Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Curse Cards ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Curse

A cold wisp of air rushed by, sending a chill up Sakura's spine. She was standing in a dark forest late at night. Shaolan and Kero were with her, with no expressions on either of their faces. They were staring across to where a tall, dark silhouette was standing. They could see another silhouette standing beside the first one but was it was half its size. The taller one was about to do something, then everything went black.

Sakura woke up in her bed. It was only a dream! She'd had weird dreams before, and they were all predictions. Maybe this was one too. She turned off her alarm clock and got up. The sunlight poured into her room blinding her. Kero was silently playing on her game system.

"Good morning, Kero-chan," Sakura said as she stretched.

"Morning," Kero replied still deeply into the game.

"I had a strange dream again."

"What happened?" Kero asked slowly, putting his game on pause and looking at her.

"Well, we were out in the woods. Li was there too, and two other people, or things."

"Who were they?" Kero asked, flying to her level.

"I couldn't tell. Oh no! I'm late for school!"

"Nothing new there!" Kero laughed. He flew back down to his spot and continued playing.

Sakura got dressed quickly and ran down the stairs. She almost tripped over herself. She hurriedly put on her roller blades and skated off to school.

At first she was fine but as she came closer to her school she felt something was wrong. She sensed something, something very bad! Sakura reached the school and felt the presence was much stronger the closer she got! It felt as strong as the clow cards used to be, but all of them were captured! Maybe this was all linked to her dream?

Sakura reached the school quite early and the morning recess was still running. She looked over at her watch then realized that her clock at home was just set wrong!

Sakura looked around the playground and saw Shaolan. She approached him noting he did not look so good. It was if he was in pain!

"Are you alright Li-kun?" Sakura asked coming closer.

He shook his head slowly and shakily. "Do you sense it too?"

"Yes. I had a strange dream last night. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know. I was hoping you did."

"Are you hurt?" Sakura asked as she rolled up next to him. As she got closer she felt as though a hundred knives were stabbing into her. She wanted to scream but she could not make a sound. She felt her breathing speeding up. An icy feeling crept into her. She fell onto her knees.

"You feel it too?" but as he asked her the horrible feeling suddenly left him. "I think I know now what is going on!"

Shaolan moved away from Sakura, and for some reason the feeling flooded out of her. She sighed catching her breath and noticed Shaolan was back in pain.

"What is going on?" Sakura asked.

"I think it's some sort of spell, or something," Li managed to say. "When you come close to me the attack is on you! When I am further away, it is on me!"

Sakura nodded her head. She looked around, luckily seeing no other students close enough to overhear them talking about magic. "I won't let you get hurt from me! I can take the pain!" she said stepping next to him.

"Don't!" he said jumping back.

"Li-kun!"

The bell rang to start school. Shaolan tried hard to avoid coming too close to Sakura, while she tried hard to go near. Class soon started. Tomoyo noticed them acting strangely so Sakura filled her in.

"Who would do such a thing like that? What do they have against you?" Tomoyo asked.

"We don't know yet. I'll ask Kero tonight. He might know something about this."

When Li reached the class he hesitated before his seat. He asked permission from their teacher to sit next to Yamazaki who sat across the room from where Sakura was seated.

Sakura sighed sadly. She felt responsible for what Li was going through. She looked up slowly as a new student entered the classroom.

"Class, please welcome Ellen!" their teacher introduced.

Ellen had short messy black hair and reddish brown eyes. She was quite tall. She was wearing a strange choker around her neck with a red gem. She seemed to be watching Sakura and Li carefully She did not say much but walked to her assigned seat near the opposite side of the room near Li and Yamazaki.

Sakura lifted her hand. "Yes Sakura?" the teacher asked.

"May I sit next to Ellen so I may help her catch up to the classes work?" Li shook his head trying to stop her from sitting close, but she ignored him.

"Yes, you may. That is very kind of you!"

"Thank you!" she smiled and picked up her books and walked over to the seat next to Ellen.

A couple more kids asked for new seating arrangements. Li's hand darted up when she got close enough to transfer the attack to her.

"Yes Li?" the teacher asked.

