Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ The Cherry Blossom Opens ❯ Win Some, Lose Some ( Chapter 1 )

Dis-Lamer:

I do not own the series Card Captor Sakura or any of the characters. This Fanfic is an act of legal parody, and it wouldn't pay to sue me. Warnings for senseless violence and several revelations of some of the characters' sexual preferences (one of which is hardly a surprise). If you are a true fan of Card Captor Sakura, I strongly advise you not to read this. This is a revenge `fic, remember? Friends of good fanfiction, do not shy away from this. I will stick to my standards, not resorting to raving insults, but rather relying on intelligent, humorous parody leaving space for the reader to decide how to evaluate the characters' actions.

If there's no honorific written after a name, just presume a -san or -kun as appropriate. Sakura calls his brother onii-chan, but I've omitted all honorifics from non-name nouns for the sake of neatness. Brother-chan doesn't sound good, and I'm not using Japanese words unless translated immediately afterwards.

I ripped the beginning speech's style from Evangelion's famous "Sei wa shi no hajimari" [birth is the beginning of death] tirade. Just imagine Japanese kanji and hiragana moving on a dark background.

Author's notes at www.livejournal.com/users/guruhoro

Happening, happening.

Thoughts, thoughts.

"Speech, speech."

[On-Screen text/subtitles]

*-*-*-*

Somebody turns off the light, as you and your friends gather around the TV screen. One of you had just bought this new anime DVD and invited everyone over. The FBI warning is laughed at, and after setting the language to English, the feature starts.

[Hardly Any Entertainment presents]

[produced by Midnight Souls]

[a Fanfiction directed by]

[Guruhoro]

[starring]

[Sakura Kinomoto]

[with]

[Shaoran Lee]

[and]

[Mei-Lin Lee]

[also starring]

[Kerberos]

[and]

[Tomoyo]

[The Cherry Blossom Opens]

[with]

[Win Some, Lose Some]

"Mahou wa, totemo tsuyoi chikara desu…"

[Magic is a strong power…]

"Tsuyoi chikara wo motsu hito wa, jibun jishin mo, tsuyoi desu…"

[A person with a strong power is strong herself…]

"Hitotachi ni wa, tsuyoi hito ga, kowaku mieru kamo…"

[People might be afraid of someone strong…]

"Kowai hito wa, kirai mo desu…"

[Who is feared, is also hated…]

"Demo oka no hitotachi wa, ano chikara wo teniireru tame ni…"

[But others might want to grasp that power…]

"Ano hito no koto wo kenkyuu shitai kamo…"

[By researching that person…]

"Sono mannaka ni, ano tsuyoi hito wa…"

[In the centre of that, the strong person…]

Sakura woke up early. Since the entire Clow Card business was over, she could sleep well every night instead of running around Tomoeda hunting magical cards gone AWOL. Still, she always carried the cards with her, just in case…

After eating a relaxed breakfast with his father and brother, Sakura picked up her back and put on her roller blades, hurrying off to high school. Yes, some years had passed since all that had happened. A lot had changed.

Sakura had completely gotten over Yukito, and Shaoran had gone back to China to finish his studies in both mundane subjects and magic. Mei-Lin, of course, had followed. She had already given up on Shaoran, seeing clearly how close he was with Sakura. Their relationship had not suffered greatly; Sakura visited her friends in China every year. And Touya seemed different; he no longer poked fun at Sakura, and his usual sharpness was somehow dulled by a sleepwalker-like trance he slipped into every time he had a chance. Sakura suspected that he had a steamy love affair, but he was yet to be seen spending much time with anyone else than Yukito.

But some things never changed. Kero was still the same wise-ass, leeching off the Kinomoto family and playing video games all day when he wasn't out on a relaxing walk… er… flight? Float? Whatever. These excursions were becoming more frequent, which was very suspicious. Tomoyo was still pretty much the same; she never got to film Sakura in battle, but the young mage had agreed to a schedule of one filming day per month; Tomoyo got to dress Sakura up in her… interesting… creations. They had moved away from the weird and cute to just cute. On the first few times, Tomoyo had presented some more practical designs: A school uniform, although with a ridiculously short skirt; a maid's uniform, also revealing lots of leg in long, white socks. Sakura had worn a garter belt, also made by Tomoyo; a secretary's jacket-skirt combination, and the skirt length remained steady well above the knees; a one-part swimsuit, that left the back bare and had a low neckline; cute pyjamas; kimonos and yukatas etc. What had made Sakura slightly suspicious was the western nun's robes, but she had passed that one as a random weirdness attack, and nothing to worry about.

