Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Passage ❯ To Another Place ( Chapter 1 )

These are cliché, I know. But GIVE ME A CHANCE to make mine different from the other second generation fics. Feedback is very much welcomed - good or bad. Just not none. I hope that even though many people have tried writing something such as this, people would still say something about it. Heck, I hope they try to read it. R and R please.

Disclaimer: CLAMP owns CCS. I own my characters.

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A Card Captor Sakura Fic : Passage

Chapter 1 - To Another Place (EXTENDED > Version 1.2)

by: kagaribi

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A small 'hoe' came out from the girl's mouth as she witnessed her father's face turn from light red to beet red. She looked from his blushing countenance to her mother's smiling one.

"Sakura, give me that!" the girl's father cried, a pleading tone in his deep and cracking voice.

Sakura shook her head teasingly, all the while sunny. 'Nuh-uh', it clearly meant.

"Pleeeeeaaase?" grovelled the man. He would give anything, may it be a humiliating action, just to get his hands on the object he badly wanted.

"You want this?" Sakura flaunted a picture in front of him. She had dug it out from a box kept in the storage room, included in an old photo album from a while back.

"YESSS!" howled the frustrated male. He thought it was the last time he would ever see the offending thing in his sight. But, NO! Sakura had to ransack the big boxes, which he put away very carefully four years ago. She had to come upon those irritating memorabilias from elementary and high school and college!

"Come and get it then, Syao-ran!"

The man made a go for it, but Sakura flung the photo out of his reach. It landed right at their daughter's feet. Curiously, she picked it from the floor.

"Anzu, nooo!!! Don't look at it!!!"

"Hoe..." was all Anzu could say when she finally discovered what it was.

Sakura smiled. "Wasn't your father cute, Anzu-chan?" she said.

Syaoran groaned, feeling that the he would not be able to stand the horror. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the dreaded answer of his four-year old child.

"B-but okaasan, in this picture, y-you're the prince and he's playing a....princess (at this point, Syaoran opened one eye)....How come...?"

Sakura started to explain but her husband cut her off.

"THAT! IS SOMETHING I DO NOT WANT YOU ASKING ME, YOUR MOTHER, OR EVEN YOUR AUNT MEILIN! UNDERSTAND?!" yelled Syaoran at the top of his voice, his raging honey-colored eyes fully awake now. Anzu flinched. It felt as if a lion had roared into her ear.

"Dear, why are you getting so mad at seeing something like this?"

"Be-cause--"

"Xiaolong," called out a firm, chinese woman's voice from somewhere behind.

Syaoran stiffened at the mention of his chinese name. He swallowed hard and tried to contain himself, turning to face a tall and slender woman in traditional chinese robes. "Hahaue..."he mumbled, very much at a loss. Sakura bowed down to show respect.

The woman gracefully walked towards her son. Anzu seemed to be mesmerized by this lady's every move.

"What is the commotion going on here?" she inquired, "And why were you shouting so loudly, my son?"

"...it is nothing, mother," Xiaolong replied. Nothing was worse than having your own mother see you go postal.

Syaoran could tell that his mother did not believe him. His eyes flew from the photo that Anzu was holding and back to his mother. Too late. She realized it right away.

Li Yelan extended a hand to her granddaughter. "Give me that, dear girl," she coaxed Anzu.

Anzu nodded. Without any hassle, she deposited the picture into the woman's outstretched hand.

The woman scrutinized the picture. An expression of amusement graced her even face.

A stillness hung in the air. Nobody dared to utter any word.

"When did this occur?" the chinese ni-ren asked, still looking at the picture.

"During fifth grade, in one of our plays for the literary fest in Tomoeda elementary school, when Syaoran studied there," Sakura said. She was uncertain at first whether to say it or not and at the same time uncertain why her mother-in-law was interested in the photo. But Sakura was almost certain that Syaoran was glaring at her back.

"I see," Syaoran's mother phrased. "Xiaoying. Please find me more of these fond memories of his."

After hearing a grumbling Syaoran disagree and a light giggle from his wife, she walked away satisfied, still clutching what she called his er-zi's 'fond memories'. Inwardly, she found it quite comical. She never knew his son could be as lovely as he was handsome when he wore a wig and had a touch of women's clothing on him. She chuckled.