"Is it okay if I sit at my normal…?" he started to ask but couldn't finish.

"That is enough seating changes for today. Every one, go back to your normal seats! There will be no new seats today!"

All the kids moved back to their original spots including Li and Sakura. Sakura overheard Ellen coldly say, "It was not meant for this, but it will still work for me!"

Sakura looked at her confused, but Ellen just looked away.

The rest of the class seemed much slower and painful. She wanted it to end quickly.

"Sakura, you don't look so good, maybe you should go down to the office," the teacher offered.

Sakura moaned in pain and she saw Li nodding his head as if to say go. She shook her head and remained seated.

"Okay then," the teacher sighed and continued his lesson.

Sakura could not pay much attention to the lesson. It seemed like he was talking gibberish. She caught Ellen glaring at her. Sakura sat up and looked back at her confused.

"What is going on?" Tomoyo asked, "Ellen is staring at you."

"I don't know but I can sense something funny from her. Li also seems worried. He looks as if he has committed a crime!"

"I know how he feels." She felt bad for putting him in that position. She did not want to hurt him.

"Sakura? Tomoyo?" the teacher asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, sorry," Tomoyo replied. He turned away and continued on.

"I just want today to end!" Sakura mumbled to Tomoyo.

"The lesson is almost over. We have only 5 more minutes!"

5 minutes seemed much longer then it sounded. She could not get the dream out of her mind. Maybe Ellen was one of the silhouettes in her dream but she was too short to be the tall one, and too tall to be the short one. Sakura could tell that the smaller one was not human, but an animal, a wild cat… like Kero.

The class ended and recess started. Li gave up trying to run away from Sakura but when she came to him he tried again to stop her.

"Sakura, listen to me! You suffered through this class, and you will have more when class starts again. The least I can do is let you be safe from this at recess."

Sakura nodded and he backed off just as far as he had to.

Tomoyo ran up to them and said, "Hi Sakura-chan and Li. Any luck yet?"

When they did not respond, she got the drift.

"Before when I sensed it, it felt like a clow card, but we captured them all!" Sakura said, "It is so confusing!"

"I have never heard of a card that does magic like this!" Li said. "That is if it is a card."

Sakura held her key in her hands. "I wonder if there is more. But it is impossible! I can only be claimed a Card Captor when all of the clow cards were sealed, and that has been done!"

This made them all think hard.

"If it is not a card, then how do we get rid of it? We can't live like this forever!" Li said.

"We will have to find a way. I know we will! If we were able to capture all of the cards, we can do this too!"

"I guess you are right. Is it okay if I tape it?" Tomoyo asked.

"Ya, but that is if it is beatable! Let me try my Rashinban."

Sakura and Tomoyo both nodded.

He repeated holding out the board. The middle started to glow but there was no pin point.

"It's not working?" Tomoyo asked.

"It must be close, if it is a card!" Then Li gasped, "Its black light! That is a sign of evil magic!"

Sakura gulped. This worried her. What other things could this magic do? Soon the bell rang to begin class again. The rest of the day was long and torturing. When it finally ended Sakura did not have enough energy to skate home so Touya came to pick her up. Sakura felt bad for leaving Li in pain for the whole night. It seemed so confusing that someone would want to do something as dark as this. Sakura regained her health but she was still recovering.

When she reached home she went straight upstairs. She needed to talk to Kero. When she opened her door she found Kero sleeping calmly on the game system's joystick happily dreaming of sweets. Sakura awoke him quickly, but not that it would give him a heart attack, but just to get his attention.

"Hey, I was sleeping," Kero muttered grumpily as he rubbed his tired eyes and looked sleepily at her, "Hey, you don't look so good. What is wrong?"

"Something strange happened at school. We don't know what kind of magic it is, but we can tell it is powerful."

"Expect the unexpected." Kero repeated, "What happened?"

"Well I sense something at school. It feels like a clow card. When we are at a certain distance, it feels like I'm being attacked. When far…" she trailed off.

"Let me guess, the other person received the attack?"

"How did you know?"

"I was afraid this would happen." Kero looked very serious. "The curse cards are back!"

