Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Cardcaptors: Clow Reed's Mistake ❯ Cardcaptors: The Cold, the Flu, and Chickenpox, too-Ch.10 ( Chapter 10 )

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

By Maurynna
Author's Note: Hellllloooo!!! ^__^ Phew! I finally got this typed!! This is a rather long chapter, compared to the length of my other chapters. I'm so glad I've finally got this up!! I really hope you like this chapter, it gets exciting during the end. Read and review!! Don't forget! I really LOVE feedback! Enjoy!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptors or any of it's merchandise. I am not getting paid for writing this so please do not sue me.
Cardcaptors: The Cold, the Flu, and Chickenpox, too-Ch.10
Sakura grinned triumphantly as Yue's wings settled comfortably around his lean frame. She had done it! She had summoned Yue!
Yue got down gracefully on one knee and bowed his head respectfully. "Mistress." he said in that deep, flowing voice of his.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Do you remember the last time we spoke, Yue?" Sakura didn't give him a chance to answer. "I told you I wanted to be your friend, not your Mistress." she said, exasperated.
Yue straightened up, gazing at Sakura thoughtfully. "So you did," he said, resettling his wings, his hands folded in front of him.
Kero came forward, "Don't bother," he said in a rather good mood. He grinned. "Yue doesn't know how to be anything but formal. You've got to give him time to get used to it."
"Kero Beros," Yue said warningly, but in greeting as well.
Kero bowed his head respectfully.
Yue fixed his penetrating gaze back onto Sakura. "The Clow cards," he murmured.
"What about them?" Sakura asked, knowing he referred to her cards, and not the present ones.
"You do not have all of them." if Sakura hadn't known any better, she would have thought she'd detected a disapproving tilt to his voice.
Sakura felt reluctant to tell him about what she'd done. Sakura's face screwed up in puzzlement. But why would that be? She hadn't done anything wrong. Sakura looked at him in determination. "I gave some of the cards back to Li, the one's he had possession of before."
Yue frowned. "He does not deserve the cards, he did not pass the Final Judgement. You did. You should have all of the Clow cards." he did sound disapproving.
Kero gave his fellow Guardian a look. "Yes, Yue, she did pass the Final Judgement, and that means she is our Mistress, and the Mistress of the Clow cards. She can do with them as she pleases, she has that right. If Sakura thought giving them back to Li was the right thing to do, then it was."
Yue studied Kero closely. He then bowed his head respectfully, conceding defeat. "You are correct, Kero Beros. I have no right to determine where the Clow cards will be put to use."
Sakura glanced back and forth between the two Guardians, one of the Sun, the other the Moon. She laughed lightly, trying to break the serious atmosphere. It really was choking her,
"Hey, don't worry about it. I mean, I can understand how you feel. For the longest time, the cards have been under your protection, until I came along, that is." she smiled to let Yue know she meant no offense.
"Yes," Yue spoke quietly. "And now it is my duty to protect you."
Sakura smiled sweetly at him. Then she sobered up as she prepared to get down to why she, and, she suspected, he, was here. "We have bigger things to worry about." she began.
Yue glanced at Kero. "They have escaped?"
Kero nodded solemnly.
Yue looked even more serious as usual, if that was possible. "It is as I had thought. I had sensed a disturbance in the balance a year ago, and, having my suspicions, used my will to put the idea of going to Clow Reed's old laboratory in my other form's head."
Sakura's eyes widened. "That's why Yukito went off on his excavation?"
Yue nodded. "I was secretly trying to locate the prison the Forgotten were sealed in. I had failed to locate it in time." Yue looked around, frustrated. "Everything looks so different then it did centuries before." his eyes returned to Sakura's face. "I knew I had failed when, a week ago, I felt the seal break and the Forgotten escape. As soon as this occurred, and I realized in which direction they were headed and why, I immediately did all I could to get my other form to come back here." his cat-like gaze roamed the shrouded area around them, as if searching for the enemy. "I knew they would come after you, I knew that I had to arrive here as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I appear to have arrived in time. Have you come into contact with any of the Forgotten?"
Sakura nodded. She couldn't help but wonder why Yue kept referring to the cards as 'the Forgotten'. "I've captured the Hate card." she held up the card for Yue's inspection.
He spared the card but a glance. "Very good. I had not expected you to have any captured yet, but then, with as much confidence as Kero Beros has in you, I suppose I should not be surprised."
Kero's chest puffed out in pride.
"Have you come into contact with any of the other cards?" Yue asked.
