Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Cardcaptors: Clow Reed's Mistake ❯ Cardcaptors: The Forming of a Plan-Ch.5 ( Chapter 5 )

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

By Maurynna
Author's Note: HI!!!!! I'm back, been a little while. I'd just like to say that my last chapter didn't do so well last time. I only got one review! ONE!! But....I'll let that go.....this time. I'm blaming it on the whole new chapter system and giving you a break on account of the fact that you were all probably too busy tending to your own fics. That's perfectly understandable. But unless I get at least four reviews for this I won't continue. You should all be fairly organized by now...and if you aren't you should be! ^_^;; I would like to thank Azn Pnay for taking the time to read and review my last chapter. Thank-you. It meant a lot. Ok......on with the fic!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or anything related to it. I am not getting paid in any way for this so please don't sue me!! Thank-you.
Cardcaptors: The Forming of a Plan-Ch.5
Sakura stared at him, shocked. "What did you say?" she asked faintly.
"You can leave, I will not stop you." Rage repeated.
Sakura started to lower the Clow wand, confused,
"No Sakura! It's a trap! You can't trust him," Kero warned. "He's a Clow card. What possible reason could he have for letting you go?"
Rage sent Kero an annoyed glance. "You jump to conclusions, wizard. Do not presume to explain that which you do not understand."
Kero fumed silently, sending Rage death glares.
Sakura still stood there, unsure of what to do. Could she trust him? Whoa! Wait a minute! What kind of thought was that? Of course she couldn't trust him, but, perhaps she could take his word in this instance?
"I see you are skeptical," Rage observed. "But do not be. You see, now that I know who you are, I cannot kill you,"
Sakura sighed in relief.
"Not with the pitiful condition I find you in now."
Sakura stiffened, she didn't know whether to be frightened or angry.
Rage spread his hands, "Look at yourself, you are about ready to fall over. If I were to fight you now I would surely win, but, I would have had an unfair advantage." he explained. He crossed his arms. "There is no honour in beating a beaten foe."
Sakura was beginning to understand what Kero was talking about when he mentioned that Rage valued honour. Even though this heightened her belief that he would let her go after all, she still didn't trust him.
"Give me your sword." she demanded.
Rage's polite mask was wiped clean off his face. "Pardon me?" he asked quietly, sounding dangerous.
Sakura would not back down. "If you want me to believe you, you'll have to give me your sword to prove what you say is true." Sakura reasoned.
Rage smiled a mean smile. "Even without my sword I am not helpless." he informed her.
"I didn't think you were." Sakura lifted the Clow wand aggressively. "The sword?"
Rage's smile disappeared. He strode towards her quickly. Kero started forward reflexively, instinctively trying to protect Sakura, but she shook her head no, silently telling him not to interfere.
Rage kept coming until he was nearly nose to nose with Sakura. He stared down at her intently and Sakura looked at him warily. They stood that way for a long moment, observing each other, before Rage finally spoke,
"If I do not get my sword back soon, I will come looking for it." he informed her.
"I won't do anything to your sword to damage it, don't worry." Sakura said quietly.
Rage stood there for another minute, contemplating, before he suddenly reached down and unclasped his sword and sheath from his belt. He held it up near Sakura's face for her to observe.
Sakura reached up tentatively with her free hand, still cautious of a trap. Her hand closed over the sheath and Rage let go. Sakura nearly dropped it.
One side of Rage's mouth turned up, then the other, as if he couldn't help it. "Heavy?" he asked mildly.
"No, I'm fine." Sakura said, her voice strained, hefting the sword onto her shoulder. She looked into his eyes. "One more thing,"
"Yes?" Rage asked, his eyes focused on hers, one eyebrow raised.
"I want your word of honour that you'll neither attack me this night nor follow me."
Rage was taken off guard. Then his eyes gleamed shrewdly as he appraised her. "Very clever indeed," he murmured. "I give you my word, as a warrior, and by my sword, that I shall not attack, nor follow you,....this night."
Sakura looked at him suspiciously for a moment before nodding, satisfied. She was about to turn away when Rage's hand shot up. She flinched, thinking he had tricked her and was about to strike her. Fool, FOOL! I should have known......
Rage's fingers ran through her hair. Sakura's eyes popped open in surprise. "So soft," she heard him murmur, then he wrapped some tresses around his fist and squeezed. It didn't hurt, and he wasn't pulling, but Sakura knew that she wasn't going anywhere without some serious tugging. And so did he.