"Curse cards? What is that?"

"They are rejected Clow Cards! Clow Reed selected them apart from the Clow cards, because they were dangerous and were used for no good! The owner of the cards will slowly be drained of energy to the Cures cards, and they will turn evil! They can change only if you can find a way to use them for good."

Sakura gulped listening intently.

"Just who else was attacked?" Kero asked.

"It is Shaolan. Why?"

"The card attacking you is called the Ying-Yang. It chooses the only two people the cards will go after, you and the kid! I can tell you have found its power."

"Yes, but just how many curse cards are there?"

"I think 14 or so."

"That is good. There were 52 Clow Cards, so this will be easier. Right?"

Kero shook his head slowly, "They're just as dangerous."

"Well, how strong is the Ying-Yang?"

"It will attack till death if you do not capture it quick!"

"Then Li is in big trouble!" Sakura said as she got up and grabbing the phone. She dialled Li's number.

On the other end of the phone Way picked up and greeted her.

"Hi, it is me Sakura; may I please speak to Li?"

"I'm sorry, he is not feeling well. Can I have him call you back?"

"Please, it is really important."

Li nodded to Way telling him that it was okay and took the phone. "Sakura?"

"Li-kun, Kero-chan told me about what happened and we were right! It is a card, but you are in great danger!"

Li hesitated then said, "Meet me at the park."

"Okay, I'll see you there!" She hung up and gathered the Sakura cards to take along with her, stuffing them in her pocket. She grabbed Kero and hid him while she went downstairs where her dad and Touya were.

On her way out Touya stopped her, "Hey monster, you can't go outside. You could barely walk today!"

"Touya, please it is important. I have to go. I hope you understand."

He just stood there looking at her. "Okay, but don't get yourself killed." He seemed to have a weird smirk on his face as if he knew something.

Sakura nodded then sprinted to the park. She had no time to call Tomoyo to tape the capture. When she reached the park she saw Shaolan there leaning on a tree. Sakura reached him to give him a break. She explained everything to him, the Curse Cards and that this was the Ying-Yang, but he did not recognize the name. It was because Clow Reed wanted to banish the face of the Curse Cards forever, but his plan did not work.

Sakura thought hard about how to capture it. Every card must have a weakness, but what could protect them from it? Then it hit her. She pulled out her key and changed it into the wand. She rummaged through her cards and pulled out the shield card.

Li smiled seeing her idea; the shield card protects and repels magic.

Sakura threw the card in front of her and hit it with the end of her wand calling out its name and gave it the command to protect herself and Li. A transparent orb covered them and a black link-like rope repelled from the both of them and whipped around trying to break the shield. The black rope moved rapidly like thunder.

"Sakura, capture it now!" Kero yelled and pointed to the thrashing card, "That is its true form!"

Sakura pulled herself together and held up her wand commanding the card to be captured. The card whipped around as it was sucked into a card. The card glowed black; as it was fully transformed then fell to the ground. Sakura walked out of the shield and picked up the card. The picture was of a ying-yang symbol with spikes surrounding the outside of it. The back of the new card was pitch black with a blood red, upside-down star, not gold. The card felt cold and very distant and evil.

Li dropped to his knees and bowed his head low. He was still recovering from the powers.

Sakura went to his side and helped him up. "It will be okay now!"

"Ya, but there must be more than one; it is a whole new deck!"

"I know," Sakura sighed. "If we can handle the Clow Cards, then we can do this!"

"It won't be easy but I'm supporting you! I might be able to help you, but I can only remember some of them."

Sakura held the Ying-Yang card in her hand, studying it hard. "Should I transform them into Sakura cards, Kero?"

"NO!!! I mean, no! The cards will turn anyone to evil!"

"Okay, okay! I won't. Are there any cards you remember?"

"Ya… trick… cut… nightmare… but that is it."

Sakura did not like the sounds of them.

"Way will be worried if I don't get home soon," Li said.

Sakura nodded. "Okay, but Kero and I will take you there."

"I'll be fine."

"You can barely walk, you need help!"

"She has a point," Kero added.

