RECAP: Last chapter...hmm...Well they’re back from Hyrule now, Sakura finds out she’s not the greatest badmington player, Syaoran finds out he’s not too good at ping pong....Sakura finds that Fly, one of her first cards to escape, had turned out of a Star card and into a Clow card, so they’re trying to figure that out. Thunder got loose, and Sakura got electricuted fighting it, Syaoran carries her back, she spends the night there, then she goes home. That’s it I guess.

Chapter 19

Sakura blinked. She didn’t know where she was, but it was raining hard, so hard that she could almost swim through the air. Is this a dream? Yes, that’s what it is. Sakura pushed her feet off the ground and started swimming through the air, spinnnig and flipping in an intricate pattern that she herself did not know. She looked around at the place it was raining at. There was a large barn beside her, barnwork she had never seen in her lifetime, and there was a long gravel path running up to it, maybe a driveway.

Sakura turned and floated away from that, pushing herself to a distant building with Chinese architecture. She stopped and stood on the ground, feeling rain pouring down as her feet were planted back with gravity. Two people were standing on this porch close to each other. Sakura walked quietly up the porch steps, looking at the pretty building with the curved bamboon roof with awe and even a distant recognition. I’ve seen this building before. Is this a prophetic dream?

She stopped her thoughts abruptly, as she noticed the people before. What do they think they are doing? Tomoyo and Syaoran were both standing in from the rain, looking at each other from their close held positions with a look Sakura had never seen Syaoran have before. What’s he...? "You guys! Quit! You trying to cross destiny here!" Sakura stomped her foot on the wooden porch, demanding their attention.

They didn’t part, only both looked up at her, grinning. "And what destiny is that?" Syaoran asked.

"Just, ugh, no you can’t! That’s gross! You aren’t s’pose to be with her!"

"You have someone else in mind, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked with her smooth voice.

Sakura was frustrated. She crossed her arms. "You now what, fine. Go ahead and be gross, it’s going to be awful."

"It wasn’t too bad the last time." Syaoran said, looking back to Tomoyo as they reconnected their gaze.

Sakura tightened her lips and fists and stomped again. "UGH!" She spun around and started walking in the rain, pushing into it and swimming through. Someone, anyone, there’s got to be some boy around her...

Sakura spotted a cute blonde haired boy with a green hat, and she swam down to him. "Link, just the person I wanted to see. Come with me, I need to ask a favor of you." She took him by his hand and walked him right in front of the porch where Tomoyo and Syaoran were doing the unspeakable. "Stay right there, that’s it..." Sakura planted herself in front of him. "Okay, now, you have to kiss me."

Link’s blue eyes went wide. "What???"

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes. She stood side to side with him and turned his shoulders, directing him towards the porch. "That, there my friend, is two people who should have never been together. One of them is supposed to me with me. Me. So I am trying to keep them from deceiving destiny."

"I don’t think destiny’s one of those things you can ruin-" Link said unsurely.

Sakura glared at him. "Well, I’m giving it a push in the right direction. Ready?" Sakura stood in close front of this blue boy’s eyes, pulling him closer. Just do it, weenie. You’ll love the jealous look you’ll get off his face when you do this. Sakura met his lips shortly then quickly stood away, swinging around to see what Syaoran was up to. He was jogging down the porch- quite casually to Sakura’s dismay.

"Why did you do something like that, Sakura?"

Sakura made sure she smiled at Link. "Oh, nothing. I’m sorry, did that image disturb you?"