Sakura bit her lip. What would Yue think of this? "I-I've met Rage." she said quietly.
Yue peered intently into Sakura's eyes. "You have.....met, him? And you,....have not captured him?" Yue exchanged a glance with Kero.
Sakura fidgeted on the spot. "No."
Surprisingly, Yue did not ask why. "Rage is very clever. An excellent swordsman as well, if I recall correctly. Yes, I fought him with swords once. He is quite good."
Kero's mouth hung open. "You fought the Rage card? And you did not inform Clow Reed of this?"
Yue shrugged. "It was not necessary."
Kero drew himself up. "Like hell it wasn't! Any information on Rage's fighting techniques, his weaknesses! would have been extremely useful!" Kero argued.
Sakura kept an eye on both Kero and Yue, nervous. Apparently, Yue had once fought with Rage, by sword, and hadn't told anyone, not even Clow Reed, about it. But why?
Yue's eyes narrowed until he was almost glaring at Kero. "I said, it was not necessary." Kero opened his mouth, apparently immune to the almost death look Yue had sent him, to protest, but Yue turned away from him, completely dismissing Kero. He made sure he had Sakura's undivided attention. "Just be careful Sakura, you do not want to give Rage a reason to unleash his anger upon you."
Sakura could only nod.
Sure he had gotten his point across, Yue let a small smile grace his lips. He drew his wings close to his body. "If you shall ever need my assistance, Sakura, do not hesitate to call me. I will make sure my other self does not go far."
Yue's wings began to close around him and Sakura knew that he was soon going to transform back into Yukito.
"Yue, wait!" Kero rushed forward. "How did it end?" he asked anxiously, "How did your fight with Rage end?"
Yue smiled, his wings almost completely shut. "It was a draw." and then the wings closed.
Kero's mouth hung open. "A draw? Did you hear that?! It was a draw!!"
"Not now, Kero," Sakura warned as Yue's wings began to part and Yukito became visible. Sakura quickly reached up and grabbed the shocked Guardian Beast and stuffed him back into her pocket.
The wings disappeared and Yukito reappeared, lying motionless on the ground. Sakura quickly rushed over to him and knelt down just as his eyes opened. He looked around blearily, confused. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," Sakura made sure she sounded concerned. "When I couldn't find my earring, you got up to help me, and then you just...fainted. Are you all right?"
Yukito sat up, then felt his head to make sure there weren't any bumps. Then, standing up, he smiled. "I guess I'm fine."
Sakura stood up, too. "I found my earring." she offered in a small voice.
Sakura and Yukito looked at each other. They each broke into smiles and then quiet chuckles. Yukito looked around. "I guess I just haven't been getting enough sleep lately."
Sakura smiled sympathetically. No doubt Yue had kept the poor man up twenty four seven in order to get here as quickly as possible. "Maybe you should get back to wherever you're staying and catch up on some sleep?" she suggested.
Yukito nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea, but I'll walk you home first." he told her.
"That's really not necessary, if you want to get back you don't have to walk me first."
Yukito smiled wryly. "Oh yes I do. If I let you walk back on your own, I'd never hear the end of it from Tory.
They were both laughing as they walked arm in arm back to Sakura's house.
~
Sakura was sitting on her bed, brushing out her hair after her busy day. Kero was up and pacing on air, muttering to himself. Ever since Sakura had announced she was retiring and had gone up to her room, Kero had been incessantly chattering about something, and Sakura had a very good idea of what.....
"I can't believe he fought Rage!" Kero finally exploded. "It's not so much the fact that he fought Rage, it's that he didn't inform Clow Reed of this! I didn't even know Yue knew how to use a sword!!"
Sakura sighed. "Kero? What does it matter? This happened centuries ago, it's over and done with. Why is it so important now?"
"I'll tell you why it's important!" Kero flew up close until he was right in front of Sakura, "Neglecting to tell Clow Reed about this in the first place is a mystery in itself," he said quietly, "But what really could have been useful, and still can be now, is the fact that Yue didn't lose."
Sakura thought she got the gist of what Kero was saying, but she didn't quite understand. "O.K." she said, for lack of better things to say.
Kero sighed. "You remember I told you how much of a swordsman Rage is? He is simply the best. The fact that Yue wasn't cut to pieces is a miracle in itself, the fact that Yue has a skill close to Rage's is nigh impossible."
Sakura knew what he was saying, but she just couldn't picture it.