He sighed, and let them come along. It was not too far from the park, just a couple of blocks. They did not talk much but some conversation broke in.

"Kero, why do you think the cards are after us?" Li wondered.

"Well, I know Clow Reed sent the cards to another guardian, like Yue and me. But I can't remember who. The cards must have broken free or something and are after the clow cards owners, including you kid, because you did own some cards! You might be the owner of these ones, but it is not a good thing. Just don't transform them to anything, like Sakura did to the Clow cards to make them Star."

He nodded and waved good bye when they reached his house. They waved in return and walked off to Sakura's house. They reached home just in time for supper. Sakura sent Kero to her room and promised him some dessert when she was done.

"Hey Monster, I came home from school early today because of a flood," Touya started, "And when I came home I heard something upstairs!"

Sakura gulped thinking of Kero! He did look as if he knew something.

"You left your game system on! No wonder you are always late in the morning!"

Sakura sighed. "Sorry that WILL be fixed!" She coughed loud enough so Kero could hear upstairs.

Their dad served dinner to them. When they were done she brought a bowl of ice-cream to Kero. Kero stuffed his face but complained about brain freeze while Sakura tried to finish her missed homework. Her teacher gave her less then the rest of the class because she was not well.

"Kero-chan, please. I'm trying to do my work," Sakura sighed.

"Ya, but it hurts!" Kero whined holding his forehead. "Something so sweet, but yet so painful."

"Oh, ya. We have a new student in our class. Her name is Ellen."

"Ellen? Where have I heard that before?"

"Do you think she has something to do with the cards? She said to me that it was not meant for this but it works for her. What do you think she meant?"

"I don't know. It is close to another name."

"Really? What one?"

The door swung open and Touya came in. Kero froze. He had a spoon in his hand and a bowl of ice-cream in front of him. Sakura was across the room.

Touya's eyes glanced around the room. "Sakura, who are you talking to?" He saw Kero and his eyes ran back to him but the bowl was gone. He glared at him and looked back at Sakura.

"No one. I'm just doing my homework!"

"Really? Okay. Well, we rented a movie for tonight. You can call over some friends to watch it with us. Yukito is coming."

She blushed hearing his name. She snapped out of it, "Okay, just what kind is it?"

"You will see!" He smirked and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"I don't trust him anymore," Sakura said.

"Can I watch it too, please?"

"Watch it be romance. Still want to watch it then?"

Kero quivered at the idea. "Why would your brother want to watch a movie like that?"

"Good point. Well I guess you can come. I'll call Tomoyo over when I'm done my work!"

"Can I help you?" Kero flew over to her, looking over her shoulder.

"No, last time you did you got everything wrong!"

"Okay, I won't do math!"

"Kero, I'm almost done. Be patient."

The door swung open. Kero froze and dropped to the ground. It was Touya again. "Now I swear I heard something!"

"You must be hearing things!"

Touya looked right at Kero. "Wasn't that toy over there?"

"Yes. I just moved it!"

"To the floor?"

"He, um, fell! Look, I really need to finish my work and I need to call Tomoyo over!"

"Okay. Dad is leaving to go to a meeting. Bye."

"Bye." She waited until he was gone then told Kero, "Don't be so loud!"

"It is not my fault! You are louder. You have a bigger voice box then I do!"

"Just let me do my work or you won't be allowed to watch the movie!"

"Okay, okay! Don't get your knickers in a twist!"

Sakura finally finished her work and called Tomoyo. When she arrived she brought some cake for them to snack on, since Kero got Sakura's dessert.

Sakura soon found out it was a horror movie about ghosts. Kero was deeply interested in it while Sakura was terrified! Tomoyo and Sakura decided to leave and go to the park. On their way they decided to stop at Twin Bells. Inside was a new jewellery display. There were necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and more.

"That looks nice!" Sakura pointed to a silver necklace with a dark green emerald engraved on it.

"I'll buy it for you as a gift!" Tomoyo picked it up and brought it to the counter.

"Thanks!" Sakura smiled.

She handed her the gift and continued to search around the store. Sakura put on her new necklace. It was a nice shade of forest green.

