Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Dream On ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Evil Idiot 
The sequel to Flight. Sakura and Meiling capture the Victory Cards.
Anime/Manga: Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.31.2001 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 626 | Status: Completed
The sequel to Flight. Sakura and Meiling capture the Victory Cards.
Anime/Manga: Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.31.2001 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 626 | Status: Completed
Yup, this is the nearly-as-crappy sequel to Flight. Go read that first if you haven't before.
*
Sakura sat on the park bench, waiting for Taisuke. He'd said he had something important to say to her, but what? She ran her fingers along the bench, until she felt something.
Sakura looked closer. Carved crudely were the letters S and T, inside a heart. She'd carved that herself, just a month ago.
Sakura smiled. She'd been going out with Taisuke for one and a half years now, which was a long time, considering that they were both popular at Tomoeda High. Nothing special caused them to become boyfriend and girlfriend. Taisuke just asked her out one day, and she had said yes…
She could see him approaching now. He had midnight black hair, and gentle brown eyes. Taisuke didn't have any glasses, but he bore a strange resemblance to Eriol.
"Hi, Sakura."
Taisuke sat himself down next to Sakura, looking unhappy.
"What happened, Taisuke?"
"I'm not going to Seijou University with you."
"Why not?"
"My father wants me to go to a university in America."
"What?"
"Yeah, it sucks. I don't want to be away from you."
She could see glistening tears in his eyes now. One of them escaped down his cheek. He brushed it away hastily. Sakura hadn't ever seen him cry before. Not even the time when his mother died from cancer.
"Well, when do you leave?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? That soon?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Well, I guess this is goodbye…"
"Um, yeah… goodbye…"
Taisuke turned and walked away. Sakura, however, just sat there and ended up falling asleep.
*
Syaoran was up and about at 5:30 am, and taking a walk at 6:00. He passed by the King Penguin slide, and ended up thinking of the time when it had been flipped upside down by the Power card. He'd used Time to help Sakura capture it.
Just then, he passed a bench. There was a girl sleeping on it, wearing the Seijou High uniform. He had to admit, she was very pretty. There was something familiar about her, though…
The girl had long brown hair, and even though her eyes were closed, she was smiling. Around her neck was a pretty necklace. It was a yellow star enclosed by a winged pink circle…
Sakura! Syaoran walked closer, until he was face to face with her. She opened her eyes drowsily, revealing them to be green. Emerald green.
"Taisuke?"
Syaoran blinked.
"Sakura? It's me, Syaoran."
"Syaoran? Who's Syaoran? Oh!"
Sakura sat up, surprised.
"You came back… like you promised…"
"Yeah. What happened? Why are you here?"
Sakura mumbled absentmindedly, forgetting who she was talking to.
"Oh, my boyfriend is going to an American college… and I'm not… he just told me… I was so depressed…"
"Who's your boyfriend?"
"Taisuke… nicest guy… I'm going to miss him…"
Sakura sighed unhappily. Syaoran did the same, but not for the same reason.
"Why did you come back, anyway? Other than your promise, of course…"
"My mother was getting to be a little annoying. Sure, I love her, but…"
"Oh. What time is it?"
"6:15."
"It's really early… I think I'll go home, before everyone wakes up."
"Good idea. I'll come with you."
Both of them got up, Sakura doing so after yawning loudly.
"I'm so tired… can I lean on you?"
"Uh-okay."
Syaoran blushed. Luckily for him, Sakura was too tired to notice. After walking about two blocks, they arrived at Sakura's house.
"The door's probably locked, so I'll use… Wing."
She took off her necklace. It looked the same as ever.
"I haven't used this in a long time. Not since we were trying to capture Wish. By the way, did Meiling use Wish to do anything?"
"Yeah. To dye her hair. Just little things."
"Oh."
"The key that hides the forces of the stars! Show your true shape to me! I, Sakura, command you under the contract. Release! "Wing!"
Wings appeared on Sakura's back.
"See you later."
"'Bye."
"'Bye."
Sakura flew to her window, opened it, and went inside. Syaoran left, feeling stupid. Sakura had a boyfriend now. Sakura didn't love him. He could just imagine her saying to Tomoyo, "I can't believe I ever liked him! I was so stupid! And that teddy bear I gave him? I was lucky I was carrying it around!"
What would have happened if he had stayed, however? They'd just be friends, anyway. He'd never admit his feelings. She probably wouldn't have, either. If she had any.
Syaoran entered his apartment, feeling stupid.
*
Syaoran's POV
Meiling was asleep, her bright yellow and hot pink hair a bed of snakes. Lucky Meiling. She didn't have any problems. Not like I did.
I noticed my suitcase was a mess. I had been so tired last night, that I had only unpacked some clothes. The clothes that I was wearing right now.
Meiling had already unpacked, using Wish. I started taking out my stuff, which was a lot. Among the mess, I found my Clow Cards. Time. Dash. Freeze. Cloud. Time! I could use Time to go back in time… tell Sakura how I felt… then, she would be my girlfriend… no. I couldn't. If life was a game, then doing that would be cheating.
But I couldn't stand to see her unhappy, either. I looked around. I hadn't unpacked much. I put everything back. I would leave.
Leave for… where? Hong Kong? No. Maybe… America. Yeah, America. I would leave for America.
Right now.
*
"Move a little bit to the right…now, smile!"
Click! The camera flashed, but Sakura didn't blink. She was used to it now.