Kero sighed again. "No, I suppose you would have had to see it to truly understand it." Kero paused, thinking back. "On the battlefield, Rage is a veritable demon. He looks like a demon, he fights like a demon, he even acts like a demon." Kero's eyes flickered, picking out an unpleasant memory. "His hair shone like the moon's rays, his blade gleamed like the brightest of stars. The battle fever in his eyes was plain to see, it was blinding even if you were not anywhere near him. And his appearance, the splattering of crimson blood across his bone white face, his sword soaked with it, gave him an unholy cast. You were lucky if you saw him before he struck he was so fast." Kero's eyes flickered back to the present. "My point is, Rage has unnatural skill, it's the only explanation there could be for it. If Yue is skilled enough to fight with Rage and have the duel come out as a draw," Kero shook his head. "It's just a bit much to take in, especially when he just sprung it on me." then, Kero's mood seemed to improve considerably. "But, I suppose I should only focus on the fact that Yue might have a real chance of defeating Rage, although, I would still like the whole story." he added.
Sakura supposed she should be happy. Yue might be the one who enables them to capture Rage. But, for some reason, she felt uneasy, like something bad was going to happen.
Sakura shook herself and pushed the feeling away. She set her hairbrush on her night stand and settled under her covers. "Maybe Yue will tell you what really happened that day?" Sakura suggested, yawning. She turned out the light.
Kero snorted, crawling up onto her pillow. "If Yue doesn't want to tell me, there's no way I'll be able to wheedle it out of him." Kero settled down and closed his eyes. "He'd probably just sit there and stare at me until I went away."
Sakura smiled as she drifted off to sleep, but her thoughts were troubled.
~
Sakura woke up to her phone ringing. Her head still under the covers, she reached out blindly for the phone. She found it, picked it up, and brought under the blanket and to her ear. Kero opened his eyes and stared at the mound of lumpiness before him.
"Hello?" Sakura grated out, never the morning person.
Madison's voice on the other end of the line, "Sakura, Li's gone."
Sakura bolted upright in bed, the covers flung off of her head, "What!?" Sakura screeched into the receiver.
Madison winced. Maybe she shouldn't have phrased it quite that way. "When I woke up this morning, I went to check on him, but he wasn't there. I started to panic and rushed into the living room to phone you, and that's when i saw the note."
Sakura relaxed, a little. "Note?" she echoed.
Madison nodded. "He left a note saying that he was going to his apartment."
Sakura bit her lip, worried. Even though she knew Li could take care of himself, she just didn't think he should be out and about quite yet. "O.K. Madison, thanks for calling."
"Hey, no problem, just thought you might like to know. So, you gonna go after him?"
"I haven't decided yet. I'll call you back."
All right, bye."
Sakura hung up the phone. Kero was looking at her strangely. "Li's out of Madison's apartment and gone to his own." she explained.
Kero nodded sagely, "Ah, the Chinese brat, should have known it had something to do with him."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Would you stop calling him that? He has a name you know."
"I know, but that kid annoys me."
Sakura began getting dressed. "So, if you started to annoy me, I'd get to call you 'stuffed animal?'"
"No."
"Well why not? You do it to Li all of the time."
Kero had that 'I'm better than everyone else' look on his face. "I'm Guardian Beast of the Seal. You have to address me by name."
"Is that so?" Sakura headed for the door.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Kero asked, floating towards her.
Sakura looked back at him, exasperated. "I'm going down to breakfast. I'm coming back," she placed her hand on the knob, "And I won't forget to bring you back something."
"Woohoo!! FOOD!!"
His cheering was abruptly cut off the same time Sakura froze in her spot. She sensed something. Sakura looked over at Kero. He nodded his head slightly.
Great, just what she needed, a Clow card.
Sakura opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway, and came face to face with......
"Tory?" Sakura asked, concerned. He looked pale, and there was sweat glistening on his brow. When he looked down at Sakura, his eyes were distant and clouded over. "Tory?" Sakura asked again. "Are you all right?"
Tory just stood there for a moment, saying nothing, then, "No, Squirt, I don't think I am." and then he began to topple.
With a surprised cry, Sakura caught him, not an easy feat with a man of his size. "Tory? Tory!" no answer. Damn!
Sakura began dragging him back to his room. She hefted him onto his bed, with quite a bit of effort, and felt his forehead. Sakura pulled her hand back quickly. Tory was extremely hot. "Oh," Sakura groaned. She got up and rushed to the bathroom. She quickly pulled out a wash cloth and thrust it under the tap. She turned on the cold and waited until the water got really cold, then she rushed back into Tory's room. She placed the cloth on Tory's forehead.
Tory opened his eyes and they focused on Sakura. "Tory," she said urgently, "What's wrong?"