"Nice pick, Sakura. It matches your eyes!" the shop keeper said.

Sakura thanked her and helped Tomoyo pick out a toy for her collection. They found a small wolf plush toy, and Sakura bought it for her in return.

Then they left for the park. Not many people were there for it was getting a bit late.

"So, what happened?" Tomoyo asked, "With that spell on you and Li?"

"Oh, it seems that there are more cards."

"I have to get them on tape! That means I get to make you more outfits!"

"This one was the Ying-Yang," Sakura said pulling out the card.

"I see," Tomoyo studied it. "Are you ready for the trip tomorrow?"

"Ya, I can wait!" Sakura said putting the card back with the rest. "It is supposed to teach us about mapping and team work on the second day!"

"The teams are randomly picked. I asked our teacher. I wonder who I'll be with!"

"Maybe we will find a card although they are not really good to find, but they do have to be captured."

"Don't worry about it! The more you worry the less fun you will have!"

"I guess you are right! Well we best get home before it gets too dark!"

"Okay, well see you tomorrow! Bye!"

Sakura waved to Tomoyo then headed home herself. She sensed something but it was not strong enough to point out. She walked on and finally reached her house. Touya, Kero and Yukito were still watching the movie. Kero was acting like a toy and stayed perfectly still, but had his eyes glued to the TV. Her dad was home so Sakura got ready for bed as they finished their movie. After it was over, Kero snuck upstairs as Julian headed home.

Sakura found it hard to sleep. She glanced around her dark room. She sighed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what had happened. What was to come? What awaited them? Sakura sensed something when she got home. It was slowly getting stronger, but it was still not directed. Sakura soon drifted into her dream world.

There they were again, out in the forest in the crisp night air. Li and Kero were there, along with the two dim silhouettes. She could see a clearer image now. They had wings, dragoon wings. One was human, the other a large cat! Sakura was holding her star wand with the clow cards in one hand, and in Li's hands were the curse cards. Li had his sword out, ready for battle. She realized that her dream was a battle between the two silhouettes and them. Then she awoke.

Sakura felt tired. Her whole body felt weak. She stretched and yawned and got up. She realized that she had forgotten to take off the necklace that Tomoyo gave her. It shone a nice light green in the morning light pouring into her room. Kero was still asleep and she was on time, now that her clock was set correctly. Sakura smiled remembering she had a fun school trip today. She got ready for school, and Kero soon woke up and helped her pack last minute stuff for the trip.

"Don't forget your cell phone," Kero said flying over picking up her phone and dropping it in her bag.

"Why would I need that? I'm only going for one night."

"What if a card shows up? Most of the curse cards attack together, so one weakens it and the other kills. You can even catch all of them in one day! It has happened! The cards have no owner now do they! Guess what happened to him?"

"You are bluffing!"

"Maybe, but they do attack together. The rest is a bluff. Take me seriously, they are very strong though."

"I doubt we will get much today, but I will take the phone with me, so relax!" Sakura zipped up her bag. "Now let me go, I'm going to be late again! I need to eat breakfast!"

"Fine, but expect the unexpected!" Kero called to her as she rushed down the stairs.

Sakura made her and Touya some pancakes. After she ate, she put on her blades and double checked that she had everything ready for the camping trip. She left her house, waving goodbye to Touya and her dad. She decided to take the short cut because she had quite a load to carry. She reached school just in time. She met up with Tomoyo who also was carrying a camping bag.

"Hi Sakura-chan," Tomoyo smiled. "Looks like you are on time again. I guess you are having some more luck!"

Sakura smiled and sat down at her desk. She placed her bag on the top and sat back and waited for school to start.

"I'm glad you like that necklace! I also brought that wolf toy along too!"

Sakura looked down at her necklace. It was now pale amber. She held it in her palm, remembering that it was dark green when she got it and light green in the morning. Now it was amber.

"Tomoyo, wasn't this necklace dark green?" Sakura said showing her the change in it.

"Oh, it must be one of those mood necklaces. You know, changes colour to the mood you are in. That colour means you are unsettled."