"Good work! That's all for today. I'll see you all tomorrow. Oh, and Sakura?"
"Yes?"
"You got the part. You'll star in the movie."
"Great. See you tomorrow!"
"Bye."
Sakura's manager left the room. She smiled.
Tomoyo had, as expected, ended up as a photographer. But Sakura, surprisingly, had become a model. A famous model, too. The words still sounded a little strange. Sakura Kinomoto, the model.
Just then, her cell phone rang. Sakura dug through her cluttered purse, found it, and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, beautiful. It's me, Kazunori. How are ya?"
"Fine. Oh, yeah, I got the part in the movie!"
"That's great."
"Aren't you going to congratulate me, Kazu-kun?"
"Okay. Congrats."
"Hey! Sometimes I think I made the wrong choice by dating you!"
"Sorry, sorry. Look, I gotta go now. See you tomorrow?"
"Okay. Bye."
Sakura turned off her pink cell phone. Her boyfriend was the coolest person on the planet, even though he was a little too laid-back sometimes. She put her cell phone back in, and felt something.
Sakura pulled it out. The key of Clow!
It was the same as always, a yellow star with a winged pink circle around it. Except that it seemed like it was shaking, or shivering. What was going on? This had never happened before.
"The key that hides the forces of the stars! Show your true shape to me! I, Sakura, command you under the contract. Release!"
The wand was know shaking in Sakura's hands. She held it tight. It was trying to escape, or something like that. Then the phone rang.
"Damn!"
In record time, Sakura let go of her wand, reached into her messy purse, and pulled out her cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Sakura! You have to help me!"
"Who is this?"
"It's me, Meiling!"
"Meiling? Really? Where are you?"
"I'm in Japan, but the ground is shaking like crazy and Wish can't stop it. I'm using my Talk card to talk to you right now."
"Okay. I'll be over there as soon as I can."
"Hurry!"
There was a click. Meiling was gone.
"Transport! Take me to where Meiling is!"
A hole appeared. Sakura jumped in, and disappeared.
*
"So, Syaoran, where are you taking me?"
Alicia was currently blindfolded and sitting in the front of her boyfriend's SUV.
"Oh, somewhere."
"Come on! You can tell me like a civilized person."
"But I'm not civilized."
"Oh yeah?"
"Why don't we stop bickering? We're here."
Li Syaoran tore off his girlfriend's blindfold, and smiled when she gasped.
"I can't believe you! How did you get us tickets to the concert?"
"Oh, after careful consideration and hearing you idolize this group for the past two weeks, I decided to buy two front-row tickets. It drained my poor wallet."
Syaoran was being sarcastic, and Alicia knew that, but she couldn't but help punch his arm.
"I give you a present, and you hit me?"
He pretended to be hurt.
"Syaoran! Let's go."
Both of them hopped off the car and went in.
*
"You tired?"
"Yeah, but I'm happy."
Alicia was leaning on Syaoran's shoulder. He could feel some sort of memory coming back to him. Some girl had leaned on his shoulder, tired. But the girl had been sad. And she had had brown hair and green eyes, not light brown hair and hazel eyes.
Sakura.
Syaoran winced at the thought of her. He had loved her, but she had been in love with someone else. Someone Syaoran didn't even know.
"Syaoran? Is something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Really? You seem to be hiding something. Well, all actors seem to be hiding things."
"I may be an actor, but I'm not hiding something, Alicia."
Just one, deep secret about his love life.
"You sure? Oh well. How's the new movie going?"
"Great. The actress from Japan should be arriving next month. She's a famous model there. They said her name was…hmm, I didn't really read the letter. But it's in my car."
They both climbed in, and Syaoran turned on the lights. He skimmed through the letter, and then he found a name. But the name turned his blood cold.
"What's wrong?"
Syaoran ignored her, and read the entire letter. He hadn't made a mistake.
Sakura Kinomoto was the model coming to America.
*
"Meiling! What happened?"
Sakura, dressed in a gold T-shirt and blue jeans, ran over to her injured friend. Meiling had cuts and bruises all over, and was lying on the ground, not moving. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and groaned.
"I don't know. Something's trying to attack me or something, and Wish couldn't fight against it. I even used Fire Net, but that didn't work. I was lucky I had all my other cards with me."
"Oh. But I can't feel anything."
"I think it's some sort of thing that only people with Fire magic can sense. It's freezing cold. Whatever it is. Like ice."
"Maybe Firey can tell me."
"Firey! Tell me if you can sense something!"
Firey closed her eyes. She shook her head.
"Firey, return! Hmm, that's strange."
"Maybe we should get Syaoran, wherever he is."
Sakura sighed at the name. Syaoran had mysteriously disappeared six years ago the day Taisuke left for America. The day she realized she didn't really love Taisuke, but Syaoran.
"You miss him, don't you? I do too."
Meiling spoke softly, but Sakura came back to the present with a jolt.
"Yeah. But Kero's here in Japan. He's back at my apartment, probably pigging out on dessert again."
The ground started to shake.
"It's back…"
"Despair!"
Despair, a great black bird, shot out of the card and started flying around an invisible object. Fire shot out from nowhere at Despair, but it ducked. It flapped its wings, and smoke appeared.
The shaking stopped. Sakura could see a firey shape emerging.
"Despair, return! Return to your power confined! Sakura Card!"
A thin slip of paper flew into Sakura's awaiting hand. But the card was white, with a copper filigree. The picture was a burning heart. The words at the bottom were barely legible. They looked like they said, "The Injury."
