the hidden Cerberus within her bag, "That's because you got out of the bag."

"That onee-chan noticed me earlier," stated Cerberus.

"She is someone with a great power after all," Syaoran answered Sakura's questioning eyes. Syaoran glared and berated, "And yet you feel hanyaan or whatever whenever you are around her."

Sakura smiled and said, "Because!" She turned around to look at her home form teacher and Kaho smiled in return. Sakura turned around and smiled. Hanyaan. Syaoran made a face and complained, "Not again."

Sakura stared upwards as the sun began to set and noticed Tokyo Tower. She stared at the tower and slowly began to fall behind Tomoyo and Syaoran.

Silver hair swayed in the wind. Clothing of purple and silver.

"Kinomoto-san, you are falling behind," said Kaho, gently tapping on Sakura's shoulder from behind.

"Gomen!" Sakura apologized and bowed.

"Oh wait, Sakura, do you not have the lunch boxes?" asked Tomoyo, wondering about Sakura's empty hands.

"You must have left them somewhere back there," stated Syaoran.

"We should go back and look for them," said Yukito, looking back at the shrine.

Sakura ran back towards their picnic area with the others following behind them.

"Today, did something in the last round distract you?" asked Yukito as he walked with Kaho.

"I just felt like if someone was staring at me," answered Kaho.

"Staring at you?" wondered Yukito.

"Yes." trailed Kaho and she stopped, looking at the ground. Raising her head, she said, "Tsukishiro?"

"Yes."

"You." Kaho stopped and spun around. Syaoran tensed. Sakura's eyes grew wide.

"Kero-chan! This aura." said Sakura, concentrating on the source of the power.

Cerberus crawled out of Sakura's bag. "There is no doubt about it. A Clow Card. On top of that, this one has a very strong power."

The ground rumbled and leaves began to fall off the trees. Tomoyo gasped and fell onto the ground during the earthquake.

A large crevice appeared in the ground and sped towards the fallen Tomoyo. Sakura cried out. She ran to Tomoyo and lifted her away from the cracking ground. Syaoran ran beside them and warned, "It's coming!"

A large mound of dirt rose out of the ground and Cerberus cried out, "This is."

Sakura stared in front of her, behind the mountain of dirt, Tokyo Tower stood tall.
Onee-chan: Elder Sister, basically Cerberus is being kinda polite.

Author's Notes
Whoops! I found out in the manga, CLAMP spells Clow, Clow Read. I'll have to do corrections later! But I'm too lazy to do them now.
Cries! This chapter was so hard make changes to! Gomen nee! I'll work harder!
In Japan, high school starts from grade 10. Junior high is from grade 7 to 9.
Super deformed is when the character is drawn with a babyish looking face and they are a lot shorter. It's supposed to look cutesy.
Ashley-chan, Syaoran pushed Sakura away before she kissed him, so I did it like the anime, except it was after. And Meiling did get called back but I gave a reason to it for the story. ^.^
Care, the consistency mistake you found in chapter three was actually a flashback. Since I wasn't sure of the way I wanted to stylize my fic back then, I didn't italic the flashback. ^^'
You know what? Congesting episodes is doing me no good, because as soon as I finish a chapter, I want to add another to the list that I want to do. I don't think I'll be able to finish this summer so expect Altered to be written during the school year. This way, I won't have to pressure myself and enjoy writing. I'm not having fun lately writing the fic, which is making it harder to write.
Poll site broke so no poll three, and I wanted to see some opinions...
Sketch on Tomoyo
Did another pic of Syaoran-chan
I have a little update on my page on CLAMP's manga/newest anime, Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer and my stress levels. http://sleepdeprived.cjb.net/ If you love me (There may be an occasional ad now but I couldn't give up the temptation of having my own domain name. If you want to get rid of the ads, right click my logo on the top and open it in a new window and close the old one. ^-^
I'm going to archive my fanfics on my page, but because I don't want people I know personally to read them, it'll be in a hidden directory. It'll be a place where if Ffnet breaks again, you can still read my fics and new chapters. I also edited the original chapters so it has a review type of thing. http://members.home.net/rinoaheartilly/ffnetfics/
Sorry for not writing for so long while developing my sites.