He leaned forward, staring into her eyes, "Remember," he whispered, "Nothing happens to my sword or you will pay. I will give you three days before I come for you. You should be adequately rested by then, but I want my sword back before dawn." his fist tightened again, emphasizing his point.
Sakura nodded, unable to tear her eyes away. "I'll drop it off at the park, near the penguin slide." she said absently.
They stayed like that a moment before Rage's fist loosened and his fingers drifted out of her hair. He turned swiftly on his heel and walked away. A cloud was passing in front of the moon and momentarily cloaked everything in darkness. When the light reappeared with the moon, Rage was gone.
Sakura slumped into a heap on the ground, overwhelmed.
Kero immediately inserted himself in her line of vision. "What were you doing!?" he asked in a mix between anger and incredulity. "Making deals with Clow cards?"
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Look Kero, I was just trying to make sure we got out of here alive. You yourself said that he valued honour, so that's what I used against him. If he's as you say, he won't go back on his word." Sakura sighed, "I just had to be sure."
Kero folded his arms over his chest, "And the sword? Why, in god's name, did you take his sword!?"
Sakura's shoulders' slumped. "It was a test, to see how much he wanted me to believe him. It seemed like a good idea," she muttered.
Kero threw his arms up in the air, "A good idea!? Are you crazy? He values that sword more than almost anything!"
"Then think of it as double insurance," Sakura grumbled, getting tired of this.
"I think of it as a death wish!" Kero's eyes narrowed, "You'd better hope nothing happens to that sword. I cannot believe he even gave it to you in the first place!"
"Guys?"
"I think he was trying to show me he meant what he said, Kero." Sakura pointed out.
"Guys?"
"You can't trust Clow cards Sakura, not these ones. They don't care about lying or anything else of the sort."
"GUYS!!"
Sakura and Kero looked at Madison. "What!?" they asked in unison.
Madison cleared her throat. "As much as I love listening to you two sort things out, I want some sleep. I have to go places tomorrow. Can we go home now?"
Sakura and Kero looked at each other. They both smiled at the same time. Sakura struggled to her feet, shifting Rage's sword on her shoulders so that she was more comfortable. "Sure we can go Madison. Besides, you know how cranky Kero gets when he doesn't get enough sleep."
Kero's smile disappeared. "I am never cranky!" he protested.
~
Sakura plopped down on her bed with a weary sigh. She picked up her brush and began running it through her hair. She had just finished changing out of her Clow card costume. Before that she had dropped Madison off at her apartment, then, she flew to the park and dropped Rage's sword off like she said she would. After that she had flown home. She had flown up and into her open window silently, praying to God that Tory or her Dad wouldn't pick this time to wake up.
And now here she was, sitting on her bed brushing her hair, thinking. A lot of things were going through her head. She replayed the battle with Hate over and over again in her mind. She remembered her conversation with Rage, and the way his hair shone in the the moonlight.
Sakura sighed. He was handsome.
But most of all, she worried. She worried about Li and what he was up to now. Something Rage had done and said reminded her of Li. It was the way he had at first gently ran his fingers through her hair, and then, when he had whispered, "So soft," Sakura later realized that Li had done the exact same thing once.....
{Flashback}
It was the day she was to leave for Canada. Dad, Tory, and Madison had all been there to wish her good luck and to say good-bye. all except Li. She remembered being disappointed and sad that Li hadn't been there to say good-bye as well. Oh, well, she had thought, he probably had better things to do.
As she was about to board the plane, she saw someone running towards her. To her surprise, it was Li. He stopped right in front of her, breathing deeply. Then he straightened up, his usual mask of indifference in place.
"Li," she had said, happy he had come.
He just stood there, looking at her in that unnerving way he has, making her nervous. Suddenly, he reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. "So soft," he murmured under his breath, almost too quietly for Sakura to hear. Then, he had quickly snatched his hand back, as though he'd been burned. "Good-bye Sakura." he had said simply.
"Bye Li," she had said, confused by his actions.
Then Li had simply turned around and gone. His expression had never changed throughout the entire thing.
{Flashback}
To this day, that little scene still confused the hell out of Sakura. Why had Li done that? It couldn't have meant anything to him or he would have shown some emotion, wouldn't he? But then, Li never showed any emotion except anger, annoyance, and impatience. And on the rare occasions, concern.