"I-I'm not sure." he said confused. "I felt fine when I went to bed yesterday, and when I woke up this morning, but now," Tory frowned, trying to think. "I think I've got the flu." he stated.
Sakura blinked. The flu? But, it wasn't even flu season! Tory's eyes began to close,
"Tory? Tory!" no use, he was out of it. Sakura went back into the bathroom and got a barf bowl. She placed it beside Tory's bed, just in case.
Sakura headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to tell her dad the bad news. But, to Sakura's amazement, Dad wasn't in the kitchen. No familiar cooking sounds, no smell of pancakes, and no Dad...........
Sakura headed back up the stairs in dread. She walked towards the end of the hallway, and to her father's bedroom. She knocked timidly on the door, waiting.
"Come in."
Sakura sighed in relief. Her dad certainly sounded fine. Maybe he'd just slept in? Sakura opened the door and poked her head in with a smile on her face.
"Don't come too close, Sakura," Mr.Avalon advised. "It's contagious."
Sakura's smile turned to a look of shock.
Her father had the chickenpox!!
"W-what......?" Sakura stuttered, at a loss for words. This was impossible!
Mr.Avalon smiled for Sakura's benefit, but it was clear he was troubled. "I don't know Sakura, I just don't know."
"But, but, you've already had the chickenpox." Sakura said quietly.
"I know," Mr.Avalon sat up straighter in bed. "It's a puzzle to me. Maybe it's some new strain of the illness?"
"Are you all right?" her brother, and now her father, and all in the same day. Something didn't smell right....
Mr.Avalon nodded. "I feel fine. I woke up this morning like this. I don't have a fever and, thankfully, I'm not itching. It may look like someone coloured on me with marker, but, for all of that I feel pretty good." he assured her.
Sakura was only marginally relieved. "Tory's out cold with the flu." she stated.
Mr.Avalon frowned, concerned. "That's odd, he looked well yesterday."
"So did you." Sakura pointed out.
"Yes, well," Mr.Avalon threw off the covers and got up.
"What are you doing!?" Sakura asked, alarmed.
"I'm going to make Tory some chicken noodle soup." Sakura looked at him like he'd gone mad. Mr.Avalon laughed. "Don't worry, I feel fine. If I start to feel dizzy or nauseous, I'll get back into bed." he promised.
Sakura stood there, debating whether or not to let him out of the room. Finally, she just turned on her heel and ran back to her room. She opened the door and shut it quickly.
Kero looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "Did you find a Clow card or something?" he teased.
Sakura smirked. She couldn't wait to see his expression when she let this one go. "Yes, I found a Clow card."
Kero's jaw dropped. W-what? When?"
Sakura decided to stop teasing him. "Well," she began, thinking of Tory, "Dad and Tory suddenly came down ill this morning. The really weird part is, my Dad had the chickenpox." Sakura looked at Kero hopefully, if a Clow card was behind this, then that would mean that all of this was just temporary. If a Clow card wasn't behind this....Sakura didn't want to think about it. "Is there a Clow card that can make people sick, Kero?"
Kero nodded. "But, are you sure what's happening to Tory and your father isn't normal?"
Sakura gave him a look. "Kero, you don't just get sick like that. And besides, there is no way, under normal circumstances, that my Dad could possibly get the chickenpox. You see, you can only get them once , twice if you're really unlucky, and only when you're a kid."
Kero sighed. "Well, we did just sense a Clow card," even though Kero knew they had to capture the cards as soon as possible, he just wished they would leave them alone, go into hiding, and not bother them.
Ironic isn't it?
"O.K.," Kero said, getting down to business. "There is one card that could do such a thing. The Disease card."
"The Disease card?" Sakura questioned, needing more information.
Kero nodded. "He is very arrogant. His power enables him to cause great pain wherever he pleases, sometimes it even kills. The power went straight to his head. He's one of the more selfish cards." he shook his head. "In the thirteen hundreds, the Disease card created the Bubonic plague, as a last ditch effort to spurn Clow Reed, to get even. That is an example of what the Disease card can do when riled."
"You mean, we're going to have another plague?!" Sakura asked, aghast.
Kero shrugged. "If he chooses."
"But Kero! that's horrible! We can't let that happen!"
Don't worry, as soon as the Disease card is resealed, all of the virus' will cease to be. So any damage he does can be reversed."
"Well, that's good." Sakura said, relieved. "So, all we have to do is capture him."
"Huh, easier said then done." Kero was silent, thinking. "The sooner we do this the better, but we're going to need some help."