"Sa-ku-ra! You didn't have to tell her that!" Syaoran hurled at Sakura when she faced him.

Sakura quirked an eyebrow. Her emerald eyes challenged his golden-brown ones. "Who says I don't have the right to?"

"You know I hate reliving those things."

Sakura released the full power of her sea-green eyes on her husband. It was enough to dissipate the fierceness in Syaoran's look. He sighed. He was no match for Sakura if ever she used his weakness. Silently, he retreated to his comfy recliner in the corner.

"Poor father," Anzu said to herself.

**********

10 years later...

"So, here you are," said a voice.

Anzu spun around. A small smile registered on her face when she saw a fluttering, yellow, stuffed bear. "Oh, it's you Kero-chan. How did you know I was here?"

"Sakura told me," answered Kero. The days of becoming Sakura's guardian was long gone. He now turned to becoming her former mistress' daughter's nanny 24/7. Actually, it was more like 18/7. The young girl was always missing from her study sessions. Nevertheless, she was easy to find. She would either be hiding in somebody else's closet in whoever's room or outside the garden, near the wall.

Anzu laughed. "I guess okaasan doesn't need divination to know where I usually run off to."

"Right." Kero laughed as well.

"Kero-chan, is my mother very cross, right now?"

"Just a pinch," Kero said. "She doesn't have enough time to get so angry at you because she's talking to someone."

Anzu let out a sigh of relief. As much as possible, she wanted to avoid becoming the victim of her mother's wrath. The girl liked it when her 'kaasan was sweet. She disliked it when she was stormy. Setting these thoughts aside, Anzu turned to another thought. "So, who's mother talking to?"

"Yelan-sama."

Was it all in her mind? Anzu could have sworn that Kero had become very grave in the instance that he mentioned the name of her grandmother. This led her to believe that something was up. This I have got to see.

"Anzu-chan?" Kero's concerned face popped directly into Anzu's view.

Anzu gasped. It was alarming to find a round head with nothing but two dotty eyes and a line for a mouth stare straight at you, if you were not used to it. She shook her head vigorously. "W-what?"

"You were spacing out. Is something the matter?"

The fourteen-year old moved a step backward. "N-no! I was just thinking that I need to go back to my lessons. I'm going ahead of you then, Kero-chan!"

Kero watched Anzu speed off towards the direction of the mansion. The girl reminded him a lot of Sakura except Anzu had a longer hair than his former mistress when she was young. Her hair was a shade of chestnut-brown and auburn. The eyes were the same as Sakura's - a bright and brilliant emerald. Looking at Anzu gave a feeling similar to seeing Sakura...and Syaoran, both at the same time. She had the two's innocence and determination put together. Only, she got more of the father's stubbornness.

Anzu was also a powerhouse of magic capabilities. It was not surprising, considering her kinship was half of Clow Reed's descent and half of his avatar.

But that did not matter much. Not until now.

**********

Anzu lied when she said that she would be going back to the library to study. The truth was, she went off to look for her okaasan and her obaasan. In passing by the corridor, she heard the familiar voice of her grandmother coming from a certain room. The girl crept to the door. It was slightly ajar and she peeked through the gap.

"I have already told Xialong this and he is considering it. Xiaoying, I want to know your thoughts," Yelan said.

There was a pause before Sakura answered. "I think it'll do Anzu good to live in Japan, without us."

Japan? Without my parents? Anzu thought, her mind racing. What is this all about?

"Staying there will help Meixing amplify her powers tenfold. Magic roves around more freely there," Yelan told Sakura in her calculated way.

Anzu knew that her okaasan was being hesitant. Just like the earlier reply, she took her time in talking. "If that's the case....I'm allowing it. Mother, I'm trying as hard as I can to digest your words. The reality is, I don't think I can bear being separated from Anzu. Syaoran and I love her very much."

Anzu could not imagine what her grandmother would say to that. Li Yelan was an unpredictable person. She did not expect to see a smile on her serious face. "Xiaolong said the same thing."

"R-really?"

"No need to worry. It will only be the first few months. After that period, the two of you can go to Japan."