Sakura was still pondering when Kero suddenly spoke up from his position on the dresser, "It isn't over." he had his eyes closed and his arms crossed. He hadn't moved or spoken from his sitting position since they'd gotten back.
Sakura paused, mid stroke. She put down her brush. "What isn't over?" she asked perplexed.
"This, the Cardcaptoring." he said.
Sakura gave him a quizzical look even though he couldn't see it. "I know that Kero. I just captured a card today, the first card."
"That's just it," he cracked open an eyelid. "I'm happy for you Sakura. Capturing these new cards won't be easy, but, I've been thinking about tonight." the other eyelid opened. "The Hate card was an easier card, especially since she was rusty. But even then, you could barely stand up to her. The only reason you were able to capture her was because you had a few lucky breaks. She was angry, therefore she was sloppy and made mistakes. She underestimated you, and she had a weakness. The Dark. If you hadn't gotten lucky on that one she would have had you." he uncrossed his arms and began pacing. "You can't count on luck, Sakura. You won't have such an easy time with any other card."
Sitting there, listening to Kero's little speech, Sakura knew he was right. She had had one too many breaks, she couldn't count on those next time. "So what am I supposed to do Kero? I did my best out there under the circumstances."
"I don't know," Kero muttered, frustrated. "If only you had more experience with the new cards. If you knew how to use the magic you inherited from Clow Reed this would be a whole different ball game." Kero sighed, "But you don't, and I can't teach you, not in this form. If only that Kid wasn't out of the picture. Even he could have shown you some things." Kero paused in his pacing. "We've got to find that Kid."
"How? Kero, no one could find Li before, what makes it any different now?"
Kero tugged on his lower lip, thinking. "We've got to draw him out."
Sakura looked at him incredulously. "How the bloody hell are we supposed to draw Li Syaoran anywhere!?"
"Think! There must be a way."
"Well, the only thing would be if he knew I was alive, but, that would involve finding him to tell him that, which is what we're trying to do," she muttered. "Wait,.... the first time I saw him was when I was with Rage. So, the Clow cards must have drawn him out. In his madness, he must still be able to sense Clow cards, and realize his duty to help capture them."
"So all we need to do is have a Clow card draw him out," Kero said quietly. "Easier said then done without getting killed first."
Sakura's breath gusted out of her. How was she going to go about this? She needed a Clow card for this, but who knew when the next Clow card would show itself, and how much more Li could take.
Sakura had to find him soon. No matter how hard she thought about it though, she couldn't find a solution. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it, at least, not by herself.
An idea began forming in Sakura's mind. No, it was too dangerous, it would never work. He would never help her. But maybe.......she had to try, he was her only chance.
"Kero," Sakura said slowly.
"Hmm?"
"I think I might know a way to find Li." Sakura told him.
Kero's face brightened. "Good! We need that Kid. What's your plan?"
Sakura bit her lip. "It's a surprise! I'll tell you when we get there." she evaded. If Kero knew what she was planning, he'd flip. Sakura began to wonder if she wasn't losing it herself.
~
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Sakura reached her hand up, blindly looking for her alarm clock. She missed the button and hit the alarm clock itself, knocking it to the floor with a bang.
Sakura groaned, opening her eyes blearily. She waited for the room to come back into focus. Man, she was really out of it.
Sakura's door opened quietly. "Sakura? Are you awake?" Mr.Avalon asked softly, poking his head in.
"Mmph," Sakura responded from her pillow.
Mr.Avalon walked in. He sat down beside her on her bed. "Sakura, are you feeling well?" he asked, concerned, feeling her forehead with the back of his hand.
Sakura cracked her eyes open. "Of course I'm fine." she said groggily, yawning, "Why wouldn't I be? And what are you doing in here Dad?" she rolled over and closed her eyes. "I'm going back to bed. Wake me when it's morning."
"Sakura," he said slowly, "It's one in the afternoon."
Sakura's eyes popped open. She jerked into an upright position. "Nani!?" she jumped out of bed and ran to her closet. Ahh! I'm late! I have to find Li! She rummaged through her closet, looking for a shirt and some jean shorts. "Shimatta! Where are my shorts?!"
"Sakura," Mr.Avalon's voice sounded strained.
"Yeah, Dad?" Sakura asked, her head still in her closet.
"Where did you get those!?" he asked.