"Do you want the card, Meiling?"
"You keep it. I don't want or need it."
"Yeah. You're still injured, Meiling. I better use Heal."
"Heal! Heal Meiling!"
Meiling was immediately better, and felt strong enough to stand up.
"Thanks. I owe you. Can I see the card?"
"Sure."
Meiling looked at it, then paled.
"White and copper filigree…this means trouble, Sakura."
"Why?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but this card probably belongs to a deck of cards…I can't remember the name…"
"Why don't we go to my apartment? Maybe Kero knows what it is."
"Okay."
"Transport! Take me and Meiling to my apartment!"
A hole in the air appeared, and they jumped in.
*
Kero was shocked.
"A card? Let me see!"
"Here, Kero."
Kero held it in his stuffed-doll hands, staring. Staring, examining every inch of it. Then he frowned.
"This is a genuine Victory Card. Which means Trouble."
"Victory Card?"
"Yes. They were created by Clow's greatest rival and friend, Li Hanakane."
"Li? Li Hanakane?"
"They were cousins."
"Oh. But how could they be rivals and friends?"
"I better explain everything, then. And who's this?"
"It's me, Meiling."
"Oh, the brat's cousin."
"Shut up, Kero."
"Fine, fine. Anyway, Clow and Hanakane were best friends as kids. Until Clow made the first Clow Card, Windy. Hanakane saw what it could do, and was fascinated. So she experimented making cards, and failed. So then she was jealous. But, she finally managed to make a card. The Injury. And it was much, much stronger than a Clow Card. So she made more, about fifty. All this time, she and Clow's friendship deteriorated."
"And what happened?"
"The Victory Cards rebelled against Hanakane and escaped. She ended up getting killed by one of them. Clow was real sad after that happened. But if I hadn't cheered him up, you might not be here today."
"Oh. So how much stronger are they than Clow Cards?"
"About ten times. Five as your new cards."
"Dang! And how am I supposed to catch them all?"
"I don't know. You were pretty lucky with this card. It's the weakest in the deck."
Sakura groaned.
"I can't catch them all, Kero. I have a job. And I'm going to America next month too!"
"Why are you going to America anyway, Sakura?"
"A movie. I'm starring in it with…this American actor. His name is…well, I don't know what it is, and it doesn't matter. I should catch all the Victory Cards before they wreck havoc."
"Yeah, I'll help. And let's get Syaoran to help, wherever he is. I'll call him right now."
Meiling reached into her pocket and pulled out a red card with gold filigree.
"Talk Card! Let me talk to Li Syaoran!"
Sakura heard a voice.
"Hello?"
"Syaoran? It's me, Meiling! We need you to come to Japan right away!"
"I can't do that!"
"But the Victory Cards have attacked!"
"Victory Cards?"
"Yes, Victory Cards! Sakura and I need your help capturing them! There are fifty of them!"
"Sakura's there?"
"Yes, Syaoran, do you have a problem?"
"Uh-no. I'll come as soon as I can."
"Okay! Bye!"
"Bye!"
Eight-thousand miles away, Syaoran had no intention of going to Japan.
*
(One month later)
If some miracle had happened in Japan, it had happened to Kinomoto Sakura. She hadn't quit her job, and had managed to capture 40 more cards. Meiling had also managed to be alive and well. She had captured eight cards. And Syaoran had still not arrived.
"I'm beginning to think he doesn't want to come, Meiling."
Sakura commented dryly, annoyed. She had gotten sick the day before from Disease, which she had captured, after much effort.
"Me too. But cheer up! We have only one more card to capture and it's over!"
"But I leave for America tomorrow!"
"Oh, yeah. Then I'll take care of it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. What's the last one called?"
"Let's ask Kero."
Sakura already had her wand out, so she pulled out Transport and tapped on it.
"Transport! Transport Kero here!"
What looked like a hole in the air appeared, and Kero flew out of it.
"Hey! What's the idea? I was about to beat-"
"Kero, we have a question. What's the last Victory Card called?"
"Let me see yours."
Sakura and Meiling pulled out all 49, and laid them side-by-side. Kero walked around them, then frowned.
"You guys are in trouble. The last one is the Harm Card."
"Harm? What does that do?"
"It can do anything that causes anyone harm. Basically, anything bad."
"Well, can't I use Heal against it?"
"This is the strongest card in the deck, and the last that Hanakane made. It's also the one that killed her."
"But…we have more power than she did, right Kero?"
"I'm afraid not, Sakura."
"Oh."
"Hanakane made a big mistake by creating Harm."
Sakura just sat down on the pavement, not moving. The Harm Card could mean the end of everything. Even it's creator couldn't control it.
Meiling was pulling out of her pocket all of her cards. Wish, Talk, Mirage, Find, Attack, Destroy, Vanish, Control, Form, Happiness, Fear. Suddenly, a wind started to blow the cards up into the air.
Meiling, unsuccessfully, tried to bring them down. But they started to float down themselves, forming a stack. Then turning into one.
A surprised Meiling bent down and picked it up. Impersonate.
Kero flew over and gaped.
"I don't get it! They combined to form one card?"
Meiling was still staring at it herself. The picture was her, in full color. In her hands were her eight Victory Cards, and three Meiling Cards. The background was fire. The border was red, and had gold filigree, like a Meiling Card. And the card was WARM.