Syaoran took her in by the waist, Sakura looking up expectantly into his eyes. "I-I-I...." Sakura stuttered, the words not coming to her mouth.

~~~~~~~ "You-you-you what?"

Sakura opened her eyes and looked with horror into a large yellow face. "AHH!" She very ungracefully fell to the ground with her blanket, along with the teddy bear she had been clinging to. "I was in the middle of a dream." She said flatly, starting to collect her blankets.

"A strange one at that. Any visualizations of the futue?"

"I hope not." Sakura muttered, throwing her blanket on her bed. "A barn and some rain? That’s all I got out of it."

"So what exactly were you trying so hard to say to the barn in that rain?" Kero asked, watching her carefully.

"Nothing, the strange things that have happened all seemed to blend into each other, that’s all."

Sakura had completly recovered from her electrifying aches and pains, for it was about two weeks after those cold days. Now all of the snow had melted, though much rain had taken its place. "I think the Rain or Storm card is being used." Sakura said, standing up and stretching out her cramped limbs.

"It’s a definite possibility. It stormed pretty hartily last night. You should look into it after school."

Sakura sighed. She had hardly talked to Syaoran these past two weeks, being taken out with all her other friends due to the lessened activities aka released cards in her schedule. Sakura walked over to her calendar and crossed off another day. "Almost a month until my birthday!" Sakura said, setting the marker back down on her dresser desk.

"YES! CAKE!" Kero exclaimed, doing a victory lap around the room.

Bob, seeing Kero flying about, started tapping on the glass. "Let him out while I’m gone, Kero." Sakura said, pulling on her uniform shirt. "No kitchen raids. Last time I got in trouble for the missing cookies. That wasn’t very fair."

"Sorry." Kero mumbled, landing next to Bob’s jar and waving at him tauntingly. The bug tapped his head against the jar sometimes now, as if threatening to take its own life if it wasn’t allowed some more freedom.

"Angel! Help! Wings, fly, please!" The bug cried with its airy voice through the glass.

"Oh stop, you get to fly all the time. I’m just never around when you do it, that’s all."

The bug ignored her and flew to the top of his jar where he stuck his mouth on one of the airholes and began breathing from there. "Air. So stale!" He gasped between words.

Sakura rolled her eyes and stepped into the hallway. What a life. She headed to the bathroom to fix her hair. What a dream! Nothing ever seems weird when you’re inside the dream, but now as I look back at it...She blushed, then brushed her hair to try and rid herself of the embaressment. I wonder, if Kero had waited to wake me a little longer,...

"Sakura-chan! Touya’s ready to go!" She heard her father’s voice sing from downstairs. She hopped from where she had been sitting combing out her hair and trotted down the stairs.

I don’t want to get caught outside in the rain. Who knows what I’ll actually see walking around Tomeoda. She walked into the garage where Touya already had his car started up, and quietly sat down in the passenger’s seat.

"Rough dream?" Touya asked.

"Huh? Oh, uh, no, what would make you say that?" Sakura asked sheepishly.

"Nothing, you woke up with a scream and a thud, that’s all." Touya said, looking behind the car as he backed out into the morning rain.

"Heh, yeah, I, I uh, bad dream, that’s all." Sakura said, staying quiet for the rest of the trip. It might have been a good dream had Kero not so rudely woken me up. She hopped out onto the sidewalk and barely grabbed her bookbag out of the car before Touya was driving off, and she got splashed with his back tires. Sakura glared after him, mumbling mean things under her breath.

"Rough morning?" Came a voice from behind her, low and clear.

Sakura turned and tried to smile, though it came out again sheepishly. "Li-kun. No, I just, well yeah." She said, her shoulders slumping a little. "Bad dream, fell off my bed, now this."

"Prophetic dream?" Syaoran asked.

"NO! I mean, I certainly hope not." Sakura said, looking down at her feet with a furious blush across her cheeks.

"Well, we should probably go inside, you are just getting wetter, you’ll probably get sick." Syaoran turned and headed inside with Sakura close behind him.

I wonder if he would have...stupid Kero. Waking me up before I could be making an important discovery in my dream. Sakura looked through the hall, breaking apart from Syaoran’s company, and walked over to Tomoyo. Every time she had talked to Tomoyo, she had seemed the same, but Syaoran’s story left her thinking twice about her. Now this dream...their friendship was definitely being put through some obstacles. "Hey Tomoyo! You could be taping some suspicious rain tonight."

Tomoyo looked up from the books she was taking out of her locker and smiled. "I Thought last night during the storm; Sakura’s Storm card hasn’t escaped like the others. This storm could defnitely be that. Shouldn’t you be sad you lost another card?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I’ve been trying to get a good mood going, though. I had a weird dream, then...you know." She stopped for a second, because mentioning the dream just kept bringing back pictures in her head. "So anyway, we start another music project today." Sakura said.

"Really!?"Tomoyo squealed.

Sakura nodded, trying to keep this happy conversation going, but she was still finding it very hard to look Tomoyo in the eye sometimes. "I dunno what, but I heard from some seventh graders in the hall, they said we start a project. Who knows, though, they are seventh graders."

"But Sakura, we were seventh graders last year!"

Sakura sighed. "Yeah, so. We’ve got to keep our superiority table straight, next year we will be back at the bottom of the fish tank."

Tomoyo nodded. "So true. We better enjoy it while it lasts." They walked together to homeroom, Sakura was leafing through some pictures Tomoyo had of a famous Tokyo band. One in particular caught her attention, the bass guitarist, he seemed to play with a fire even the pictures caught.

"I would love to see Shiro-Ame play live. Too bad all my time is spent collecting cards that should already be sealed."

"Yeah, who knows. Tomeoda is a pretty big city, rumors say they are traveling with the baseball league. That would be a blast to go see the game and then stay for a concert after!"

Sakura’s attention darted to another page of the magazine. "Keanu plays in a band!?" Sakura shreiked, staring at the picture wide-eyed.

"Wow! I wish we could see them...they are playing in Hiroshima."

"Figures. If it were up to me I’d drive all the way across Japan to see him." Sakura said, stroking the picture.

"What’s all this cooing about?" Chihura asked, sitting down with Tamakazi.

"Matrix guy has a band." Sakura said, smiling and holding the picture up.

"You know I have seen Syaoran preform some of the same moves Keanu does in his movies." Tomoyo said aside to Sakura.

"Heh, ..." Sakura said, then looked down.

"So can you beleive that rain?" Chihura asked.

"It’s awful, dark, depressing..." Rika said, collapsing on a chair next to Chihura. "Everything is so waterlogged."

"You know the story behind rain causing bad moods? It was said that in the tmie of the aboriginees, witch doctors would curse the water falling from the skies to make people depressed, that way they’d get more customers in their side business: Psychiatric care." Tamakazi said, smiling convincingly with his half moon eyes shut brightly.

"We don’t want to hear your lies. Shut up." Chihura ordered, hitting him acrosss the shoulder.

"Looks like the Li’s are planning to be late." Tomoyo said, looking around the room.

"They probably are depressed because of the rain too."

"Why do you hate the rain so much, Chihura?" Sakura asked.

"I have a riding lesson today after school, I am hoping the weather lets up."

"But don’t you ride indoors? For the price you pay for those riding lessons...." Rika said.

"Oh, yes, of course, but if it’s thundering, I suppose some of the horses might be spooked. We are supposed to have a new student coming into our class today, anyway, and they wouldn’t have enough experience to deal with a jumpy horse." Chihura said.

"I see." Tomoyo said.

"I hope the weather lets up for you." Sakura said, glancing out the window. Outdoors the rain continued to rain steadily.