"Li?" Sakura suggested.
Kero looked skeptical. "You're sure he's back to normal? I don't want him to turn on you during the battle." he explained.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Pretty sure."
"All right then," Kero sighed, "But if this backfires, I will not be held responsible!"
Sakura picked up the phone. She figured she'd better call Madison about this, lest she get a book to the head afterwards. Madison would hate to miss videotaping another card capture.
"Hello?" came a rather nasal voice on the other end of the line.
Sakura blinked, surprised. "Madison? God, you sound awful!"
"Tanks." came the sarcastic reply.
"What?" Sakura asked, not sure she'd heard Madison right.
"Tanks."
"What?"
"Tanks! Tanks! Oh!" Madison cried, frustrated. Sakura heard a sneeze from over the phone, and then a sniffle. "I have a told." she explained.
"A cold?" Sakura wanted confirmed.
"Yes, a told, that's what I said."
"Madison," Sakura said, frowning, "You were fine this morning."
"I know, after I talled you, I dot a horrible head told. It sprang up at the last minute. It's weird."
"Not you, too!!" Sakura groaned.
"What?" Madison asked, completely clueless. "Do you have a told, too?"
"No! And thank God! 'Cause if I did I'd be sounding like you!"
"Hey!" Madison yelled, "Dat's not funny!"
Sakura laughed, "Sorry! Joking, joking!" Sakura quit laughing. "Seriously, though, your cold isn't an everyday cold. A Clow card caused it."
"A Clow tard!?"
"Yeah, the Disease card. I was calling you to tell you about it, see if you wanted to videotape it. But, that's out of the question now."
"Sakura........!!" Madison began protesting.
"No!" Sakura quickly put her foot down, worried about her friend. "You're sick, you're not going! And if you disregard what I say this time Madison, I won't let you go along on any more card captures with me!"
Madison was instantly cowed. "Fine! But dis is de only dime!!"
"Good, I'm glad we understand each other." Madison grumbled something uncomplimentary under her breath. Sakura grinned. "I'm heading to Li's now, I'm going to check up on him and ask him to help me at the same time." more grumbling. Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'll make sure to tell you everything afterwards, O.K.? I'll see you later. Bye!"
"Bye."
Sakura hung up the phone. She looked at Kero, "Madison can't come, she's sick as well." Sakura stopped as a nasty thought occurred to her. "I hope Li isn't sick as well."
Kero's expression darkened. "Me either. We need that kid."
Sakura bit her lip and looked towards her bedroom door. "I hope Dad and Tory will be all right without me."
Kero came up close and put a comforting paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry Sakura, they'll be fine, and the sooner you capture the Disease card, the sooner they'll get better." Kero reasoned.
Sakura sighed. "You're right." she smiled reassuringly. "Lets get to Li's."
~
Sakura knocked on Li's door. "It's a good thing I remembered how to get here." Sakura said.
Kero grunted, "Yeah, after being lost for half an hour."
Sakura smiled sweetly at him. "Shut-up. I got us here, didn't I?"
"It could still be the wrong apartment." Kero replied smartly.
"Ye of little faith." she murmured.
At that moment, the door opened and Li was standing in front of them. "Sakura!" he said, looking surprised. A second later though, he blushed.
Sakura looked at him in amusement. Was there a red tinge to his cheeks? Then, an awful thought occurred to Sakura, what if Li was getting sick, too? Maybe that was why his cheeks were flushed. "Are you feeling all right, Li?" she asked, concerned.
Li looked at her in puzzlement. "Yeah, why?"
Sakura shook her head, looking serious. "Li, I sensed....." she didn't get to finish.
"A Clow card." Li interrupted. Sakura nodded. "I know. Is that why you're here?"
That was strange, it almost sounded like he was disappointed. Sakura brushed the thought aside. "Yes, I know what card it is. It's the Disease card."
"Is that why you asked my if I was feeling all right?" Li asked, that statement finally sinking in.
Sakura nodded. "Yeah, Dad, Tory, and Madison are all victims of the Disease card's power. I-I came here to ask you for your help in capturing it."
Li was silent. He wasn't debating whether or not to help her, he already knew he was going to help her. He was, rather, surprised. He just hadn't expected Sakura to act so.....nonchalent, around him. At least, not after she had kissed him. For Li, that's all he seemed able to think about lately, but, when he looked at Sakura now, it was like she'd completely forgotten about it. But that couldn't be possible, could it? Had the kiss really meant nothing to her? Had it just been a last ditch effort to bring him back to the world of sanity? He'd like to think it had been more than that.