Sakura's cards started to do the same. All of her Sakura Cards and Victory Cards stacked themselves up and merged into one. A bewildered Sakura picked it up. Universe.
The picture was like Impersonate, in full color with Sakura in it. But Sakura's cards were scattered in the air all around her, the only card in her hand was Windy. Behind the Sakura in the picture was a night sky filled with stars. Universe looked just like a Sakura Card.
"I-I don't believe this, Meiling. Are we dreaming?"
"This sure seems real."
"I agree. This is definitely real."
"So what do we do with them?"
"Use them, of course. When Harm appears."
"I think it has."
A swirling cloud of black appeared, blocking out the sun. Arrows started to fall, hitting people in the street. All of the people hit were killed instantly.
"Shield! Protect me and Meiling from Harm's arrows!"
But the arrows went through Shield, and one ended up grazing Sakura's arm. The arrows stopped.
"What happened?"
"Let's use our cards! Impersonate!"
"Universe!"
All of the cards shot out. There were well over a hundred, and each one was glaring at something invisible in the sky.
Swords came flying, and the cards attacked. More swords came. Sakura and Meiling ran for their lives.
"C'mon! Let's get to a building!"
But clearly, not even the buildings were safe. So how were they going to win?
"Time Card! Freeze time!"
The swords stopped. Everything stopped. Except for a figure jumping down from the sky.
"Syaoran!"
Sakura ran towards him, and embraced him. A flood of tears soaked Syaoran's back, but he didn't mind. Not now.
"I'm sorry I was such a bastard…I didn't come when you needed me for my own selfish reasons…"
"It's okay, Syaoran, it's okay."
"And I might of not come! You could have died!"
"But I'm not dead."
It was Syaoran's turn to cry. Unfortunately, Sakura was much shorter than Syaoran, so her hair got wet.
"Ack!"
"Oh, sorry."
They pulled apart, then both of them started blushing. Meiling smiled.
"You guys, just admit it! I'm not your fiancée anymore, Syaoran, you know that. And we better start fighting."
"Time! Unfreeze time!"
The swords fell down again, faster and more every minute.
"Barrier!"
The swords started bouncing off an invisible wall, then stopped.
"They stopped!"
Yes, they stopped. To be replaced by something else. Bombs.
"Windy! Gust! Blow them away!"
The bombs were blown away.
"Yes!"
Just not for long. Bam! One landed near the trio and Kero, causing the building nearby to go up in flames.
"Mirror! Reflect! Bounce all the bombs back!"
It worked. As swiftly as they fell, the bombs flew back. And revealing a girl composed of smoke. She had long straight hair that was longer than she was tall. Her eyes were hidden by a mask, but Sakura was sure they were black. But what scared her was the card's skin. It was cut, bruised, and bleeding profusely.
Harm had large, black, torn wings that were twice as big as the rest of her. She was wearing a dress, a dress with no sleeves or straps, and a short skirt. All of the material was covered with glittering gems of all colors. No shoes covered her tiny mutilated feet.
Sakura winced at the sight of Harm. How it must hurt it have all those cuts and bruises!
Harm began to descend to the ground, then landing softly on her battered feet.
"Return to your power confined-"
Harm smiled. Black strings shot out of her hands, and enveloped both Sakura and Meiling so that they were no longer visible.
"Sakura! Meiling!"
The strings disappeared. But Kero and Syaoran were greeted by a sight that was gruesome. Sakura and Meiling's skin now looked identical to Harm's. Their clothes did, too.
"No!"
Syaoran felt Sakura's hand. It was as cold as ice. He searched for a pulse, but found none. Meiling had one, however.
"Syaoran.."
She coughed.
"Are you okay?"
"Of course not. But I have a favor to ask of you."
"What?"
"Burn Harm after you capture it. It could escape…and-"
Meiling's eyes closed forever.
"Meiling! Meiling!"
Harm was now staring at Syaoran, looking amused in a cruel way. Kero glared.
"You killed Sakura and the Brat's cousin! And for that you will pay!"
Kero turned into Keroberos. Syaoran grabbed Sakura's wand.
"Listen up, cards! Attack Harm!"
The cards and Keroberos charged, and Harm screamed.
"Return to your power confined! Uh-Harm Card!"
Harm was sucked into the card, then flew to Syaoran's hand. He remembered what Meiling said.
"Fire!"
The card was reduced to ashes, and the wind blew them away. Syaoran sat down, tears escaping. Keroberos, who had turned back into Kero, flew over and sat himself on Syaoran's shoulder.
"You did all that you could, Syaoran. I don't blame you for Sakura's death."
"But I do. I should have helped out more."
"I should never have created Harm."
It was a girl's voice. She sounded exactly like Sakura, and looked like her too. But the girl was semi-transparent, and wearing a kimono.
"Who are you?"
"Li Hanakane, of course. It's all my fault this happened."
Hanakane's eyes were downcast, and she was sitting down.
"Why did you create Harm?"
"I don't know. I still don't know."
"Oh."
Suddenly, Hanakane stood up, and smiled.
"I know what I can do! I can reverse time!"
"But you're dead!"
"I can still do that. Reverse time, so that I would never have created the Victory Cards."
"But then I would be in America still, filming the movie! And I don't want that!"
"Oh. Then…I don't know what to do."
Syaoran glanced over at Sakura's body.
"But I'll do it for Sakura's sake. And Meiling's."
