Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Goodnight Sweetheart ❯ Aftershocks ( Chapter 3 )

Goodnight Sweetheart

By KawaiiCherryBlossom p.k.a BellaWaterFlower

Ok, now this story is written with the dub names. I don't like the dub, but it's all I've seen so I think it's best to use the names I know, so I can put them in character better. If you don't know the Nelvana names (and Kids WB I guess, but I've only seen the Nelvana dub), here is a translation. I'll probably add more names here as more characters are introduced into the story. Because the Japanese have their last names before their first, that's how I've put it. They're all about a year older than they are in the dub.

Sakura Avalon - Kinomoto Sakura

Li Showron (I think that's how the English version spells it) - Li Syaoran

Madison Taylor - Daidouji Tomoyo

Tori Avalon - Kinomoto Touya

Julian - Yukito

Kero/Keroberos - Cero/Cerebus (I think)

Chelsea - Chiharu

Nikki - Naoko

Rita - Rika

Meilin - Meiling

This fic takes place after the series ends, and doesn't include the movies at all (pretend they never existed) as I've never seen them.

Sorry for the loooooooooooong wait! I've been so busy with exams and stuff that I haven't had any time to write or do anything for that matter! I hope you like this chappy! I'm trying to keep them exciting, but this one is sort of more of a lead-on chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Aftershocks

"And as her image wandered through my head

I wept just like a baby as I lay awake in bed

And I know what it's like to loose someone you love

And this felt just the same…"

Li turned the corner of Sakura's street and started off towards his old apartment, which his family had brought due to his strong connections and experiences in Japan. When he'd reached the familiar apartment, he opened the door and stepped inside. The room looked and smelled exactly as it did when he'd left it a year ago. He walked over to his bed, where he had thrown his bags when he arrived, anxious to see Sakura. Head lowered, he began to unpack his clothes and other items. After about 2 minutes, Li put everything down and walked over to the window, pulling open the curtains and staring into the sky, which was illuminated from the almost set sun. What Sakura had told him hadn't fully sunk in, and he was still in deep shock.

'What am I going to do…?' he thought. 'I'll never see her…ever again', he told himself, as if he had just come to that realisation. 'What will I do without her?'

Li's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by his mobile phone ringing. He picked it up and was greeted by his mother's voice.

"Li, how are you son?" she asked sternly.

"I'm…ok", Li answered uncertainly. He didn't feel like packing, and he definitely didn't feel like talking…especially to his mother.

"Did you get to Japan alright? No troubles?"

"Yes", he answered simply.

There was a brief moment of silence, and Li's mother spoke up again. "Li, what's wrong? Why so silent?"

Li didn't answer right away, which worried his strong, powerful mother.

"L…"

"I need to stay here for longer than I expected, mother!" he burst out unexpectedly, interrupting his mother - something he rarely did. He hadn't really thought about it much, but knew that given the circumstances and what he'd found out tonight, he must.

"What do you mean? Whatever for, Li?"

Once again, Li didn't answer.

"Li? What's happened? Is there a problem with the Sakura Cards?"

"No."

"Well then what's wrong?!" she asked, impatience evident in her voice.

"Sakura's really sick, alright!" he answered.

"Sick? Does she have a fever? I'm sure it's nothing she can't deal wi…"

"That's not what I mean!"

"What? Li, what are you talking about?!"

"She's dying, mom! She has cancer!" he cried. Tears came to his eyes as the full impact of the situation hit him. He hung his phone up and switched it off, then fell onto his bed, and cried…

Li awoke early in the morning, and unable to fall back into slumber, got up and washed his face. He had cried himself to sleep the night before, and thus his eyes were red and puffy. He washed his face and took a shower, and then prepared to head over to Sakura's house. However, he was halted as he heard a knock at the door. Confused, he walked across the room and opened it slowly, not feeling energetic at all. His eyes opened wide, though, when he saw the petite figure standing there.

"Meilin!" he stated. She nodded.

"Hi Li…" Meilin said slowly, seeming uncomfortable.

The two stood in silence for a moment, Meilin searching Li's eyes.