"Li?"
Li snapped out of his trance and looked down at the worried face of Sakura. He realized that when he hadn't answered her, she must have thought he was going to say no. Li smiled slightly, as much as he was able to, reassuring Sakura. "Of course I'll help you." Li's face abruptly hardened, his eyes taking on an edge of steel. He didn't quite realize how much vehemence was in his gaze, nor did he see Sakura take a half step back. "Those cards need to be captured, Sakura, no matter what. They can't be permitted to roam free, to harm people and cause chaos." he whispered intensely.
"Li," Sakura looked at him with worried eyes. "Don't worry, we'll capture them." she whispered.
Li seemed to snap back to reality. He blinked once, then said, "I'll get my Lasin board," and disappeared back into the apartment.
Sakura exchanged a glance with Kero. "Insanity must have really scarred him." Sakura said sadly.
Kero nodded. "Yes, and now, he's just as bent on revenge of the Clow cards as the cards are of Clow Reed." Kero turned away, his expression troubled. "I just hope he doesn't let that revenge rule his life. Revenge can eat a person alive."
Sakura stared at Kero's back, her expression grim. Li came back out of his apartment, now attired in his ceremonial robes, his sword strapped to his back. The Lasin board was clasped in his right hand. He stopped short, glancing back and forth between Mistress and Guardian. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Sakura smiled what she hoped was a passable smile, and knew it was not. "Nothing." she turned and headed towards the stairs. "You coming?"
Li stood there for a moment in bewilderment, watching Sakura and Kero's retreating backs. He shook his head and hurried to catch up.
As the three of them stepped outside, they looked about them, uneasy. The area around them wa completely.....deserted. For ten in the morning, the streets looked like a ghost town, not a soul in sight.
"It feels....dead out here." Li whispered.
Sakura nodded. "Yeah, it was like this when we walked over here. I figure, mostly everyone is inside, sick."
Kero nodded his agreement.
Li's face turned solemn, "Lets get this card."
"Kero, you keep telling me how powerful these cards are, and I know that to be true, since I've experienced their power firsthand, but, are they too powerful for the Lasin board to detect?" Sakura wanted to know.
Li glanced sharply at Kero, also wanting to know the answer.
Kero shook his head. "They're still Clow cards, Sakura, they still have the aura that Clow cards do, even though there's is a little different. The Lasin board will still detect them." Kero assured.
Li nodded, relieved. "Then lets get going." he held out the Lasin board, "Force, know my plight! Release the light!" the Lasin board turned a direction before a thin shaft of light exploded from it. The light pointed in the direction of....
Sakura groaned. "Oh! Not the forest!! I've had just about all I can take of the forest!!" she wailed.
Li looked at her strangely, not understanding what she meant since she had never told him about Rage.
Sakura sighed, "Nevermind," she mumbled. She started walking, following the light, "Come on."
Li followed closely behind her, silently, keeping his senses open, listening for any potential danger. He lost Sakura once, he would not do so again.
"Li?" Sakura asked quietly.
Li glanced at her. "Yeah?"
She looked over her shoulder at him. "You are all right now, aren't you? You haven't been having anymore visions?"
Normally, if someone had asked something like that of him, he would have either snapped back at them, or killed them with an icy glare. But this was Sakura, and he could never do such a thing to her. "No," Li answered. "I haven't had one single vision since you.....saved me." he paused. "In fact, I actually dreamed last night."
Sakura smiled, interested. "Really? What was your dream about?"
Li smiled slightly, "Cherry Blossoms."
Sakura's face screwed up in puzzlement. "Cherry Blossoms?" she questioned, confused.
Li just continued smiling mysteriously, not explaining any further.
Sakura just shrugged and turned back around, following the light, as clueless as ever. Kero, however, was staring at Li intently, his eyes narrowed. Li, sensing someone was watching him, turned his head. He found Kero watching him, and had the uneasy feeling that Kero knew.....
"There's something you should know about the Disease card." Kero spoke up, breaking his death glare on Li to look at Sakura. Li quietly let out a sigh. "The Disease card was never interested in magic overly much. The only magic he really has is his power to call upon diseases. He does have other magic, but, it shouldn't be that much of a problem, especially since he hasn't used it in over a century. He did, however, take a great interest in knives."
"Knives?" Sakura and Li questioned in unison. They glanced at each other.
Kero nodded. "Small, narrow, very sharp knives. Throwing knives to be exact. Be very careful," Kero warned. "His magic may be top notch, but his accuracy is superb. He never misses, unless he wants to. So move fast if he's got a knife out. He conceals the knives up his sleeves and you never know they're coming until you look down and find one embedded in your chest."