"Okay, then. Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Then…"
Hanakane's ghost closed her eyes, and concentrated. And Syaoran sank into deep, peaceful oblivion…
*
Extra Note: This story was written before I knew exactly what had happened during the Final Judgment. Syaoran's cards were taken away by Yue in the anime, but he still has them here, k? Don't forget to review!
*
Sakura sat on the park bench, waiting for Taisuke. He'd said he had something important to say to her, but what? She ran her fingers along the bench, until she felt something.
Sakura looked closer. Carved crudely were the letters S and T, inside a heart. She'd carved that herself, just a month ago.
Sakura smiled. She'd been going out with Taisuke for one and a half years now, which was a long time, considering that they were both popular at Tomoeda High. Nothing special caused them to become boyfriend and girlfriend. Taisuke just asked her out one day, and she had said yes…
She could see him approaching now. He had midnight black hair, and gentle brown eyes. Taisuke didn't have any glasses, but he bore a strange resemblance to Eriol.
"Hi, Sakura."
Taisuke sat himself down next to Sakura, looking unhappy.
"What happened, Taisuke?"
"I'm not going to Seijou University with you."
"Why not?"
"My father wants me to go to a university in America."
"What?"
"Yeah, it sucks. I don't want to be away from you."
She could see glistening tears in his eyes now. One of them escaped down his cheek. He brushed it away hastily. Sakura hadn't ever seen him cry before. Not even the time when his mother died from cancer.
"Well, when do you leave?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? That soon?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Well, I guess this is goodbye…"
"Um, yeah… goodbye…"
Taisuke turned and walked away. Sakura, however, just sat there and ended up falling asleep.
*
Syaoran was up and about at 5:30 am, and taking a walk at 6:00. He passed by the King Penguin slide, and ended up thinking of the time when it had been flipped upside down by the Power card. He'd used Time to help Sakura capture it.
Just then, he passed a bench. There was a girl sleeping on it, wearing the Seijou High uniform. He had to admit, she was very pretty. There was something familiar about her, though…
The girl had long brown hair, and even though her eyes were closed, she was smiling. Around her neck was a pretty necklace. It was a yellow star enclosed by a winged pink circle…
Sakura! Syaoran walked closer, until he was face to face with her. She opened her eyes drowsily, revealing them to be green. Emerald green.
"Taisuke?"
Syaoran blinked.
"Sakura? It's me, Syaoran."
"Syaoran? Who's Syaoran? Oh!"
Sakura sat up, surprised.
"You came back… like you promised…"
"Yeah. What happened? Why are you here?"
Sakura mumbled absentmindedly, forgetting who she was talking to.
"Oh, my boyfriend is going to an American college… and I'm not… he just told me… I was so depressed…"
"Who's your boyfriend?"
"Taisuke… nicest guy… I'm going to miss him…"
Sakura sighed unhappily. Syaoran did the same, but not for the same reason.
"Why did you come back, anyway? Other than your promise, of course…"
"My mother was getting to be a little annoying. Sure, I love her, but…"
"Oh. What time is it?"
"6:15."
"It's really early… I think I'll go home, before everyone wakes up."
"Good idea. I'll come with you."
Both of them got up, Sakura doing so after yawning loudly.
"I'm so tired… can I lean on you?"
"Uh-okay."
Syaoran blushed. Luckily for him, Sakura was too tired to notice. After walking about two blocks, they arrived at Sakura's house.
"The door's probably locked, so I'll use… Wing."
She took off her necklace. It looked the same as ever.
"I haven't used this in a long time. Not since we were trying to capture Wish. By the way, did Meiling use Wish to do anything?"
"Yeah. To dye her hair. Just little things."
"Oh."
"The key that hides the forces of the stars! Show your true shape to me! I, Sakura, command you under the contract. Release! "Wing!"
Wings appeared on Sakura's back.
"See you later."
"'Bye."
"'Bye."
Sakura flew to her window, opened it, and went inside. Syaoran left, feeling stupid. Sakura had a boyfriend now. Sakura didn't love him. He could just imagine her saying to Tomoyo, "I can't believe I ever liked him! I was so stupid! And that teddy bear I gave him? I was lucky I was carrying it around!"
What would have happened if he had stayed, however? They'd just be friends, anyway. He'd never admit his feelings. She probably wouldn't have, either. If she had any.
Syaoran entered his apartment, feeling stupid.
*
Syaoran's POV
Meiling was asleep, her bright yellow and hot pink hair a bed of snakes. Lucky Meiling. She didn't have any problems. Not like I did.
I noticed my suitcase was a mess. I had been so tired last night, that I had only unpacked some clothes. The clothes that I was wearing right now.
Meiling had already unpacked, using Wish. I started taking out my stuff, which was a lot. Among the mess, I found my Clow Cards. Time. Dash. Freeze. Cloud. Time! I could use Time to go back in time… tell Sakura how I felt… then, she would be my girlfriend… no. I couldn't. If life was a game, then doing that would be cheating.
But I couldn't stand to see her unhappy, either. I looked around. I hadn't unpacked much. I put everything back. I would leave.
Leave for… where? Hong Kong? No. Maybe… America. Yeah, America. I would leave for America.
Right now.
*
"Move a little bit to the right…now, smile!"
Click! The camera flashed, but Sakura didn't blink. She was used to it now.
"Good work! That's all for today. I'll see you all tomorrow. Oh, and Sakura?"
"Yes?"
"You got the part. You'll star in the movie."
"Great. See you tomorrow!"
"Bye."
Sakura's manager left the room. She smiled.