"Okay class, we are starting homeroom now, everyone take your seats." The sensei called, and kids scattered to their assigned seats. He waited patiently for the last of the talking to simmer away, then continued. "Today we will be having an-"

His sentence stopped, as the door opened to the class and dominated the noise of his voice. Meilin stepped in, walking dejectedly to her seat. Syaoran was soon to follow, and he collapsed into his seat across the room behind Sakura.

"I see we’ve chosen to be tardy today, Meilin, Syaoran. Maybe a detention will serve as a reminder on the importance of punctuality, hmm?" The sensei said, walking to his desk and quickly scribbling two detentions on the blue peices of paper. He handed them quickly to Meilin and Syaoran then returned to the board where he had been talking. "We will be having an impromptu fundraiser today during lunch to raise funds for the spring dance coming next month."

Some kids were already chattering excitedly, but Sakura groaned. Blah! Dances, who needs them? There are much more romantic ways to express your feelings than to dance on a covered up gym floor. She sighed. Who knows, maybe I don’t like dances because no one asks me to go. I’ll end up going with Tomoyo again, then hang out at the food table. This year I should stay home and express my feelings about school dances in a silent protest.

"Ice cream sundaes will be served for fifity yen during lunch at the front table, be sure to help out." The sensei went into the usual stuff, and Sakura’s mind quickly drifted to things other than the influence of computers in the modern day world.

Syaoran crumpled the detention slip in his hand, glaring at the sensei, then forcing his glare somewhere less disrespectful, aka the window to his left. Meilin should have remembered to get the chocolate last night. It’s not my fault she forgot and we had to get it this morning. But that wasn’t the whole truth - the gas station they had stopped at on their way to school didn’t carry his favorite candy bar, so he had forced them to walk to another one. He quickly discovered that all the gas station chains had stopped carrying anything involved with that brand in some sort of boycot, so Syaoran didn’t get any of the chocolate he had wanted; he had gotten a detention instead.

There’s probably going to be all kinds of fudge syrup on those sundaes...Syaoran thought, looking out the window. I sound like the stuffed animal, what am I thinking? I guess I should give myself a break, I rarely ever lull about anything, I should be able to lament my chocolate lacking-ness. Syaoran started scheming. But how to get one of those sundaes? He loooked up at the back of Sakura’s head, then shook the idea away. Maybe Tamakazi would get me one. But how would I eat it before lunch was over? If I leave it in my locker, everything will melt and get crappy stuff everywhere. Syaoran sighed. I’ll get that chocolate. Just wait.

______________________________________________________________________

Sakura spooned up her ice cream in a light mood, looking at Naoko, who was immitating a scene in a movie she had just seen. "It was so scary! Really, I gripped to my seat through the whole thing!"

Sakura bit her lip and looked down. One movie I won’t want to be seeing.

"I can’t beleive it’s still raining, it’s almost raining harder then it was before." Chihura said, leaning on her hand as she shoved another spoonful of fudge and ice cream into her mouth.

"You know I think it’s quite possible our science teacher planned this." Rika said over the mountain of food in her mouth. "Remember he did say that he’d take us outside the next time it was sunny?"

"Poor Syaoran and Meilin." Tomoyo said to Sakura, taking them out of the larger conversation.

Sakura nodded. "This ice cream is really good." She sucked on a peice of vinilla ice cream thoughtfully. Poor them. I would’ve gotten a bowl for Syaoran, if I knew he could eat it before next class starts. Thinking of Syaoran made Sakura look uneasily at Tomoyo. Such a strange dream... Her mind sparked suddenly, the way her slow processing but always hardworking brain did. "Hey Chihura, what does your barn look like?" Sakura asked.

Chihura looked up from the icecream she was stirring. "Huh? Oh, uh, it’s just like a big box. It’s got a long gravel driveway, the barn’s built out of white metal...Why? Are you planning to take lessons?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I, I just thought it might of been a barn I’d seen when we were driving the other day."

"Oh, well I doubt you drove by it, it’s way on the west side of Tomeoda." Chihura said.

Sakura smiled and nodded, though her mind was working quickly. So the Storm is attacking Chihura’s barn? That’s just great. We get to work around a schoolmate again. She looked to Tomoyo and whispered aside to her. "We’re taking a trip to Chihura’s barn after school."

Tomoyo grinned, but didn’t say anything, obviously quickly putting things together.

______________________________________________________________

"Why can’t we have a Twin card, or a duplicating spell or something?" Meilin complained, writing her sixtieth sentence of ‘I will not be late’ on the board.

Syaoran had alot more left to do then his cousin, he had chosen to use a few choice words at the sensei for making them skip lunch, so he had one hundred sets of ‘I will not be late’, along with ‘I will have respect for my elders’. "Don’t complain, Meilin. It is a weakness."

Meilin was writing sloppily now, giving up on nice handwriting. "Complaining without reason is a weakness. Complaining when something like this-" She stepped back and overveiwed the board. "-Like this is just part of staying sane."

"I am staying perfectly sane over here with my two hundred sentences." Syaoran said, finishing his eighty fifth late sentence.

"But you aren’t human." Meilin said, blurring one of her previous words with the heel of her hand.

"Don’t start with your fascinations, I have one hundred and twelve sentences left, please invest your silence into helping me contain my temper."

"I’ll help you once I’m finished." Meilin said, having to rewrite a character as her talking had distracted her into writing the wrong word.

"At the rate you are going, I’ll be helping you." Syaoran said, his hand cramping as he sped into the last sentence of the late set.

"Hmph." Meilin would have crossed her arms indignantly, but she had to undo them quickly to continue writing. "I’m really sorry I didn’t get you your candy after school, I wasn’t thinking about it cause of my stupid piano lessons ending so late."

"Quit calling it stupid. You should be happy your family still sends you money for the lessons. You know girls in China work on farms just to have enough money to learn the piano?"

Meilin grumbled but stayed silent. "Well if you had to go, you’d see what a witch my teacher is. She practically beats my poor little fingers out of existance. One of these days they’ll just fade away."

"Meilin Li! A set of what Syaoran’s writing. I don’t want to hear you two referring to teachers as anything but positively wonderful people, as you are lucky we are so patient with you. I could have put my skills to something much more earning and satisfying, but I chose to teach you. Someone has to. Now for a sacrifice like that, I would think you two would be abounding with gratitude."

"Sorry, sensei. I will never do it again." Meilin said, startled by the sensei’s abrupt walk into the room.

"You two better hurry. You will be writing into part of your fifth class." The sensei slipped out of the room just as quietly as he had entered, leaving Meilin and Syaoran with more work.

"Yokunai! One hundred more!" Meilin wailed, looking over at the fifteen sentences Syaoran had already scribbled down with furious speed.

"If you would write as much as you complain, maybe you’d be done." Syaoran said, his hand now in the vital stages of cramping.

"Hyaku motto (A hundred more). Hyaku motto!" Meilin shoved the chalk so hard on the board that the end broke into little white peices that fell to the floor. "He walks in on our private conversation, then like that, "a set of what Syaoran’s writing.""