"But why?"

Wanting to clearly catch the answer, Anzu leaned on the door. She had not meant to put her weight so much that the door would open widely. The two women inside the room stared at her, surprised. Anzu would not budge from her spot, try as she might to will herself to move, MOVE. Uh-oh. I'm in for it.

It was in that moment that Anzu felt that she was going to be sent off to Japan....right away.

**********

"It hasn't changed one bit," observed a Kero perched on Anzu's shoulder, scanning the not-so-big-not-so-small house in front of his and Anzu's eyes.

Anzu went through the gate and up the doorsteps. Her finger moved slowly towards the doorbell button. The Li child bit her lip and dropped her hand. Should she ring the doorbell?

"What are ya waiting for?" Kero.

"D-do you think they'll welcome me?" Anzu.

Kero pumped up his arms, grinning. "Of course!" was his definite answer.

The girl took a deep breath. Heck, she had nothing to lose. "Well, here goes," she whispered. Anzu gathered up her courage and gave the doorbell button one good push.

Ding dong!

No one came.

Ding dong!

Still no answer.

Ding dong!

Nothing happened.

Ding dong!

.....

Nil. Zilch. Zip.

"Maybe everybody's out?" Kero suggested.

"ARGH..." Anzu plopped down on the steps of the Kinomoto residence, if it ever was the Kinomoto's. For crying out loud, and Anzu really did feel like crying, she was all alone, with a talking stuffed-bear for a companion, in a country she had never been to, EVER.

It was a miracle that she even got to the place. Anzu rarely went out of her home in Hong Kong and now she had all the freedom to roam around a foreign country. Being the sole heir of the Li clan, since she was the only next generation family member, was not as easy at it sounded. Anzu was told earlier that she would be carrying a heavy burden. But as soon as this?!

"Staying there will help Meixing amplify her powers tenfold."

Her grandmother's words echoed in her head.

"Why do I have to anyway?" Anzu asked to no in particular.

"Have to what?" Kero looked at Anzu, puzzled at this sudden comment.

Anzu laughed uneasily. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself. She could store them for later contemplation. Maybe, AFTER she could get inside the house. And speaking of that, Kero suddenly lit up.

"I've got an idea," he said.

"What?"

"I'm going to check if any of the upstairs windows are open."

This seemed like a good idea to Anzu. "Okay."

"You wait here." And with that, the winged-bear flew up to the the second level of the Kinomoto residence and disappeared in sight when he hovered around the back side of the house.

Anzu hugged her knees, rocking herself back and forth as she sat. "Hurry back, Kero-chan."

**********

Kero hit the jackpot when he saw a window wide open in one of the rooms. He had no trouble fitting through the space. He was a small thing after all.

It was a bit dark inside and it took Kero a while to adjust. Gradually, he was able to make out things in the dimness. There was a small bed, a dresser, a looking glass, stuffed dolls....obviously a girl's room but not Sakura's old room. Kero felt that he was being sidetracked and remembered his purpose for being there.

The seal beast twisted the doorknob with his paws, opening the door. Now, he was in the hallway. With ease, he navigated himself down the stairs.

"Everything's still the same," Kero said to himself. The furniture were so much in the same place as he recalled fourteen years ago that he thought he was in retrogradation.

The bear-like guardian found his way to the front door. He did the same thing he did in the room upstairs. A solemn figure met his sight.

"You wanna go home already?" Kero told Anzu.

Anzu twisted her head and glanced up at the floating yellowish stuffed-bear.

**********

It was a strange feeling for Anzu. She knew that she had never been to the house yet she felt as if she had been living there forever. Perhaps it was because her mother always vividly described her house in Japan - not only the house, but the school, the park, the surroundings...the whole neighborhood.

From the time Anzu stepped into the foyer and up to the time she had surveyed the living room, the kitchen, and every other place in the first floor, Anzu was able to feel the warmness of the house.

"Mother must have regretted leaving this house," Anzu remarked.

Kero nodded. "I'm thinking that might be a strong reason why her brother continued to stay here."

"Oh." Something displayed on a nearby table in the living room caught the attention of Anzu. She approached it, Kero trailing behind. The fourteen-year old lifted it off the table.