Tomoyo had, as expected, ended up as a photographer. But Sakura, surprisingly, had become a model. A famous model, too. The words still sounded a little strange. Sakura Kinomoto, the model.
Just then, her cell phone rang. Sakura dug through her cluttered purse, found it, and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, beautiful. It's me, Kazunori. How are ya?"
"Fine. Oh, yeah, I got the part in the movie!"
"That's great."
"Aren't you going to congratulate me, Kazu-kun?"
"Okay. Congrats."
"Hey! Sometimes I think I made the wrong choice by dating you!"
"Sorry, sorry. Look, I gotta go now. See you tomorrow?"
"Okay. Bye."
Sakura turned off her pink cell phone. Her boyfriend was the coolest person on the planet, even though he was a little too laid-back sometimes. She put her cell phone back in, and felt something.
Sakura pulled it out. The key of Clow!
It was the same as always, a yellow star with a winged pink circle around it. Except that it seemed like it was shaking, or shivering. What was going on? This had never happened before.
"The key that hides the forces of the stars! Show your true shape to me! I, Sakura, command you under the contract. Release!"
The wand was know shaking in Sakura's hands. She held it tight. It was trying to escape, or something like that. Then the phone rang.
"Damn!"
In record time, Sakura let go of her wand, reached into her messy purse, and pulled out her cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Sakura! You have to help me!"
"Who is this?"
"It's me, Meiling!"
"Meiling? Really? Where are you?"
"I'm in Japan, but the ground is shaking like crazy and Wish can't stop it. I'm using my Talk card to talk to you right now."
"Okay. I'll be over there as soon as I can."
"Hurry!"
There was a click. Meiling was gone.
"Transport! Take me to where Meiling is!"
A hole appeared. Sakura jumped in, and disappeared.
*
"So, Syaoran, where are you taking me?"
Alicia was currently blindfolded and sitting in the front of her boyfriend's SUV.
"Oh, somewhere."
"Come on! You can tell me like a civilized person."
"But I'm not civilized."
"Oh yeah?"
"Why don't we stop bickering? We're here."
Li Syaoran tore off his girlfriend's blindfold, and smiled when she gasped.
"I can't believe you! How did you get us tickets to the concert?"
"Oh, after careful consideration and hearing you idolize this group for the past two weeks, I decided to buy two front-row tickets. It drained my poor wallet."
Syaoran was being sarcastic, and Alicia knew that, but she couldn't but help punch his arm.
"I give you a present, and you hit me?"
He pretended to be hurt.
"Syaoran! Let's go."
Both of them hopped off the car and went in.
*
"You tired?"
"Yeah, but I'm happy."
Alicia was leaning on Syaoran's shoulder. He could feel some sort of memory coming back to him. Some girl had leaned on his shoulder, tired. But the girl had been sad. And she had had brown hair and green eyes, not light brown hair and hazel eyes.
Sakura.
Syaoran winced at the thought of her. He had loved her, but she had been in love with someone else. Someone Syaoran didn't even know.
"Syaoran? Is something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Really? You seem to be hiding something. Well, all actors seem to be hiding things."
"I may be an actor, but I'm not hiding something, Alicia."
Just one, deep secret about his love life.
"You sure? Oh well. How's the new movie going?"
"Great. The actress from Japan should be arriving next month. She's a famous model there. They said her name was…hmm, I didn't really read the letter. But it's in my car."
They both climbed in, and Syaoran turned on the lights. He skimmed through the letter, and then he found a name. But the name turned his blood cold.
"What's wrong?"
Syaoran ignored her, and read the entire letter. He hadn't made a mistake.
Sakura Kinomoto was the model coming to America.
*
"Meiling! What happened?"
Sakura, dressed in a gold T-shirt and blue jeans, ran over to her injured friend. Meiling had cuts and bruises all over, and was lying on the ground, not moving. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and groaned.
"I don't know. Something's trying to attack me or something, and Wish couldn't fight against it. I even used Fire Net, but that didn't work. I was lucky I had all my other cards with me."
"Oh. But I can't feel anything."
"I think it's some sort of thing that only people with Fire magic can sense. It's freezing cold. Whatever it is. Like ice."
"Maybe Firey can tell me."
"Firey! Tell me if you can sense something!"
Firey closed her eyes. She shook her head.
"Firey, return! Hmm, that's strange."
"Maybe we should get Syaoran, wherever he is."
Sakura sighed at the name. Syaoran had mysteriously disappeared six years ago the day Taisuke left for America. The day she realized she didn't really love Taisuke, but Syaoran.
"You miss him, don't you? I do too."
Meiling spoke softly, but Sakura came back to the present with a jolt.
"Yeah. But Kero's here in Japan. He's back at my apartment, probably pigging out on dessert again."
The ground started to shake.
"It's back…"
"Despair!"
Despair, a great black bird, shot out of the card and started flying around an invisible object. Fire shot out from nowhere at Despair, but it ducked. It flapped its wings, and smoke appeared.
The shaking stopped. Sakura could see a firey shape emerging.
"Despair, return! Return to your power confined! Sakura Card!"
A thin slip of paper flew into Sakura's awaiting hand. But the card was white, with a copper filigree. The picture was a burning heart. The words at the bottom were barely legible. They looked like they said, "The Injury."
"Do you want the card, Meiling?"
"You keep it. I don't want or need it."
"Yeah. You're still injured, Meiling. I better use Heal."