"I guess you are right," Sakura smiled, but stopped. She sensed something coming closer. It was a faint feeling. Then Shaolan came into the class room. She could tell that it was coming from him, but it was not strong enough to be a threat.

Li sat down as their teacher started talking. "Good morning, class. I'll take attendance first, then after the bell you will line up," he started down the list, calling out the names.

"Li, I'm sensing something from you," Sakura whispered to him so only he could hear.

"I know. I'm sensing it too. Did you bring your cards?"

"Ya, they are in my bag," she said, turning around before they got caught.

The teacher finished with the names, shortly after the bell echoed through the halls. The class headed down to the bus and filed on. The ride would be long, but when they reached the camping area, they would have many things to do and many activities to look forward to.

Sakura watched the scenery blur past her window. She sat next to Tomoyo on the trip there. She could sense something close. She watched her town slowly disappear out of sight.

Tomoyo was excited. "I can't wait to get there; it will be so much fun! Want to play a game as we wait?"

Sakura smiled seeing that there was something fun to do. "I know, Truth or Dare!"

Li, Naoko and Chiharu overheard and joined in their game. Sakura started by asking Naoko. Naoko picked truth over dare as the game started. They continued on for most of the trip, finding out deep secrets and watching embarrassing dares.

"So Li, what do you think of Sakura?" Chiharu asked him as a truth.

Li darkened to a light shade of red and tried to hide it by quickly answering, "She is a good friend."

"Is that all? You are blushing!"

"Stop torturing him," Sakura sighed wanting the question to pass herself.

"Sticking up for him? I bet you like him too!"

Sakura felt her face turning red now. She did not want to bring the attention onto her in this game. She was about to respond but was saved by the teacher. He told them that they had arrived. She scrambled to pick up her bag and left the bus.

Sakura enjoyed her new surroundings of tall, towering trees and thick, wild bushes. There was a small wooden cabin in the clearing where they were to head to with their bags. Sakura followed the teacher and class to the small house. Inside it was dark and warm. A little too warm for her taste.

The camp leader stood at the front of the cabin. She was tall and had short brown hair. She had dark brown eyes that matched her hair. She wore a whistle around her neck. She hushed the group and began to talk. "Hello, I'm Flash and I'll be your ranger. We have many activities for you but first I will tell you your camping groups. Most are as you have requested, but later on we will make new groups for other things."

Flash read the list of names in the groups, two to each tent and two groups to a site. Sakura was pared with Tomoyo for the tents and was told to hike to her camp site. The hike was a fair distance and the bags dragged them a bit. Shaolan and Yamazaki's were at the same site so they followed along with them. Yamazaki made the trip a bit interesting by adding that there was a werewolf sighting at this camp.

"I wonder what we will be doing today!" Sakura said.

"I bet we will be ghost hunting at night!" Yamazaki smiled trying to frighten her.

"Don't listen to him. I heard we will be rock climbing!" Tomoyo said.

Li smiled but Sakura didn't look so thrilled.

"What is wrong?" Yamazaki asked.

"I have never been rock climbing before. What if I make a fool of myself?"

"You won't!" Tomoyo smiled. "I only have gone once before. I was worried like you are now but I soon found out it is easy."

"I can help you," Li added.

"Thanks guys," Sakura smiled, but she still worried.

They soon reached their camp site. It was a small clearing surrounded by open bushes and forest trees. A camp fire was set in the center that looked used many times. Beside it was an old picnic table. There was a rocky edge on the left where you could see the large lake below.

They got to their jobs and set up the tents. It seemed to take a long time but it only took around 15 minutes. Sakura unpacked some of her belongings and placed them in the tent. She pulled out the Sakura cards and shoved them into her pocket before Yamazaki could see. Sakura could sense some cards around, but having Yamazaki around would make it tougher to capture.

When they were all set, they headed back down to the cabin where they would get ready for rock climbing. They reached the cabin as one of the first groups. Li now seemed worried, not for the climbing, but for something different.

"Li-kun, are you okay?" Sakura asked, sitting next to him.

He hesitated and then said, "Ya, I'm fine." But something was hidden in his words, as if he was not saying something.