Sakura was close to the high school building now. Other people from some of her classes were walking the same way, and she said hello to those she was friends with. A little bit further, she saw Tomoyo waving her hand from the other side of the street. Sakura waved back, just as Tomoyo began to cross the road.

A red car was speeding from behind a corner near Tomoyo; it was driving at maybe forty miles per hour above the speed limit. With horror filling her mind, Sakura watched it approach her friend, who did not see it coming. In a flurry of movement, Sakura pulled out her wand-key. Time was running low for her friend, so she did not bother transforming it to full size as she tapped a card with it. "Shield! Release and dispel!" The words were uttered in such a hurry that they fell over each other, sounding truly like an arcane language of magic to anyone. The card understood.

A pink beam shot out from the card, stopping only inches before it hit the car and flared out to form a translucent wall. The car rammed into it, and for a terrifying moment it was absolutely silent. Then the vehicle's engine was crushed as inertia crumpled the chassis. A screeching noise screaming of bent supports and torn steel combined with the crash of the car into the wall. Somewhere, a gasoline pipe ruptured. With an explosion, the car disappeared into a ball of fire, throwing back everybody nearby, except for Tomoyo. The shield stood, slowly losing its power. Sakura stumbled up and ran to Tomoyo, who seemed scared but unhurt. She grabbed the stunned girl by the waist and dragged her away from the wall of flame just feet away from her.

As they reached the sidewalk, people were already gathering around, wondering what had happened. The Shield card finally failed and returned to the deck, its powers exhausted. The dominant question was "What the hell happened?" Soon an answer came from a boy who had been standing next to Sakura before the accident. He pointed at her, shouting: "That's the girl! She shot the car with something, I saw her do it! She put out her hands and shouted something, and boom, the car blew up!" Some people muttered protests, but a few others shouted their agreement.

Sakura was standing to the side with Tomoyo. She was worried, looking all over the other girl for damage. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course I am! Thank you, your magic saved my life!" Tomoyo shouted, leaping to hug Sakura tightly.

All around them, about two dozen people heard the girl's words. The words "magic" and "witch" quickly spread through the crowd. An empty space formed around Sakura and Tomoyo.

Sakura detached the grateful fan from around her body and turned to the burning vehicle. She took out the Watery, intending to put down the flames. People around her noticed what she was doing, and rushed to grab her arms, shouting: "Haven't you done enough?" "What are you trying to do now, witch?" and "You killed those people in the car!" Sakura ceased resisting and put the card back in the deck, explaining: "I only protected my friend. She would have been run over by the car. I had to do it."

Somebody picked up a bent and dark license plate from near the wreckage. "The car belonged to a man I knew. Kunichiro's wife is pregnant, and the baby will be born any day now. Are you happy? You robbed a child of its father!" The man was beginning to sob. "You killed my friend! I'll strangle you with my own hands!" He ran towards Sakura, but some people from the crowd held him and pulled him away.

Sakura was crying. "I never meant to… I didn't know the car would blow up… Let me use magic to help the driver!"

Somebody kicked her in the leg. "The driver's dead, you bastard! And if you try using magic now, half of Tomoeda is going to come after you with torches and pitchforks. Better run, girl, and not show your face for a while."

Sakura sat down on the sidewalk, tears still flowing freely. Tomoyo tried to comfort her, but she was beyond the reach of words. I killed someone with my magic. I should have left the cards home… But then Tomoyo-chan might be dead! What was I supposed to do?

When the fire engines and police began to arrive, an officer was quickly directed to Sakura. He was very friendly, asking if she knew what happened. Sakura told him the truth, which people all around confirmed. The officer scratched his head, then said that he could not arrest anyone on such flimsy proof, and only took her name, phone number, and social security number.