"Heal! Heal Meiling!"
Meiling was immediately better, and felt strong enough to stand up.
"Thanks. I owe you. Can I see the card?"
"Sure."
Meiling looked at it, then paled.
"White and copper filigree…this means trouble, Sakura."
"Why?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but this card probably belongs to a deck of cards…I can't remember the name…"
"Why don't we go to my apartment? Maybe Kero knows what it is."
"Okay."
"Transport! Take me and Meiling to my apartment!"
A hole in the air appeared, and they jumped in.
*
Kero was shocked.
"A card? Let me see!"
"Here, Kero."
Kero held it in his stuffed-doll hands, staring. Staring, examining every inch of it. Then he frowned.
"This is a genuine Victory Card. Which means Trouble."
"Victory Card?"
"Yes. They were created by Clow's greatest rival and friend, Li Hanakane."
"Li? Li Hanakane?"
"They were cousins."
"Oh. But how could they be rivals and friends?"
"I better explain everything, then. And who's this?"
"It's me, Meiling."
"Oh, the brat's cousin."
"Shut up, Kero."
"Fine, fine. Anyway, Clow and Hanakane were best friends as kids. Until Clow made the first Clow Card, Windy. Hanakane saw what it could do, and was fascinated. So she experimented making cards, and failed. So then she was jealous. But, she finally managed to make a card. The Injury. And it was much, much stronger than a Clow Card. So she made more, about fifty. All this time, she and Clow's friendship deteriorated."
"And what happened?"
"The Victory Cards rebelled against Hanakane and escaped. She ended up getting killed by one of them. Clow was real sad after that happened. But if I hadn't cheered him up, you might not be here today."
"Oh. So how much stronger are they than Clow Cards?"
"About ten times. Five as your new cards."
"Dang! And how am I supposed to catch them all?"
"I don't know. You were pretty lucky with this card. It's the weakest in the deck."
Sakura groaned.
"I can't catch them all, Kero. I have a job. And I'm going to America next month too!"
"Why are you going to America anyway, Sakura?"
"A movie. I'm starring in it with…this American actor. His name is…well, I don't know what it is, and it doesn't matter. I should catch all the Victory Cards before they wreck havoc."
"Yeah, I'll help. And let's get Syaoran to help, wherever he is. I'll call him right now."
Meiling reached into her pocket and pulled out a red card with gold filigree.
"Talk Card! Let me talk to Li Syaoran!"
Sakura heard a voice.
"Hello?"
"Syaoran? It's me, Meiling! We need you to come to Japan right away!"
"I can't do that!"
"But the Victory Cards have attacked!"
"Victory Cards?"
"Yes, Victory Cards! Sakura and I need your help capturing them! There are fifty of them!"
"Sakura's there?"
"Yes, Syaoran, do you have a problem?"
"Uh-no. I'll come as soon as I can."
"Okay! Bye!"
"Bye!"
Eight-thousand miles away, Syaoran had no intention of going to Japan.
*
(One month later)
If some miracle had happened in Japan, it had happened to Kinomoto Sakura. She hadn't quit her job, and had managed to capture 40 more cards. Meiling had also managed to be alive and well. She had captured eight cards. And Syaoran had still not arrived.
"I'm beginning to think he doesn't want to come, Meiling."
Sakura commented dryly, annoyed. She had gotten sick the day before from Disease, which she had captured, after much effort.
"Me too. But cheer up! We have only one more card to capture and it's over!"
"But I leave for America tomorrow!"
"Oh, yeah. Then I'll take care of it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. What's the last one called?"
"Let's ask Kero."
Sakura already had her wand out, so she pulled out Transport and tapped on it.
"Transport! Transport Kero here!"
What looked like a hole in the air appeared, and Kero flew out of it.
"Hey! What's the idea? I was about to beat-"
"Kero, we have a question. What's the last Victory Card called?"
"Let me see yours."
Sakura and Meiling pulled out all 49, and laid them side-by-side. Kero walked around them, then frowned.
"You guys are in trouble. The last one is the Harm Card."
"Harm? What does that do?"
"It can do anything that causes anyone harm. Basically, anything bad."
"Well, can't I use Heal against it?"
"This is the strongest card in the deck, and the last that Hanakane made. It's also the one that killed her."
"But…we have more power than she did, right Kero?"
"I'm afraid not, Sakura."
"Oh."
"Hanakane made a big mistake by creating Harm."
Sakura just sat down on the pavement, not moving. The Harm Card could mean the end of everything. Even it's creator couldn't control it.
Meiling was pulling out of her pocket all of her cards. Wish, Talk, Mirage, Find, Attack, Destroy, Vanish, Control, Form, Happiness, Fear. Suddenly, a wind started to blow the cards up into the air.
Meiling, unsuccessfully, tried to bring them down. But they started to float down themselves, forming a stack. Then turning into one.
A surprised Meiling bent down and picked it up. Impersonate.
Kero flew over and gaped.
"I don't get it! They combined to form one card?"
Meiling was still staring at it herself. The picture was her, in full color. In her hands were her eight Victory Cards, and three Meiling Cards. The background was fire. The border was red, and had gold filigree, like a Meiling Card. And the card was WARM.
Sakura's cards started to do the same. All of her Sakura Cards and Victory Cards stacked themselves up and merged into one. A bewildered Sakura picked it up. Universe.
The picture was like Impersonate, in full color with Sakura in it. But Sakura's cards were scattered in the air all around her, the only card in her hand was Windy. Behind the Sakura in the picture was a night sky filled with stars. Universe looked just like a Sakura Card.