Syaoran shuddered with annoyance, holding himself back from strangling Meilin by the neck. She went silent, writing quickly and with determination, and Syaoran had enough time to exhale some of his anger out. Still raining. He thought, glancing out of the window between sentences. This has got to be a card. Storm or Rain, I wonder if Sakura has any leads? I would have asked her in lunch, but....Syaoran tried not to concentrate on that, because quickly images of a chocolate loaded sundae was dancing through his head. Not fair, none of this is. Why couldn’t I have kept my mouth shut when the sensei told me my ‘lates’ were missing a line in the stupid character? Everyone knows there’s twenty thousand different types of kanji. He doesn’t understand I am trying to keep track of two forms of Japanese in my head.

__________________________________________________________________

"Stuffed glutton, leave me alone!" Meilin shouted at Kero.

"If you would stop trying to assault my friend here, maybe I would leave you alone." Kero spat back.

"Free! Life! Pleasure!" Bob sang, flying in circles around Meilin, unaware at her attempts to catch him between her hands.

"Oh, this is wonderful material!" Tomoyo squeaked, holding he camera happily.

Sakura sat glumly on the sheltered bench she sat on. They- Syaoran, Tomoyo, Meilin, Bob, and Kero- all were waiting for the bus to arrive to take them to West Tomeoda, where they’d finish travelling to Chihura’s stables by the directions Sakura had found in the phone book. Right now she was kicking herself for allowing everyone to come along- Bob had done nothing but sing and fly in circles, so ecstatic to be outside, Kero had spent most his time complaining or critiquing the two he labeled ‘brats’, Meilin was showing her annoyance openly, Syaoran had been uncomfortably quiet, and Tomoyo was taping the whole thing.

"Wow, angel is beautiful, I think I could be in lo-" Bob started, though quickly stopped by Syaoran, who had swatted him out of the air.

"Li-kun! Don’t hurt the poor bug!" Sakura said, pulling the bug carefully out of the air and allowing it to sit on her hand.

Syaoran just shrugged and kept a wary eye on the bug. Why did I do that? Why did I put a spell on that bug before thinking about all the things attatched to it?

The bug shot up from Sakura’s hand, sprinkling blue dust down on her, making her blink. "Pretty emerald eyes, angel has. Beautiful face, soft soft cherry red lips, I should like to-"

Sakura pulled the bug out of the air this time, worried about what he was going to say next. After he was trapped inbetween her hands, she looked up. "Silly bug, where does it get all these ideas?"

Syaoran sweatdropped and looked at his feet, his ears burning bright red. Only visions of a shoe squishing the bug offered consolation to his worried embaressment. "You should just get rid of it, let it migrate."

"Heh, maybe." Sakura tried to wipe the stress off her face as they prepared for the coming bus. Kero and Bob both went to their own part of her jacket, and Sakura stood up, stepping out into the rain as the bus’s door opened. Just stay in control of you magic. It’s so hard to concentrate with all of them around, but I’ve got to do it. They want to help, that’s all. Meilin doesn’t mean to be so annoying...But Bob. What’s he doing? He’s just provoking Kero’s protective side, that’s all. This is miserable.

Sakura got stuck next to Tomoyo as they sat down, though she wanted to talk to Syaoran. He seemed like the only one who was truly clear of the stress in this situation, and she needed to discuss battle plans with the only other magically able human in this radius. Forced to improvise, Sakura turned in her seat. "What are we going to do if people are inside?" She asked Syaoran, feeling stupid as some of the other bus riders looked skeptically at the rubber enforced battle costume Tomoyo had made.

"The Sleep is out, right?" Syaoran asked.

"Yes, almost all of my cards you can count on being gone."

"I know a sleeping spell, but I’d need some magic to use it..." Syaoran said, feeling the exhausting effects of the long term used magic, knowing all his magic reserves were being put to use against them.

"I’ll give you some before we go in, remind me." Sakura said, turning back around in her seat.

Tomoyo set the minicamera away quickly. "What do you plan to do when we get there, Sakura?"

Sakura cleared her mind and tried to think up a rough battleplan. "I’ve got some lightening rods, we should put those on the barn’s roof first, in case they don’t have any. A barn on fire probably burns incredibly fast with all the hay they have in there."

"Good idea, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo said.

"Thanks, so then I don’t know. How do you fight a storm? We could entrap it with something if we had the right cards. I am hoping that the Storm will give us a plan once we get there."

They rode the rest of the bus ride in silence, aside from a few muffled words Kero called out of Sakura’s pocket. They stepped off the bus into the rainy street in single file, slowly coming into a collective group, and walked to the barn broadly across the rarely travelled country road. They walked for a very short distance before the barn was in sight, and they walked up the long gravel drive until they reached the door to the stables.

The barn was shut up, and Sakura was slow to reach for the door’s handle, when she remembered the sleeping spell. She turned to Syaoran, who was standing at her side, and took his hands. She shut her eyes tightly and concentrated, feeling the unpleasant feeling of her magic seeping out of her, but knowing this is what she was supposed to be doing. The rest of them watched Syaoran and Sakura bewildered, seeing the frowning brow of concentration on Sakura and Syaoran’s look of odd enjoyment as they stood completly still.

As soon as Sakura opened her eyes, Kero flew between their hands, hysteria on his mind. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!?" He cried, a look of disbeleif and worry on his face.

"I-I was just-just giving Syaoran magic to use in a spell. We have no sleeping card to work with, and I don’t know any spells, Kero." Sakura said, surprised with Kero’s outburst.

"You can do more with your magic than just use cards." Kero muttered, glaring at Syaoran. "Don’t share anymore magic with that brat, or anyone. It’s yours to use, not share around so the world can be happy and equal."

Sakura was a bit taken aback by Kero’s roughness. "Geez, sorry, I didn’t know it was such a big deal." Apparently Syaoran didn’t either, he never said anything, anyway. He would try to steal magic from me, would he? Sakura remembered going through the ‘he’s trying to kill me’ phase. Of course not, that’s stupid.

They walked into the barn and were greeted by two figures watching them. "Sakura, Syaoran, Meilin, Tomoyo! What are you doing?" Chihura asked.

"Huh? Ahh, oh, we were, uh, just coming to watch."

Thunder rumbled the entire building, and a horse in a nearby stall whinnied nervously.

"There’s nothing to watch. I don’t know who you guys are, but you should probably be getting home very quickly, this storm’s moving in incredibly fast. We’re cancelling lessons today." Her voice was lost, as rain poured down harder, pounding the high tin roof above and echoing through the large open barn. "You can come in the house if you want!" She said, rushing to the door that connected the barn to the house.

"No, we’re going to leave, thanks very much. See you later, Chihura!" Sakura said, waving at her friend.

Chihura was looking at them with high curiosity and skepticism, but she shrugged. "See you."

They exited the barn, but just after the door shut, Syaoran had his sword out. He shouted some words that Sakura thought may be Chinese, but she wasn’t sure, but whatever it was, he followed through by slamming his sword into the ground, landing in a very cool looking fighting stance. "Anyone within a dangerous radius is asleep." He said with satisfaction, taking his sword back up and stepping up out of his spread out stance.

Wind began to pound at the walls, and Sakura quickly remembered the rods in her pocket. "I’m going to put these up!" Sakura said flashing the lightening rods in everyone’s veiw before starting to dart off to the ladder leading to the hayloft.

Syaoran caught her shoulder and stopped her. "I’ll put them up, you’ve had enough electricity to last you a lifetime." Syaoran said, taking them right out of her hands before she could run after him.