"Come i…" Li began, but was interrupted.

"I heard what happened…"

Li put his head down and was silent for a few moments.

"So it's true then…? She is dying…"

At those particular words, Li's eyes once again began to water.

"But…how? She seemed perfectly healthy…" Meilin asked.

"When she was transforming the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards…she was always tired, and we blamed it on the fact that her energy was being used up because of the transformations", Li said, his voice shaking with every word he spoke. "But that was only part of the reason…"

"Oh…"Meilin answed sadly, understanding the situation.

Li looked up at his former fiancée, his eyes filled with tears just threatening to spill. She looked back at him worriedly, and finally put her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Li…" she said sympathetically, her own eyes filling with tears and flowing down her face like tiny waterfalls.

Li's display of emotions led Meilin to the realisation that he wasn't as strong as she'd always suspected…and perhaps as he'd also suspected.

Falling out of the embrace, Li spoke softly, "I'm heading over to Sakura's house now… Do you want to come?" he asked.

Meilin nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

The two walked out of the door, closed and locked it, and proceeded to Sakura's house. Silence prevailed as they walked there; both were deep in thought. Li stopped outside of Sakura's house, when they arrived, and stared ahead, still locked into his own thoughts. Meilin turned to him. "Are you going to tell her again, Li?" she asked quietly.

"Tell her what?" Li inquired.

"That you love her."

Li looked down at his feet nervously. "I…um…"

"You have to, Li! I know things didn't turn out the way you suspected last time, but you have to try again. One last time…" she finished sadly.

Li nodded slowly, but didn't answer Meilin. He walked up to Sakura's door and knocked, waiting patiently for somebody to answer. Meilin followed slowly. Sakura's father, Aiden, opened the door a few moments later, stress and worry present in his eyes.

"Oh, hello Li…Meilin…" he greeted the two. "Come in."

Both Li and Meilin walked quietly through the door, bowing and replying a small hello while entering. Li asked permission to see Sakura, and upon her father's approval, they both walked to her room. As he walked through the family room, Li noticed he was being glared at by Tori, from his position on the couch. When Li and Meilin entered Sakura's room, she was staring out of the window, the cool wind forcing her hair to sway from side to side. Kero was playing a video game quietly, and he turned and waved at the two, glaring slightly at Meilin. "Sakura…" Li said quietly. She turned around quickly. Li noticed that she looked a lot better than she did the previous day. Her eyes weren't quite as tired and her skin was less pale. She smiled, her eyes brightening, when she saw her two friends. Sakura walked over to where they were standing. "Hi guys! How are you?" she asked happily.

Li stared at her in disbelief. How could she act so content when she was dying? Meilin's eyes clouded with tears. "Sakura…I…I'm so sorry…"

Sakura stared into Meilin's eyes, a sad smile forming on her face. "It's ok, Meilin. You have nothing to be sorry for…" she replied, and embraced her friend. Meilin cried as she hugged Sakura, her true feelings towards her - of strong, irreplaceable friendship - made their way to the surface and overflowed in the form of tears. Sakura pulled out of their embrace, and smiled at Meilin. "Thank you for coming back, Meilin…" she said. "It means a lot to me."

Meilin nodded, and she looked over at Li, who was looking nervous and uncomfortable. "I'll leave you two alone… I'm going to head back home to unpack", Meilin explained, Li glancing at her surprisingly.

"Oh, ok Meilin. Come back soon!" Sakura said. Meilin nodded and walked out of Sakura's room, Kero following her mentioning something about ice-cream and Sakura's refrigerator.

Sakura turned to Li and smiled at him. "So how does it feel to be back in Reedington again?" she asked, making small-talk.

Li stared at her, almost in disbelief. 'How can she be so happy? It's like nothing ever happened…like last night was a horrible nightmare and nothing more…'

"Li?" Sakura asked again, noticing he wasn't answering back.

"Aren't you scared?" he asked quietly.

Sakura's smile faded. "Of…of course I am…" she answered.

"Then why are you acting so happy, like nothing is wrong? How can you just forget that you're…you're…" he tried, but found himself unable to express his words.