"I-I don't believe this, Meiling. Are we dreaming?"
"This sure seems real."
"I agree. This is definitely real."
"So what do we do with them?"
"Use them, of course. When Harm appears."
"I think it has."
A swirling cloud of black appeared, blocking out the sun. Arrows started to fall, hitting people in the street. All of the people hit were killed instantly.
"Shield! Protect me and Meiling from Harm's arrows!"
But the arrows went through Shield, and one ended up grazing Sakura's arm. The arrows stopped.
"What happened?"
"Let's use our cards! Impersonate!"
"Universe!"
All of the cards shot out. There were well over a hundred, and each one was glaring at something invisible in the sky.
Swords came flying, and the cards attacked. More swords came. Sakura and Meiling ran for their lives.
"C'mon! Let's get to a building!"
But clearly, not even the buildings were safe. So how were they going to win?
"Time Card! Freeze time!"
The swords stopped. Everything stopped. Except for a figure jumping down from the sky.
"Syaoran!"
Sakura ran towards him, and embraced him. A flood of tears soaked Syaoran's back, but he didn't mind. Not now.
"I'm sorry I was such a bastard…I didn't come when you needed me for my own selfish reasons…"
"It's okay, Syaoran, it's okay."
"And I might of not come! You could have died!"
"But I'm not dead."
It was Syaoran's turn to cry. Unfortunately, Sakura was much shorter than Syaoran, so her hair got wet.
"Ack!"
"Oh, sorry."
They pulled apart, then both of them started blushing. Meiling smiled.
"You guys, just admit it! I'm not your fiancée anymore, Syaoran, you know that. And we better start fighting."
"Time! Unfreeze time!"
The swords fell down again, faster and more every minute.
"Barrier!"
The swords started bouncing off an invisible wall, then stopped.
"They stopped!"
Yes, they stopped. To be replaced by something else. Bombs.
"Windy! Gust! Blow them away!"
The bombs were blown away.
"Yes!"
Just not for long. Bam! One landed near the trio and Kero, causing the building nearby to go up in flames.
"Mirror! Reflect! Bounce all the bombs back!"
It worked. As swiftly as they fell, the bombs flew back. And revealing a girl composed of smoke. She had long straight hair that was longer than she was tall. Her eyes were hidden by a mask, but Sakura was sure they were black. But what scared her was the card's skin. It was cut, bruised, and bleeding profusely.
Harm had large, black, torn wings that were twice as big as the rest of her. She was wearing a dress, a dress with no sleeves or straps, and a short skirt. All of the material was covered with glittering gems of all colors. No shoes covered her tiny mutilated feet.
Sakura winced at the sight of Harm. How it must hurt it have all those cuts and bruises!
Harm began to descend to the ground, then landing softly on her battered feet.
"Return to your power confined-"
Harm smiled. Black strings shot out of her hands, and enveloped both Sakura and Meiling so that they were no longer visible.
"Sakura! Meiling!"
The strings disappeared. But Kero and Syaoran were greeted by a sight that was gruesome. Sakura and Meiling's skin now looked identical to Harm's. Their clothes did, too.
"No!"
Syaoran felt Sakura's hand. It was as cold as ice. He searched for a pulse, but found none. Meiling had one, however.
"Syaoran.."
She coughed.
"Are you okay?"
"Of course not. But I have a favor to ask of you."
"What?"
"Burn Harm after you capture it. It could escape…and-"
Meiling's eyes closed forever.
"Meiling! Meiling!"
Harm was now staring at Syaoran, looking amused in a cruel way. Kero glared.
"You killed Sakura and the Brat's cousin! And for that you will pay!"
Kero turned into Keroberos. Syaoran grabbed Sakura's wand.
"Listen up, cards! Attack Harm!"
The cards and Keroberos charged, and Harm screamed.
"Return to your power confined! Uh-Harm Card!"
Harm was sucked into the card, then flew to Syaoran's hand. He remembered what Meiling said.
"Fire!"
The card was reduced to ashes, and the wind blew them away. Syaoran sat down, tears escaping. Keroberos, who had turned back into Kero, flew over and sat himself on Syaoran's shoulder.
"You did all that you could, Syaoran. I don't blame you for Sakura's death."
"But I do. I should have helped out more."
"I should never have created Harm."
It was a girl's voice. She sounded exactly like Sakura, and looked like her too. But the girl was semi-transparent, and wearing a kimono.
"Who are you?"
"Li Hanakane, of course. It's all my fault this happened."
Hanakane's eyes were downcast, and she was sitting down.
"Why did you create Harm?"
"I don't know. I still don't know."
"Oh."
Suddenly, Hanakane stood up, and smiled.
"I know what I can do! I can reverse time!"
"But you're dead!"
"I can still do that. Reverse time, so that I would never have created the Victory Cards."
"But then I would be in America still, filming the movie! And I don't want that!"
"Oh. Then…I don't know what to do."
Syaoran glanced over at Sakura's body.
"But I'll do it for Sakura's sake. And Meiling's."
"Okay, then. Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Then…"
Hanakane's ghost closed her eyes, and concentrated. And Syaoran sank into deep, peaceful oblivion…
*
Extra Note: This story was written before I knew exactly what had happened during the Final Judgment. Syaoran's cards were taken away by Yue in the anime, but he still has them here, k? Don't forget to review!