Sakura sighed at his stubborness and was about to voice her annoyance when three banging sounds followed by a damp draft caught her attention. The stalls beside her had their top doors swung open by the wind’s power, and rain flooded in, splashing the trapped horses within the metal prisons.

"Quick, Meilin, help me!" She ran inside the stall, oblivious to the danger she was risking being with a frightened animal, and tried vainly to pull the door shut. The wind was keeping it pinned back; Sakura’s arm power was no use.

"It’s not working! Let’s put them into the arena!" Meilin called from the stall she was in, dodging the pacing horse’s path. She stepped out of the stall, grabbed a halter, and quickly led the scared horse out into the arena. Sakura did the same, and they soon had the three horses safe. Three more doors banged open down the aisle, and Sakura and Meilin ran to help.

After all six horses were running around in the arena, safe for now by the barn’s tall metal walls, Sakura headed for the hayloft. She could see the hole in the roof where Syaoran had opened the door, and rain was pouring by the buckets down on the hay below. She planned to get Syaoran, pull him in before he was blown away, and shut that door before the entire hayloft’s hay would be spoiled.

The problem was the hayloft was so full of hay that it made an impossible maze to the door, and to go any further near the edge of the loft would be dangerously close to falling down on the sidewalk below. Sakura looked to her right, where support beams on the high ceiling ran almost parallel with her waist, providing sturdy and wide balance beams all the way across the barn. Sakura looked nervously at it, not sure whether she should step on them or not.

A wind blew around Sakura, so random and directionless that there was no way it was from the storm. Sakura blinked as the hay and dust settled around her, and found herself looking into the eyes of the ghost. She hadn’t seen this ghost in a very long time, and to peer into it’s beady abosorbing eyes was pure fear all over again. Sakura stepped back away from her, but the ghost whipped hay bales into the air with only a flick of her wrist, and the heavy bundled grass landed sharply around Sakura, forcing her to step forward again.

"Thou is not Aruka. I have made a mistake." The ghost said, sending another draft of wind at Sakura. "But to despise you is not wrong, you traitorous heathen! Thine uses hither magic, I dost sense it. To steal them all, that is your plan, witch! Once I permitted with my failure- though this was not my fault - to allow sucession twice will not be. Die by thine only loves sword!"

Sakura tried to listen to what the ghost was saying, she knew it would all help in the puzzle she was trying to put together, but the evil malice the ghost put on each word; the hate dripping sounds that flowed from her mouth, were painful to listen to. The healing nerves from Sakura’s previous fight with the Thunder were tingling horribly, and her legs started to ache under her own weight. Sakura had no idea how she was going to protect herself, when the ghost suddenly cried, as if fearful, and spun away, throwing dust and hay into the air.

Sakura quickly tried to recover herself, and as she did, several floating swords caught her attention. Sakura blithely jumped onto the rafters beside her and jogged across, concentrating that this was only like a balance beam in gymnastics class, and that she was not really twenty feet in the air. Sakura reached about where the door was and jumped across, narrowly missing one of the sword’s blades as she hopped over them, her shoe just catching it’s tip. Meilin was behind her, though she was being more held up by the swords, and was fighting them determinedly. Sakura wasn’t sure if Meilin had seen any of the ghost’s little presentation, but Sakura had a feeling she hadn’t. Sakura looked back to make sure Meilin would be okay by herself, then faced the open door above her.

Sakura put her hands on either side of the door and pulled herself up into the rain and the high roof. She blinked rapidly, trying to see through the blinding rush of water as it poured down. Sakura could see a moving figure at the edge of the roof, working quickly with a peice of metal. A row ran across the highest part of the roof of tall metal rods, glimmering through the rain. Sakura stood up unsteadily and hurried forward, reaching Syaoran’s spot and just barely avoiding an unbalancing gust of wind. He glanced up through the rain, his wet hair dripping in his eyes. "Sakura-chan! What are you doing? Get back inside, I’m almost done!"

Sakura bent down and pulled twine out of her pocket, helping him tie the rod down more quickly, as the wind continued to pick up. "I’m helping!" She said, her fingers working horribly slow because of the water making everything slip.

"You’re going to get hurt!" Syaoran said, just after lightening struck down only a block or so away.

"I don’t care!" Sakura said, working relentlessly to help Syaoran get back before either of them would get too damaged by the storm.

"But I do! Please, Sakura, go back!" Syaoran knew it wasn’t much use now, he was almost finished with this rod, and he didn’t plan on putting anymore up, it was getting wrecklessly dangerous.

Sakura watched him with softened eyes, letting his words sink in silently. He really cares, doesn’t he? Sakura wanted to follow his wishes, no matter how much she didn’t want to give up her pride. She looked down at the rod to see Syaoran had finished tying it down, and then stood up, ready to hurry back inside.

Syaoran jumped to his feet and pushed her back with his hand, telling her to hurry. "Stay low!" He called, the lightening flashing blindingly beside them.

Sakura reached the door and jumped through into the hayloft, landing on the hay below, some stray peices sticking to her wet clothes. Sakura hurried to the ladder to get down from the hayloft, but a sword blocked her path. Sakura was about to call for help when she heard Meilin scream from a rafter over the arena. She was hanging to it by her legs, as the Sword above her tauntingly slashed nearby wood.

Syaoran was quick to help, and he took his sword out and deftly flipped himself up onto the first support beam. He hopped over to Meilin’s board and slashed the sword away, then quickly helped her up. "Go protect the horses!" Syaoran shouted, slashing another of the swords away.

Meilin nodded, and was about to start her way back over to the hayloft, but the shadow appeared, a large shadow across the first rafter. She quickly began hopping the boards the other direction, hoping she could figure out a plan of how to get down once she reached the end beam.

Syaoran now was facing three swords. Though he fought them bravely and with much skill, their number was slowly over taking him. A sword slashed at his ankle, and Syaoran had no time to do anything but flip around the beam he was on. The breif stop of gravity made his head spin, but he was quickly slashing away the other swords.

Sakura watched nervously from the loft, afraid that if she tried and helped, she would become more in the way. Presently she was hiding in a cubby between a few bales of hay from the shadow’s phantom form, which was lingering near the edge of the loft. She gasped as Syaoran slipped, then sighed with releif as he did an admirable flip back to his feet.

Syaoran was wearing himself out quickly, and he could feel it. I need to get rid of these swords, but how? Syaoran looked down the length of the beam he was on. It stretched from one wall to the other, all the way across the large barn. A window was at the far side, hanging over the arena. If I could get them to fall away outside, but then...we’d have a broken window. The most agressive of the swords swung quickly at his stomach, and Syaoran narrowly missed having another sword inflicted scar across his stomach. I still have a little magic left... Syaoran had a plan.

With amazing agility, he back handspringed across the narrow board, his hands and feet landing within an exact straight line of each other. The swords were after him, so he continued, flip-hand spring-run backwards. Syaoran did the last handspring he could fit in before he reached the wall, then turned, bringing his leg up high into a roundhouse kick, straight into the glass. It shattered under his powerful blow, glass fell to the outside and showered the ground, but the horses in the arena below were safe of the sharp glass. Syaoran did a sideways summersault to narrowly duck under the flying swords, which flew straight through the opening outside.