"Great." Li muttered. He frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Kero, there are ancient texts, magical books, that have mention of you and the Clow cards, but I have never read anything about these cards."
Kero cast him a critical eye. "That's because there are no records of these cards. The only records are up here," Kero tapped his head. "Clow Reed burned all of the books containing information on the cards.
"Why?" Sakura asked.
"Because, no matter how many warnings were put into those books, there would always be that one fool who would disregard the warning in his own search for power. Clow Reed was afraid of this, that the cards might accidentally be let loose when there was no one around to reseal them."
"Then how is anyone supposed to get the information that might help stop the cards?" Sakura wanted to know.
"That's what I'm for," Kero said, as if she should have known better. "Once the cards were released, the only way to get rid of them would be to seal them again. The only person who could do that would be a card captor, and if there was no card captor, no amount of information would help get those cards under control." Kero paused, his eyes narrowing, "We're getting close."
Sakura bit her lip. "Maybe we should have brought Yue along."
Li glanced at her sharply, "Yue?" he asked, not quite sure he'd heard her right.
Sakura nodded. "I spoke with him yesterday. He said that if I needed any help all I had to do was call him."
Li continued to stare at her. Then, blinking once, he shook his head. Apparently, he's ben out of the game for far too long.
The trio came upon the King Penguin slide. They stopped just outside the perimeter of the sand that surrounds it. The Lasin board deactivated. The three glanced about them uneasily, "Something's not right here," Sakura whispered uneasily.
Li nodded, trying to look everywhere at once.
"Where's the Disease card? Sakura whispered, more to herself than anyone else. She walked towards the slide, trying to get a sense of the Disease card.
"Be careful Sakura," Li cautioned.
They stood there, tense, waiting. The sense of wrongness continued to permeate the very air around them, but the Disease card had yet to show himself.
Sakura brought her hand down upon the penguin slide, frustrated. She leaned against it, crossing her arms. "Where is he?"
Before Sakura quite knew what was happening, something thudded solidly into the slide beside her. Sakura turned her head slowly, staring with wide-eyed fascination at the small, silver handle embedded in the slide, just centimeters away from where her ear had been.
"Oh, this can't be good." Sakura murmured.
Li and Kero rushed over to her. "Are you all right?" Li asked anxiously, looking her over.
Sakura nodded. "Oh yeah, I'm fine." she said, her gaze still on the knife. She turned her head in the direction she was sure the knife had come from.
A man with short brown hair stood with his arms crossed. He was wearing the gaudiest clothing Sakura had ever seen. He had an amused smirk on his face. He lifted his left hand, which was decorated with rings, and the knife in the slide immediately flew to it and disappeared up his sleeve.
"What have we here? Children trying to play adult games?" he questioned in a syrupy voice that made Sakura want to gag.
Li unsheathed his sword. "We're not children." he growled.
"Ooh, a sword, I'm shaking," his smile widened. "With laughter. Only one sword was ever able to best my knives." he said cryptically. "Now, why don't you two go on home. I have no quarrel with you. It's Clow Reed I'm after."
"Are all of you this dense?"
Disease glanced in the direction of the new voice. His eyes widened in surprise. "Kero Beros!"
Kero crossed his arms, enjoying the look of astonishment on Disease's face. "In the flesh, and I'm no child. I'm older than you are."
Disease stared at Kero for a moment before regaining his composure. He smiled. "Yeah, and you're also smaller than I am."
Kero turned several shades of red before finally exploding, "Oh! Just you wait! When I'm able to change into my other form, you'll be sorry!"
Disease laughed. "Even in your true form, you are no match for me." he stopped laughing abruptly. "Now, where's Clow Reed? I can sense him nearby."
Kero rolled his eyes. "Clow Reed is dead." by the look on Disease's face, Kero could tell Disease didn't believe him. "Focus, you idiot. That's not Clow Reed you're sensing."
Disease's eyes narrowed. He stood there for a moment, opening his senses and latching onto Clow Reed's aura. Eventually, his eyes came to rest on the two card captors. He raised his arm and pointed an accusing finger at them. "You two, you both have the sense of Clow Reed." his gaze switched to Sakura. "But you, more so than him. But how can that be?"
Kero leaned in close to Sakura. "Remember when I said all of the cards were smart? I think there might be an exception." he gave his full attention back to Disease. "Clow Reed is dead." he said slowly, as if addressing a child. "They are his descendants, and they will be the ones to seal you again."