Sakura turned around, looking at him with a puzzled expression. "Get what?"
"That!" he had a horrified look on his face. He pointed to her arm.
Sakura looked down, and cringed. She had worn shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt to be. In her haste, she had forgotten that, and now the black, purplish bruises on her arms were in plain view for anyone, namely her father, to see.
"Umm...." Sakura started nervously, "These?"
"Yes!" he dad strode over to her and examined the bruises more closely. "How did you get these?"
Sakura looked away, holding her now found shorts in her hands. "I told you, I fell." she said lamely.
Her father stared at her, hard. Sakura gulped. "I think we both know you didn't fall." he said quietly.
Sakura lowered her eyes, ashamed to be caught lying, and knowing she'd have to tell him something of the truth now. "Someone, someone gave them to me." she whispered.
Mr.Avalon tilted her head up. "Just like someone gave you those cuts on your face?" he asked.
Sakura nodded dejectedly.
He took her chin in his hands. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"It's no big deal. Please, leave it alone. There's nothing you can do." she whispered.
"Nothing I can do? If someone is my daughter, I want to know who it is. I want him in jail! When I see him I'll..."
"Dad, you can't!" Sakura raked a hand through her hair. "You don't understand. This has only happened once, and by nobody I know. And besides, I," Sakura nearly gagged as another lie made it's way out of her mouth. "I didn't get a good look at him. He was wearing a ski mask, he was a thief." Sakura explained. "But he didn't get anything."
"You didn't see his face?" he asked.
"No."
"Well, you should at least report it." he said.
"Dad, just leave it alone." she pleaded.
Mr.Avalon stared at her a long while, noting the pleading tone that had entered her voice. Why was it so important to her that he try to ignore what happened? What was she hiding? He could obviously see she was depressed, so he decided to put her mind at ease. He'd continue his own investigation on his own time.
"All right." he said reluctantly, surprising Sakura. "I'll let it go, but if this happens again I won't no matter what the reason. Do you understand?"
Sakura nodded. Mr.Avalon headed towards the door. "Dad?"
He stopped and turned his head. "Yes?"
"Could you not mention this to Tory? He'd over react.
Mr.Avalon didn't reply. He left.
Kero came into view. "That went well." he commented dryly.
Sakura sighed, gathering up her shirt. "It could have been worse. Kero, turn around." he did. She began changing. "Kero, why didn't you wake me up?"
"Believe me Sakura, I tried. I did everything but bring a marching band in here. You were dead to the world, and for a couple of seconds I could have sworn I meant that literally." he remarked. Sakura pulled her shirt over her head. "Well, I was tired. What about my alarm clock?"
Kero snorted. "It started beeping at seven. I kept hitting the snooze button when it was obvious a little sound like that wasn't going to wake you. After about the fifteenth time I got tired of getting up and turning it off so I just left it."
Sakura zipped up her shorts. "Damn," she breathed. "I needed to be up early so I could.....search for Li." she said after a notable pause.
Kero narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And where are we going now?"
"To find Li," Sakura replied.
"Where?"
"You'll see." Sakura smiled nervously. "Come on," she picked him up and set him in her shorts pocket.
"Sakura," Kero said, wiggling around. "There isn't exactly a lot of room in here," he turned his face and found himself staring at her abdomen. "And I'm very uncomfortable." he muttered, wiggling back around.
"Well, this is the only place I can put you. My shirt doesn't have a pocket and I don't want to bring a bag. There's nowhere else to put you."
Kero humphed, folding his arms. He noticed that Sakura put the Key of Clow around her neck. "Why are you bringing that?" he asked, his suspicion growing.
"Just in case." she replied evasively.
Sakura left her room and went down the stairs. After yelling to her Dad that she was going out, and quelling his protests, Sakura left to go try and save Li.
~
Sakura jogged along the park path, nodding to people who passed her by. Kero, who was still in her pocket, was hanging on for dear life,
"Where," bounce "are" bounce "we" bounce "here?" he asked, trying to keep his words together.
"I'm going to find a way to locate Li here." she puffed. "I hope."
Sakura turned off the park path and entered the woods, going deeper into the park and farther away from civilization. She jogged in silence for about half a mile until Sakura judged she was far enough away from any park goers. She stopped running and said between breaths, "You can come out now Kero."