Sakura was silent for a few moments, before looking into his eyes once more. "I have hope", she answered simply.

"Hope?"

"Yes. Hope for all of you, and the future, in which I'll be looking over all of you."

Li's eyes clouded over with incredulity, and then with tears. He embraced her as she smiled, feeling safe in his arms. Li pulled out a few moments later.

"Sakura…there's something I need to tell you."

Sakura nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

Li closed his eyes, not knowing how to start. He had gone over it in his head so many times…but all his preparation was disregarded as the moment came. He knew he was pausing for too long but the words just wouldn't seem to come.

"I love you, Li…" Sakura said quietly and totally out of the blue.

Li's head snapped up. A shocked expression clouded his face as he stared into Sakura's eyes, not knowing whether to believe that he'd heard what he'd just heard.

Sakura looked a bit taken aback by his expression and the uncomfortable silence that had erupted between them. Li closed his eyes and his facial features transformed and appeared settled and content. He put his arms around Sakura and held her for a long time, before pulling out and taking her hands into his.

"I love you too, Sakura", he stated with confidence and knowing. Sakura smiled, tears coming to her eyes. "Thank you…" she said through muffled tears as she allowed herself to be pulled back into Li's embrace. "Thank you…"

Tears formed once again in Li's eyes as he held her, never wanting to let her go. But he knew that that was one hope that was never going to happen.

Sakura and Li spent the afternoon together, re-living old memories of their Card-Capturing days and of transforming the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. Madison walked in the door at about 4:00, an unreadable expression on her face. She saw Sakura and Li's hands locked together and smiled, closing her eyes with a newfound comfort that the two were finally officially together…before it was too late. To all of them, it seemed just like the old days, when they would discuss magic and the Clow Cards for hours, trying to think of solutions or ideas.

Madison and Li decided it was time to let Sakura get some rest at about 6:00, and with a short farewell, they left Sakura's room and proceeded downstairs, waving goodbye to Sakura's father and brother. Just as Li was about to step out of the door, he felt his arm being pulled back. He turned to face Tori, a serious expression on his face. Madison saw the tension between the two, and stepped out the door. "I'll wait for you outside, Li", she stated.

"Ok", Li replied, and turned back to Tori, whose expression hadn't softened.

"We need to talk", he stated.

Li nodded. "Alright."

Tori paused for a few moments and seemed deep in thought, as if preparing what to say to Li, or trying to find the right way to say it.

"I know that Sakura has a certain…fondness…for you", he began slowly.

Li nodded slowly, uncertain of what he was getting at.

"And I'm not going to deny her that, because I want to make her happy before she…" at that moment he stopped and almost choked on his words. Li looked up at him, putting a totally unreadable expression on his face.

"What I'm trying to say is…kid…", he said, putting a great deal of emphasis on the word 'kid'. "…You better not do anything to hurt her, or upset her, or deny her the final happiness that she deserves, got it?"

Although Tori's speech held a threatening tone to it, Li did not flinch or even let it get to him. He knew that Tori cared about Sakura more than anything in the world, and he could identify with that.

"I love her", he stated simply. Tori stared into his eyes, searching them for something. Li gave him one last glance, and stepped out of the door, Tori staring after him.

Li met Madison outside, and the two walked in silence for a few minutes, before Madison spoke up. "I'm glad you came back in time for her to tell you face-to-face", she said quietly.

Li nodded. "I still can't believe it… It's not fair… She deserves anything but…this… It should have been me, not her."

Madison nodded. "I know what you mean. Not even in my wildest nightmares had I ever expected anything like this to happen."

Li nodded once-more, and silence prevailed again. The two came to Madison's house a few moments later, and just before she was about to walk inside the two huge gates, she turned to Li. "Promise me you'll make her the happiest girl alive before she dies, Li", she said, tears materialising in her eyes.

Li closed his eyes. "Don't worry", he nodded. "I will…"

Madison nodded, seemingly content with his answer, and walked slowly into her mansion.

Li turned and walked to his apartment. 'I will…' he thought to himself determinedly.

To be continued…

Ciao! Luv Sarah.