Then the reporters arrived. Before they could catch the girls, Tomoyo lead the sobbing Sakura away from the scene, and the walked to Sakura's place. Inside, it was quiet. Sakura's father and brother should have been at work by then. Sakura was about to go upstairs, receiving metal support as well as physical from Tomoyo, as her brother walked out of the living room.

"Sakura. Come here." His face was stern. Sakura lifted her tear-striped and red face, then nodded slowly. She dragged her feet as she walked slowly to her brother. Touya put a hand on her shoulder. "I watched the live news just a moment ago. There has been a car accident, and they're blaming someone with your name. Tell me it wasn't you." There was hope and fear in his eyes.

Sakura hugged her big brother, pressing her face against his wide chest. "I'm so sorry, brother. I did it. I killed the driver with my magic." She sobbed. "But I did it to save Tomoyo-chan. Tell me I made the right choice. Please. Forgive me."

Touya's jaw tensed and his eyes glazed over. "There were two people in that car, and the woman was pregnant. They were on their way to the hospital, because the woman was about to give birth." He patted Sakura's head. "But you could not have known that, and I'm sure you wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally." He grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and pushed her away roughly. Without another word, he went upstairs. A moment later, his door opened and closed.

Sakura walked past the silent Tomoyo and began to walk up the stairs. She noticed some wet spots on the highest steps, but paid them no attention. Her eyes were burning and she wanted to cry, but her tears had run out what seemed like half an eternity ago. Even my brother hates me for what I've done. That's right. "Everybody hates me now."

Tomoyo caught up with Sakura at the end of the stairs. "Everybody will understand and forgive you, in time. Your brother is only shocked. He will, too. It was just an accident. And there are people who love you: Your family, and Shaoran-kun. And me." Sakura threw herself down on her bed, facing the wall. Tomoyo sat down on the edge of the bed and put a hand on Sakura's side. "I love you, Sakura-chan. I love you more than life itself, and I'm grateful that you saved me."

Sakura's voice was silent, barely a whisper. It bore no sign of the joy of life characteristic of her. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No I'm not. I really do love you, Sakura-chan."

"How can you prove that? You can't prove it any more than I can prove that I didn't mean to kill anybody." An unusual tone of irony was creeping into Sakura's voice.

This is really bad, Tomoyo thought. I can't let her slip down that path. "I can prove it, Sakura-chan, if you let me to. Show me your face." Sakura rolled onto her back, and Tomoyo looked at her face. The poor mage's lip was trembling, her eyes were red, and she was generally the embodiment of misery. Tomoyo leaned closer, whispering "I love you" one more time, before planting a soft kiss directly onto Sakura's lips.

Sakura felt those soft, gentle lips on hers, and closed her eyes. Suddenly she saw as flashes of memory all that Tomoyo had done, the dangers she had faced, to be there to witness Sakura's great moments and stay by her side through the hard times. It was then that Sakura knew, that whatever she would do, there was somebody who would love her forever. Right then, she needed to feel loved, so she did not resist when Tomoyo deepened the kiss, laying down on top of Sakura's body. Sakura put her arms around Tomoyo, holding her close, feeling Tomoyo's small breasts pressed against her own, larger ones, through the fabric of their school uniforms. Their legs were touching, and Tomoyo's skin on hers felt smooth and soft, radiating the warmth of another human being.

In the Japanese army's secret research centre, somewhere in the western areas of Hokkaido, Kenta Hokusaka finished his presentation to general Daiichiro Hotoke, with this sentence: "And therefore I believe that the powers this girl possesses, whatever their nature might be, would be very useful, if not as such, then at least in researching something of equal capabilities."

General Hotoke was impressed. This was rarely seen; he was a demanding man, and endorsed only the most important projects. He extracted from a drawer of his desk a form that was rarely used. It was the Project Sheet, a top secret document before being filled, and eyes only after that. In the Project name field he personally wrote "Sakura no Ki no Moto" [The Cherry Tree's Root]. He looked Hokusaka in the eye, speaking slowly in a low voice. "These manifestations of magic are to be called sakura [cherry blossoms]. The girl is codenamed sakura no ki [cherry tree] and the ki no moto [tree's root] refers to the source of her powers. I will pay for you up to three intelligence operatives of your choice and up to a dozen researchers. The budget starts at 1 500 000 yen per month. Failures and successes will affect it. All additional wages and equipment are taken from that budget."