"That's Sakura when she was still around ten," Kero said upon finding out what Anzu had in her hands.

Anzu stared long at the picture of her okaasan. Sakura looked very young and lively, with a beautiful smile. Until now, she still was.

"You're like Sakura's duplicate, you know."

"Huh?" Anzu gawked at Kero and then went back to look at her mother's smiling face. An involuntary smile started from the tips of her mouth.

"But at the same time, you remind me of that kozo."

Anzu unleashed an intense glare that screamed 'not another peep from you!' a lot.

"That was meant to be a comment!" croaked the seal guardian.

The sound of someone unlocking the front door with a key was heard rather too late by the two intruders. It was followed by the sound of the door creaking open. Anzu and Kero two snapped their eyes to the direction of the doorway.

"Dad?" called out a female voice.

Anzu did not know what to do. Her whole body was paralyzed. Like a stiff statue, she stood rooted to the ground. On the other hand, Kero sought refuge behind the couch.

The speaker came into Anzu's view. She was a girl a bit older than Anzu. She had titian hair and coal eyes. She...was dumbfounded.

**********

"I never knew that my cousin would look so much like Aunt Sakura," Kinomoto Kagari told Anzu as she served the unexpected visitor tea and muffins.

Anzu bowed down her head, ashamed of her actions a while back. "I apologize deeply for barging into your home, Kagari-san."

Kagari smiled. "That's alright. Hey! You speak perfect japanese!"

"Okaasan taught me," Kagari revealed, blushing a bit.

"Really? So, Aunt Sakura says you're staying here with me and my otosan?"

More like I eavesdropped it. Anzu thought. She did not say it out loud. "Yes, she said that."

"What she said," said Kero, stuffing a muffin into his mouth. "Mmph, IMPH UMPH MOOD!"

"Why thank you, Kero-chan," Kagari expressed her gratitude.

Anzu's eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"

"He said my muffins taste good."

Anzu shook her head. She never could understand Kero when he talked while his mouth was full.

"I'm glad this happened. You don't know how trying it is to live in a house with only men who are almost thrice my age. Now, I have someone like you to live with."

"I guess so." Anzu remembered what his father said about her uncle Touya and his daughter. Syaoran's words nagged her at the back of her mind -

"Sakura's elder brother is the worst of all. The first time I met him, he marked me on his dangerous list. And he was sooo protective of Sakura. Yet, he wouldn't admit that he loved her imouto to pieces. He has a daughter now. I bet that daughter would be just like a female Touya..."

Anzu's father was wrong. This Kinomoto was very amiable.

"Kagari! I'm home!"

"Urk....I think I know who that is." Kero frantically went into hiding, again.

"Dad!" Kagari cried out, standing up.

"Do you have visitors?"

A haggard-looking Kinomoto Touya came into the living room. At first, he was not looking at her daughter's guest. Then, on seeing Anzu, he stared wide-eyed at her.

"This is supposed to be my gaki imouto's child, right?" he guessed for himself.

**********

That night, Touya called the Li Mansion. He spoke to Sakura.

"Oi, gaki. You've sent a very nice package without telling me," said Touya in the sarcastic manner characteristic of him when he talked to Sakura.

"Hmm, I knew I was forgetting something. I only remembered it now. I forgot to call you in advance that Anzu's coming to Japan and staying with you."

Then, "Mou, oniichan! You still call me that after we're this old!" retorted Sakura on the other line.

Touya chuckled. "Late reactions, dear sister."

"Oniichan! Will you try to be serious?!"

"Know what I was thinking when I walked into the living room and saw her?"

"What?" Sakura asked, calming down.

"...that Anzu has the face of that gaki and the expression of that guy."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm letting her stay," Touya replied straightforward, suddenly putting down the phone.

**********

Anzu was allowed to use Sakura's old room. Kero pointed out to her that everything seemed to be left untouched from the bed to the stuff in the drawers. Even the dresses were still in the closet. It was a miracle that they have not accumulated any dust. Anzu assumed that someone in the house washed these clothes from time to time. Her mother's stuffed-toys were as they were, sitting on the small shelf at the head of the bed. The game console was still also there. Kero plugged it into the TV and relinquished his favorite games.