Kero immediately, and gratefully, complied. "Thank god!" he said enthusiastically, making Sakura laugh. But then his expression became serious. "You still haven't told me exactly how you plan on going about finding the Kid, and frankly, I'm curious. I don't like being kept in the dark."
"I told you Kero," she said beginning to walk, looking for a particular place, "You'll see when the time comes."
Kero frowned, not liking this one bit, but followed his Mistress none the less.
Where, where, where? Sakura thought frustrated. She thought her surroundings looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't be absolutely sure. She turned her head from side to side, hoping to recognize something that would tell her she was going in the right direction.
It was then that something caught her eye. It looked like a white piece of fabric, attached to a plant. On closer inspection, Sakura realized it was a piece of her shirt from yesterday, torn clean off on one of her many falls.
Good, she was going the right way.
Sakura began walking again, keeping an eye out for any more clues. Kero flew by her right ear, occasionally asking the same question over and over, "Where are we going and what are you going to do?" but after the twentieth question, and after twenty times of being ignored, Kero finally stopped asking. He was a tad bit angry that Sakura wouldn't answer him, but he figured she had a reason why. And that should have warned him right off the bat.
The two entered a clearing right in the middle of the woods. Kero could have sworn it looked familiar somehow, like he'd been here before, but he just couldn't place it.
Sakura walked right into the middle of the thing, out into the open. She stopped and stood by an ancient willow tree, set off by itself, away from it's comrades.
She took the Key of Clow from around her neck and held it in her hands. She closed her eyes. "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic, power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite. Release!" the Clow wand was now gripped in her hands.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Kero looked as if he was about to have a heart attack. "You're going to draw unwanted attention to yourself. If one of the Clow cards are close enough, it would have been able to sense that sharp energy spike and come running to investigate."
"That's what I'm hoping for." Sakura murmured. "Snow card! Make it snow! Snow card!" gentle snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
"Now what are you doing?!" Kero asked, flying back and forth, agitated.
Sakura winked at him. "I'm trying to draw some of that unwanted attention here."
Kero's jaw dropped and he stared at her, speechless. "Are you mad!?!" he finally burst out. "Why?"
"Because, Kero, I'm going to get a certain Clow card to help me get Li here, I hope." she added quietly.
"That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! Are you trying to get killed? This is suicide! Why didn't you tell me you were planning something so completely senseless?"
Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the willow tree. "Because I knew I'd get a reaction, and that you'd do anything possible to try and persuade me not to do this."
"Now there's a bet you'd win!" Kero pulled on Sakura's sleeve, trying, ineffectually, to get her moving. "Let's get out of here before...."
"One of us finds you?"
Kero and Sakura's heads jerked to the right.
Rage stood with his arms crossed, a small smile playing about his lips. "Too late."
Kero tugged harder, "Let's go!" he hissed urgently. But to Kero's ever increasing frustration, he heard Sakura say, almost too softly for him to hear, "Thank god it's him."
"Listening to your wizard would be a wise move." Rage commented.
Sakura stepped forward, in the opposite direction Kero wanted her to go. She closed her eyes and the Clow wand turned back into the Key. She dropped the Key of Clow into the grass and stepped away from it, raising her hands. "I am without a weapon." she stated.
Kero did an anime fall.
"Do you have a death wish?" Rage asked, thoroughly amused.
Sakura smiled slightly, trying to keep the fact that she was utterly terrified from Rage and Kero. "You won't harm an unarmed woman. It wouldn't be....honourable."
Rage's amusement grew. "For someone who knows absolutely nothing about me, you certainly seem to know quite a bit." Sakura opened her mouth, "Ah, but then, you want something." Sakura's mouth snapped shut. Rage gestured up to the sky, at the now non-existent snow which had vanished when when Sakura put away the Clow wand. "That was not necessary. I sensed your energy the first time." he began circling her, a predator watching his prey, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, "What is it you want?"
Sakura came right out with it, "I want you to help me get a friend of mine here, then, I want you to help me subdue him so that I may help him."
To be continued.......
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Oohhh....what is she thinking? 0.o;; Will Rage help her? Or will he finish her off, despite his honour? Sorry I ended it here, I had intended to make it longer but I didn't have any time. If I wanted to get it out this soon I had to end it here. Review and tell me what you think! Don't forget!! I'll come after you if you don't.....grrrr!!! He he.....sorry ^_^;; I don't know when the next part will be out, watch for it or put me on Author alert if you like. See you later!! ^_*