Syaoran’s sideways roll hadn’t been exactly straight, and he felt his weight falling onto air, not being stopped by the sturdy beam. Syaoran groped with his hands for something to hold on to, and his fingers caught the sharp splintered edges of the beam. Syaoran hung on tightly as his legs swung underneath him, but forced one of his hands off, throwing a ward card into the air. He swiftly drew his sword out with the same hand. Slamming his sword into the card, Syaoran put all his last magic into keeping this barn blockaded, and the swords were held back from getting through the open window by an invisible forcefield. Syaoran quickly reached his other hand back to the beam and pulled himself up, half collapsing on the beam with exhaustion and releif.

I’m not done yet, I can’t stop until I have finished. Syaoran forced his feet under him, and walked down the board until he reached its middle. Meilin was at the end of the beams, carefully lowering herself to a low wall below.

Syaoran looked to the hayloft, where the shadow still lingered, wafting about from bale to bale of hay. Suddenly, as if acknowledging Syaoran’s stare, it sailed across the beams towards where Syaoran stood. Syaoran knew he couldn’t let the shadow touch him, so half out of accident he fell to his stomach and swung around the beam. He unintentionally flipped all the way under it, and on his way back around, Syaoran could see the shadow dangerously close now.

Syaoran let his hands off the beam once he reached the highest point in his flip, and launched himself into the air, quickly putting his hands out in front of him. They sturdily caught a beam above him, which Syaoran flipped around to keep his momentum from making him fall. Halfway through this flip, Syaoran let go, and wind rushed by his ears as he fell feetfirst through an open space in the rafters. He tried to catch the beam with his fingers, but only their ends grazed it, causing temporary pain. Syaoran landed with an awful thud and he cringe, pain running up his legs. He hadn’t landed on the ground, no, he hadn’t even landed on his feet.

Syaoran looked about himself and quickly realized with alarm that he had landed painfully on a horse below, which hadn’t liked the flying mount at all. The horse started cantering, and Syaoran caught his bearings just in time, adjusting himself onto the horse so he could sit right. He quickly concentrated on slowing it down, planning to dismount, but the shadow phantom was now on this level, terrorizing some of the free horses. Sakura had hopped down from where ever she had been, and was using Bubbles against the shadow, though she knew it had no effect.

Syaoran galloped the horse to that end of the arena and surveyed the situation quickly, deciding it was better to be off the ground than on it. Syaoran couldn’t help but notice that he had become considerably weak, unusually so. Oh my God I won’t be able to walk tommorrow! Why did I have to land on a horse? I need to train much more than I have been doing, it isn’t supporting me at all! Syaoran looked around quickly for something to use to rid themselves of the shadow. "Your Light card!" Syaoran called to Sakura, who was backing away as the Bubble wall she had made was breaking away.

Sakura nodded and took the card out, twirling her staff around. "Light card! Contain this Shadow!" She yelled, hitting her staff to the still working Star card.

Light submerged the shadow quickly, and the menace was gone for now. Meilin jogged up, worry on her face. "Syaoran, are you alright?" She called before either Syaoran or Sakura had had a chance to say anything.

"I’m fine."

"I have never seen anyone mount a horse like that! Are you sure you are alright...I mean...certain parts of you must be screaming with pain right about now..."

"Meilin!" Syaoran shouted at her, his ears burning once again.

Meilin shrugged. "Sorry, it’s the truth."

Sakura quickly saved them from that awkward situation. "How do we stop this Storm? If it gets any worse I am afraid this building isn’t substantial enough to shelter us."

"The Lightening-" Syaoran stopped his sentence, as the whole barn seemed to illuminate with a blinding light. Syaoran had to shut his eyes, though the light still came blindingly through his eye lids. With the light came an unbearable crashing sound, thunder unlike anything they had ever heard, the sound so loud it felt like it would burst their ear drums, and they thought the ground under them was going to explode.

Just as quickly it had flashed, it ended, though the after effects of confused vision and ringing thunder still lingered. "The lightening rods were bewitched." Syaoran said after his hearing had come back enough.

"It’s over?" Sakura asked, noticing a significant change in noise, though whether it was her own ears or the outdoors she couldn’t tell.

"The Lightening rods, I put a spell on them, to take out whatever energy touched them. So, it was only a matter of time before they hit the rods. The Storm should be contained right now, check your cards."

Sakura looked down and quickly shuffled through them, pulling out the Storm. Two red eyes glared back at her, the card was dulled, though still a Star card. "It is contained." Sakura confirmed, Tomoyo and Meilin now standing around them.

"What a capture!" Tomoyo said, grinning behind her camera. "That was some footage! Syaoran, your acrobat skills are marvelous!"

"I don’t get this whole card things. I thought you had all the cards under control." Meilin said, holding her hands on her hips at Sakura.

"Well, well yeah, but...see I don’t really know why, but they are escaping, and, and changing." Sakura said.

"Whatever." Meilin quickly looked to her cousin, who was shivering, something he very rarely did.

"Syaoran! You’re cold?"

Syaoran quickly noticed her was shivering and forced himself to stop. "No, I-I’m fine." He said, the supressed shivering trying to release through chattering teeth, which he refused to let happen.

Sakura surveyed Syaoran’s state, and realized he didn’t look too good. His wet hair continued to drip down his face, his battle outfit looked completly soaked, and Syaoran’s usually healthy color had gone much paler than normal. His eyes seemed duller than their usual fiery blazing. "You’re going to catch a cold." Sakura confirmed.

Syaoran was getting fed up with this attention, he knew he was a little weak, he didn’t need people telling him so. "I think I can tell whether I am sick or not."

"Please, you have had walking pneumonia three times. Your mother was the only reason you stayed alive, always willing to send off for antibiotics."

Sakura sighed, knowing yet again she would have to sacrifice her pride for Syaoran’s welfare. "Well I am certainly cold. How about we all go home and have some hot chocolate."

Chocolate. Syaoran remembered. Though he wanted chocolate, he wanted it more because he remembered he had wanted it than that he wanted it presently. Presently he felt he could go home and sleep for hours, though he wasn’t about to admit this publicly.

"You guys can come to our place, we have some hot chocolate." Meilin said, happy for the chance to entertain guests.

"Sounds great." Tomoyo said, clicking her camera off and smiling brightly at the group. They headed outside and Sakura looked around, making sure the weather had cleared. It was damp and cold outside, but the rain had completly stopped, the clouds overhead were much more white than the dark grey clouds that had been overhead earlier.

It’s a good thing Syaoran is on my side. I wouldn’t have known where to start, all these spells he knows.. I should really ask him if he would teach me some, or at least borrow some books. It can’t be that hard, just say a few words and put my staff down. I can do that. Sakura looked up worriedly at Syaoran as they walked, frowning sympathetically as he sneezed twice in a row. He is already getting sick. Poor Syaoran, we should try and get him to lay low for a while so he can fight off the cold before it becomes something awful.