Disease lowered hi arms until they rested loosely at his sides. "Is that so? Well, obviously, they really do want to have a go at me. Fine, if Clow Reed isn't going to show himself," Kero rolled his eyes, " then let us see how long the children will last. Disease's hand twitched.
It was no more than a slight movement, but, having, witnessed this before, Kero knew exactly what the twitch meant. "Down!" he yelled urgently.
The panic in his voice had the desired effect, Sakura and Li both hit the dirt. No sooner had they hit the ground did two knives fly over their heads. They both scrambled to their feet. "Li," Sakura said urgently, "Give me a few seconds."
Li nodded. "Dash card! Release and dispel! Dash!" Li quickly sprang at Disease, his sword coming out of it's sheath. Disease quickly released two more knives at the oncoming Li.
While Li was distracting the Disease card, Sakura made the most of it. "Oh, Key of Clow! Power of Magic! Power of Light! Surrender the wand, the force ignite! Release!" the Clow wand appeared and Sakura gripped it tightly in her hands, watching Li desperately try to dodge Disease's knives, even with Dash's added speed. "Kero, why isn't Dash helping Li?" she asked.
"The dash card is helping him." Kero said. "If it wasn't, Li would be dead by now. The Disease card himself may not be able to move that fast , but he can throw a knife that fast."
Disease threw a knife and it narrowly missed going into Li's arm, tearing the cloth of Li's robes. Li looked at Disease disbelievingly. Disease smirked. "Amateur." he drew back his arm, a knife at the ready.
"No!" Sakura drew the Clow wand back and brought it forward with as much force as she could upon Disease's shoulder blades.
Disease stumbled forward, dropping his knife. He turned around angrily and glared at Sakura. Another knife appeared in his hand. "Big mistake," he growled.
"Time card!" Li began. Disease whipped around and released his knife at Li instead. "Release and dispel! Time card!" time around them froze, but to Li's complete surprise, the knife kept on coming. It hit the Time card and sent it spiraling out of Li's hand.
"You ignorant, little fool!" Disease laughed. "That card has not the power to immobilize me!" he turned back to Sakura, grinning. "For that, you get to watch her die." he let loose a knife.
Everything happened at once.
Li rushed forward, screaming, "No!" knowing that could never reach her in time, Kero doing the same. Sakura closed her eyes, knowing that she was in for it next time. As she thought this, she suddenly sensed another Clow card. Her eyes snapped open in time to see Rage deflecting the knife with his blade, sending it flying into a tree.
Everyone froze. Disease's eyes widened, and he took a step back. Sakura could have sworn he was frightened. "Rage." he whispered.
Rage looked at Disease indifferently, but his voice practically dripped venom. "Disease, you are still as much a coward as you were centuries before."
Disease licked his lips nervously. "Nice to see you again, Rage."
Rage looked upon him condescendingly. "God, you always were a lapdog."
"Are you going to move out of the way?" Disease questioned hesitantly.
Rage lifted his left hand. "No, I'm not."
Disease's eyes widened in terror, "No," he whispered.
A stream of white magic exploded from Rage's hand. As the liquid came into contact with Disease, it spread over his entire body until he was a frozen block of ice.
Rage had frozen him, his power that of Ice.
Sakura stood there, gaping at the block of ice that had been Disease, a look of terror captured on his face.
Rage glanced at Sakura. "Are you waiting for him ot melt?" he questioned.
Sakura blinked. She looked at Rage, then back at the Disease card. She lifted her Clow wand, "Disease card, return to your power, confined! Disease card!"
A card appeared before the Clow wand and Disease was slowly sucked into it. After the card was sealed, Sakura quickly put it away, not wanting to look at it, fearing that that same look of terror that had been on his face would still be there.
Rage stood there, gazing into her face intently. "Are you all right?"
Sakura nodded. "I'm fine."
"Well, I'm not."
Sakura glanced over her shoulder at Li, and wanted to groan. His eyes were blazing with anger and Sakura knew that he sensed that Rage is a Clow card. She glanced back at Rage to find anger coming to life in his own eyes.
"Clow card," Li snarled.
"Spawn of Clow Reed," Rage said quietly.
Then, they were at each other, their swords coming together, producing a clanging that echoed through the park and a shower of sparks that glittered around them.
To be continued.....
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Ooh!! What outcome will occur between Rage and Li? Will one of them die? And why did Rage save Sakura and help her seal one of his fellow cards? Find out next chapter! See you then! And don't forget to review! :)