Anzu lay down on the bed, looking up to the ceiling. She recalled what happened in the airport, twenty-four hours ago...

(flashback)

How worse would farewells be when four of your aunts are clinging to every part of you - hugging you, almost breaking every bone, acting as if they would never ever see you again? The other thing is, they keep on insisting that you would always be your favorite niece. How could you not be when you are the only niece they have?

Anzu sighed. Her conjectures were half true, alright. She was standing in the departure lounge of the airport, TWO DAYS after overhearing the conversation between her mother and Yelan. The tumultuous frenzy that followed after being caught in the act went by too quickly for her to remember.

"Awww, can't we come?" chorused her four aunties - the too-hyped-up sisters. Yelan told them 'no'. And of course her words were absolute.

Anzu wondered how four people who were born on different timelines could be so much alike. An even bigger mystery was the sisters have not aged at all. You would think that, as time went by, they would grow older. They DID NOT look the part of aunts. Not at all. The foursomes were even more childish than Anzu.

When Anzu could not take it any longer, she glared as nasty as she could. If glaring did not work, she sulked - unnoticed. Last resort was trying to deal as calmly as possible with the onslaught.

"Aunties, I can't breath," Anzu simply told her aunts Feimei, Fuutie, Xiefa, and Fanren. For added effect, she gave them one of her nasty looks.

All four aunts shrieked, delighted. In a way, saying in four different sentences, "little niece, you're so cute when you do that!"

"Girls," Yelan warned. The four women finally behaved themselves. Yelan ushered her daughters away.

It was not surprising that these four are still single at their age.

It was Syaoran and Sakura's turn to have Anzu for themselves.

"I'm sorry you have to be thrown into a whirlwind," Syaoran began. "It's just that, hahaue feels that --"

"You don't have to explain, dad," Anzu said. She gave him the same smile Sakura had. Then she turned to face Sakura.

"Even though your father and I are not around, I feel safe having Kero with you," Sakura said, glancing at the large, round head sticking out from Anzu's bag. "Give me a hug, my apricot."

Anzu wrapped her arms around Sakura and also pulled Syaoran in. The three hugged each other tightly.

"I'll miss you!" Anzu said.

"So this is that family drama I keep on seeing on TV," Kero commented. "Never envisioned Sakura, that kozo, and their kid doing it."

THWACK! And Kero saw tiny wings flapping around him.

It is better not to say who whomped the guardian on the head.

Anzu waved goodbye at the two faces she would not be seeing for who knew how long. Turning her back, she was stopped short in her tracks by a loud voice calling her name.

"Wait! Anzu-chan!"

Anzu twisted her head and saw a black-haired woman with carmine eyes sprinting towards her. Syaoran and Sakura were also eyeing her.

"Aunt Meilin!" exclaimed Anzu. Meilin was Anzu's favorite and probably closest aunt. She was unlike any of her father's sisters. Aunt Meilin had spunk. Anzu heard that, before, she was her dad's fiancée and disapproved greatly of her mom. Now, the two have become very much like siblings.

Also, Meilin had not married yet. But it was not because of her quirks. She just refused to.

"I'm so sorry I had not arrived earlier," apologized Meilin, catching up to Anzu.

Anzu smiled. "That's okay. I knew you would come anyway."

"Of course, I would. You take care of yourself there, understand?"

"I'm staying at my uncle's house in Japan --"

"Kinomoto Touya," Meilin filled in.

"-- I'm sure he'll look after me," finished Anzu.

Meilin affectionately ruffled Anzu's reddish-brown hair. No words were needed. Then, she strode towards where Sakura and Syaoran were standing.

Anzu bade her last farewell until the next time. Somehow, she could not bring herself to admit that farewells could always turn exaggerated. She felt the reason why.

tzuzuki...

NOTES:

* Anzu's name means 'apricot' in japanese.

* Meixing is the literal chinese name for the meaning of Anzu's name. (mei = beautiful) + (xing =apricot)

* ni-ren is chinese for female/woman

* er-zi (er chi) is chinese for son

So, how was it? Please review, ONEGAI. I am not sure if it's good or not. Should I continue?