"You are most generous, general. I will give you the project roster by tomorrow."

Sakura and Tomoyo lay side by side in Sakura's bed. Both were blushing and their hearts raced, although nothing had happened after the kiss except for Sakura's hand sliding down to Tomoyo's ass by accident. Now, Sakura's arm was around Tomoyo's shoulders. The girls remained silent, not wanting to break the magic of the moment.

The doorbell rang downstairs, and before Sakura could react, she heard Touya's door open and her brother run downstairs to answer the door. Some conversation was heard, but Sakura could not make out what the voices were saying or who it was. Two pairs of footsteps sounded from the stairs, and there was a knock on Sakura's door.

Sakura did not feel like getting up. "Yes? What is it?"

Touya opened the door and stepped in. "Yukito's here to see you."

Sakura blushed more, clumsily withdrawing her hand from around Tomoyo and getting hurriedly up from the bed. "Brother! I've told you not to come in if I don't tell you to!" She noticed Yukito entering the room and straightened her clothes and hair. "Not that I was doing anything improper…" She stopped as she heard how that sounded. "I mean-"

Touya winked an eye, then said: "Oh, I understand. Just some innocent fun with your friend, right?"

Sakura was not too happy that his brother had unexpectedly regained his sense of humour, and that the jokes had become more inclined towards sexuality after Sakura had turned seventeen. Seeing Yukito, however, wiped these thoughts from her head.

Yukito stepped in carefully. "Hello, Sakura-chan. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Sakura shook her head, so he continued. "I saw the news, and Touya told me something about it. I'm sorry. It was a terrible accident." He moved forward to hold Sakura close to him, but the girl held up a hand to stop him.

"I don't need pity," Sakura explained. "I did what I believed was right, and I don't regret saving my friend's life." She turned and smiled at Tomoyo, who in turn smiled back.

Yukito smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I hope you don't have to fight in court, and I know you will be forgiven."

Touya spoke up. "I'm sorry about how I acted. I know I'd do the same thing in your place." He opened his mouth as if to say something more, but then just put his arm around Yukito's shoulders and they walked out of the room, downstairs, and left the house.

Sakura returned to the bed, laying beside her friend once again, and wrapped an arm around her. "How about we try it again, Tomoyo-chan? The kiss?"

Tomoyo's eyes shone with mischief. "Sure, but only if you let me film you in the lingerie I designed for you."

Sakura moved back in mock shock. "But Tomoyo! How dirty and utterly perverse!" She leaned close, giving her friend a peck on the cheek, and whispered into Tomoyo's ear: "You haven't really made lingerie for me, have you?"

Tomoyo turned to lie on her side and whispered back: "Yes, I have. So how about it?"

For a moment, Sakura lingered between denial and approval of the feelings dwelling deep inside her. "Okay. You're on."

Tomoyo rolled on top of her friend, grabbing her wrists and forcing the above her head. "I'm in control here, Sakura-chan. After all, I have tons of experience from dreaming about what we could do…" She kissed Sakura again, more aggressively than last time. She parted her lips slightly and poked out her tongue, which Sakura eagerly accepted into her mouth. The two tongues slithered back and forth between their mouths, wrestling for control, and Sakura felt her nipples hardening. It shocked her to the point of throwing Tomoyo off her body and screaming. "Eek!" She panted. "What… What was that sensation…? My nipples…"

Tomoyo smiled. "Oh, it's perfectly normal. It's just a sign of getting aroused by what we did. Look, me too." Tomoyo pulled up her bra, revealing a pair of small but pert breasts, each adorned by a red, erect nub. She pulled the clothes back. "It means you're lesbian."

Sakura protested: "No I'm not! And stop teasing me, I'm blushing."

"Oh, I believe you're blushing for a number of other reasons, Sakura-chan…"

"Help me, she's teasing me!"

Tomoyo smiled, a slight twinkle in her eyes. "Nobody will hear your screams…"

[To be continued]