I can’t get sick. No way. I haven’t been sick for-...for years. Not now, not in the middle of all this. I should make sure to take some vitamins when I get home, then have some herbal tea. It’s too bad they are coming back to our apartment, I don’t exactly feel like having company. Syaoran sighed and kicked a wet rock across the road as they reached the bus stop. A fimiliar butterfly flew out from air far away and slowly reached them. Sakura looked with surprise at the bug.

Bob! I forgot he was here! And Kero- where was Kero? Why didn’t he help? "Bob, where’s Kero?" Sakura asked.

"Flew away. Suspicious. Bad bear, don’t understand. Things got rough, bear disappeared just before. I flew to save my life. Angel understands." The bug said.

"Of course." Sakura said, hoping worriedly that Kero was alright. She let the bug fly into her pocket then turned and faced the group. "I think I am going to wait for him, I don’t want to leave him behind."

Tomoyo shook her head disappointedly. "Sakura, you are wet, you will catch a cold also. I’m sure Kero will find his way home, he never has had a problem doing it before." She said, smiling warmly.

Sakura nodded. "I’m sure you’re right."

____________________________________________________________________

Meilin, Sakura, and Tomoyo were all talking on the couch in the living room about some band Syaoran had never heard of, so he was sitting on the edge of the bed in his room, staring off into space. I’m so tired, I should probably sleep. But no. I can’t sleep while they are still here, that wouldn’t be right. Syaoran sneezed again, his whole body shuddering with the convulsion. He wiped his sleeve across his nose and sighed. This is no good. I am getting sick. I need to sleep. They probably won’t even notice, they’re so involved in their conversation.

Syaoran made sure his door was shut, then walked to his closet, pulling through some clothes. He pulled out a Tshirt and quickly shed his wet battle costume, pulling the old worn shirt on and liking the feel of dry clothes against his skin. He didn’t bother to put anything on over his boxers, he was sleeping after all, so he walked over to his bed and collapsed, not even bothering to get under the blankets. The cold air in the room might not of been good to the uncovered parts of his arms, but he didn’t care, as he fell immediatly into a deep sleep.

- - - - - -

Sakura wandered down the hall, heading for Meilin’s room. She needed to change out of her wet clothes, and Meilin had told her to borrow some clothes out of her closet. Meilin had been awful loose in instructions, and had just told her what room to go in and nothing else. Sakura reached the room and stepped in quietly, looking around the bright room before heading to the closet.

The room seemed very unlike Meilin- Sakura had figured Meilin had long labeled the walls her own, but the room looked a bit empty, as if Meilin was only planning to visit, though she had been there for years. Sakura pulled the first normal tshirt she found in the closet, along with a pair of Meilin’s many silk pants, shut the door, and quickly changed into them. Sakura looked at herself in a full length mirror and like how the silky pants seemed to shimmer. When will I ever buy myself nice clothes? Whenever I get an excuse to go out and buy any Tomoyo makes me some of her authentic outfits, which aren’t exactly wear more than once outfits.

Sakura turned and picked her wet clothes up, then opened the door and walked down the hallway. Her next step of business was to see if Syaoran wanted any hot chocolate, something she wasn’t exactly thrilled to do. Syaoran wasn’t the kind of person you bothered when he wanted to be alone, and she felt this was one of those times. Sakura reached his door and hesitated, the door was shut, she didn’t want to interrupt him on anything. Sakura took a deep breath and carefully tapped on the door with her hand, knocking quietly. When no noise responded, she knocked again, a little harder. Nothing happened.

Sakura knew it would be silly to worry if Syaoran was okay or not, but she couldn’t help but be curious of what could keep him from hearing her. She sighed and waited a few more seconds, then headed back into the living room. Meilin and Tomoyo looked up from where they had been talking.

"Does Syaoran want any?" Meilin asked.

"Uh, I dunno, he didn’t answer his door." Sakura said, sitting down.

Meilin frowned skeptically. "What do you mean?" She stood up. "I’ll go see then." She said, a slight bit of irritation in her voice.

Sakura wanted to see what he was up to, but she didn’t want him mad at her, so she chose to be neutral, and followed Meilin at a distance to his door. She banged on it relentlessly, and when nothing answered, she walked right in, oblivious that she might walk in on him changing or anything like that. She stopped as she spotted him curled up in a ball on his bed, deeply sleeping already. His battle outfit was laying sloppily on the floor, very un-Syaoran like.

Meilin frowned and scratched her head, gazing at him. "He must feel really sick, Syaoran never sleeps like this." She said.

Sakura was hiding in the narrow walkway that led into his room, and she peered around the wall, seeing Syaoran sleeping. She walked up next to Meilin. "He was completly soaked, and it was very cold water. It’s no wonder he’s getting sick."

"This isn’t good. Syaoran never wants to go to doctors, he is afraid of needles." Meilin said, sighing.

"Needles? Really? But he has to get vaccinations for school, doesn’t he?" Sakura asked, finding it very amusing.

"I have to practically drag him to the hospital every summer. I have never seen any kid more against shots than him. Once he is sitting down with the rubber band around his arm, he is perfectly composed, but on the way to the hospital,...well...it’s just awful. I really hope he stays healthy, I can’t treat full blown pneumonia."

"Just make sure he takes vitamins, that’s all." Sakura said, feeling horrible that she was causing so much trouble by making them help her in her card re-captures.

Meilin nodded and walked over to his side, shaking him gently. "Syaoran, wake up, Syaoran." She said.

Syaoran made a grumbling noise. After Meilin continued to shake his shoulder, he opened his eyes and swung a pillow at her.

"Syaoran you should take some vitamins before you go to bed." She said, expertly dodging the pillow.

Syaoran mumbled some nonsensical words and turned over, turning his back to Meilin. He closed his eyes and began sleeping again, oblivious that anyone else was in the room.

Meilin sighed and shook her head, then walked over to Sakura. "I really hope he doesn’t get sick."

"Sailor sick?" Bob asked, fluttering out of the wet clothes that hung over Sakura’s arm.

"Yes, shh. We don’t want to wake him." Sakura said, opening her pocket for Bob to go back in, then heading back out of his room, Meilin walking behind her.

They walked back into the living room where Tomoyo sat patiently on the couch. She looked up at them walking in, curiosity wondering what they had seen.

"He’s asleep." Meilin announced, sitting on the couch. "Listen, I know it may sound mean, but Syaoran should probably get as much sleep as he can. You guys wouldn’t mind leaving would you?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, not at all. I understand. I’ll give you back your clothes tommorrow in school."

Meilin nodded. "That’s fine. See you later."

Tomoyo got up from the couch she had been sitting on and headed with Sakura to the door. "Later." They called, walking out into the hallway of the apartment building.

"How bad did he look?" Tomoyo asked once they reached the elevator.

"Very un-Syaoran like." Sakura said.

"Who knows, he’s got a tough immune system, I’m sure he’ll be fine."

__________________________________________________________________

Sakura drummed her fingers on her desk. She was in math class the next day, and the person that had the seat next to her was not there. Maybe he’s just running really late. No...I doubt he’s a whole class late. I suppose I can talk to Meilin at lunch. Maybe...well I doubt he’d want any visitors while he’s sick. I’m sure he’ll be fine. It’s probably just a cold, and he’s staying home as a precaution.

"...So using the property of substitution, we change the fraction to one and multiply everything by two..." The sensei went on, scribbling numbers on the board as he went.

Maybe Meilin or Tomoyo can help me with this homework during lunch, this isn’t making any sense. Sakura looked up at the clock. Only two more classes until lunch.

"Is Li-kun sick?" Sakura asked Meilin as she sat down with her tray of food in lunch.

Meilin sighed, shuffling some potatoes around on her plate. "Yeah, he doesn’t look too good. He’s got a fever and he’s really weak. I had to bring him breakfeast! He didn’t eat very much though, he said his throat hurt." Meilin said.

"Tell him I hope he gets better." Sakura said, looking guiltily down at her food. Poor Syaoran. If he would have let me put those lightening rods up by myself, he’d probably be fine. "Are you taking him to the doctor?"

"I’m going to wait a day, just to make sure. The last thing I’d want to do is bring Syaoran to the doctors when he doesn’t need it. If he’s still sick, I’ll make an appointment for Friday."

"Hopefully he’ll be better by then." Sakura said optimistically.

"Make him eat lots of chicken noodle soup." Rika said, joining the conversation.

"Yeah, how will he eat while you are in school, Meilin?" Chihura asked.

"You guys have to understand Syaoran. He would ten times rather be taking care of himself than having someone fuss over him. Even if that means having to get his weak body out of bed, he’d rather do it for himself. He’s such a rogue." Meilin said, sighing dreamily.

Chihura’s eyes showed stars. "I wish all men were as independent as Li Syaoran." She added a glance at Tamakazi.

Those three girls sat starry eyed. "Yeah, tell Syaoran we hope he gets better." Rika said.

Meilin nodded, then slowly returned her attention to her food. Sakura looked down at her food, not really in the mood to eat. Tomoyo noticed and smiled at her.

"Don’t worry, Li-kun can take care of himself." Tomoyo said.

Sakura smiled and nodded. As long as he’s still halfway healthy. Sakura’s eyes blinked slowly, as an image flashed across. For the split second her eyes were closed, large trees flashed through her mind. She opened her eyes sharply, but saw nothing. Sakura frowned and tried to make sense of it, but the image faded from her memory, and she found herself concentrating on eating again.

___________________________________________________________________

Syaoran sighed as he sat on the edge of his bed. Just get up. If you’re hungry, there’s no sense in sitting on the edge of your bed, pining for food. Syaoran closed his eyes and forced himself to concentrate. He pushed with his hands at the edge of his bed and stood up, steadying himself. His legs were weak, his head spun, his balance was awful. Syaoran shut his eyes to keep the room from spinning, then opened them, forcing himself to walk forward.

He walked forward and reached the wall of his room, then guided himself to the hallway. His feet felt strange as they touched the ground, but he ignored it. One night and a couple sneezes turn into some mind controlling sickness. Why is my balance so horrible? It’s probably the fever, making me weak. Well maybe if I eat, I’ll feel a little better. Syaoran ignored the fact that his throat was feeling sore, and swallowing things may not be the thing to do. He reached the kitchen counter and steadied himself, then walked over to the stove, checking the kettle to see if it had any water.

He turned on the burner that it sat on, then walked over to the cupboard with cups. He pulled a mug out, then grabbed a tea bag from a box, and set it down next to the stove. As the kettle slowly heated up, he leaned against the counter heavily. He looked at the clock on the stove and saw that it was almost time for Meilin to come home. Syaoran rarely looked forward to her company, but now was one of those exceptions.

No matter how prideful he was, Syaoran knew he had limits, and this sickness was close to keeping him bedridden. Syaoran’s attention differed as the kettle whistled next to him, and Syaoran quickly turned off the burner. He pulled the heavy water filled kettle and poured it into the mug with the teabag. Steam rose from the cup, looking very tempting. I’m not that hungry. Syaoran reasoned with himself. I’ll just take this cup of tea with me and go back to bed, maybe Meilin will make me something to eat later.

Syaoran’s throat stung as he breathed in, and Syaoran quickly exhaled. He had gone through this earlier in the day, breathing was starting to become a pain. Syaoran firgued the tea was hot enough, so he picked up the heavy cup and sipped from it. The hot water burned his lips and stung his throat, but it numbed the pain from breathing, so Syaoran forced himself to keep drinking. After he had devoured the contents of that drink, he set the mug down. Syaoran forced his feet to start walking, and he shuffled his way back to his bed where he collapsed. I can’t beleive I’m this weak. I can’t get sick! Not while all these cards are causing trouble, Sakura needs my help!

Syaoran sighed these thoughts away for now and pulled the blankets over him, shivering because of his fever. His breathing came faster and shorter than usual, but that couldn’t hinder his need for sleep. Syaoran exhaled slowly and fell quickly into a deep slumber, not hearing Meilin come in.

Meilin walked in the house and saw with dismay that Syaoran wasn’t in the living room, which meant he was probably in his room sleeping. She walked down the hall and turned into his room, sighing as she saw him sleeping on his bed. She walked over and put her hand over his forehead, then quickly pulled it away, as the heat radiating off him from his fever stung her hand. Meilin shook her head. His fever must be so high. He’s going to get really sick, I should just go ahead and make a doctor’s appointment for tommorrow. We are having that middleschool kickball game tommorrow, it won’t hurt if I miss school to take him to the doctors.

A phone rang, catching her attention, and Meilin hurried out of his room to the phone on the kitchen counter. "Moshi moshi?" She answered.

An older woman’s voice answered back. "Hello Meilin, is Syaoran around?"

"Oh, Li-san!" Meilin said, recognizing Syaoran’s mother’s voice. "He isn’t available right now, I am really sorry. He was planning to call you soon, he’s been really busy lately."

"I sensed that. I feel awful in calling him at a busy time like this..." His mother’s voice faded out.

Meilin frowned, she might not have any magic, but she had a sixth sense for knowing what people were feeling. "Is everything alright?"

There was silence on the line for a while, then a heavy long sigh. "Meilin-chan, you understand how upset Syaoran gets when something happens in his family. Please don’t say anything to him just yet, I should like to talk to him myself, if that’s possible. I’ve been ill for a long while, but it seems you two are hard to get a hold of."

Meilin turned pale. Syaoran’s mother wouldn’t call if she got a little cold. "You-you’re sick? How bad is it? Will you be alright?"

The other line laughed. "Don’t worry about me, Meilin, I’ll be fine. We have just been out of touch, I was just hoping that I could see my son sometime before he becomes an adult."

Meilin bit her lip and twisted the end of her shirt around nervously. "I’m going to go back to Hong Kong, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. You can plan on me arriving there in a few weeks, I’ll talk to Syaoran about it when...when he’s not so busy. I’ll definitely tell him you called, I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you."

"Yes, I’m sure. Thank you very much Meilin, we’ll await your arrival!" The other line said.

Meilin couldn’t help but notice the struggle his mother had been putting through the whole phone call to make herself sound happy and healthy. Something’s really wrong. I hope Syaoran is better soon. "Thank you. Goodbye." She said, then set the telephone down on it’s charger. Meilin walked over to one of their three couches and sat down, thoughts racing. Syaoran won’t want to go back, there’s so much of this card stuff going on here. Sakura doesn’t have a chance by herself. But then....his mother must be getting very ill. He wouldn’t ignore her, his family is too important to him. He can’t exactly bring Sakura along to Hong Kong with him. Great. What are we going to do? I can’t tell him all this now, while he’s sick. When he gets better I’ll have to tell him. Meilin fished through some magazines in front of her until she found the phone book.

Let’s see...Tomoeda doctors....

Meilin punched the number into the phone and quickly scheduled an appointment with the nurse, then hung up the phone. She wandered back into Syaoran’s room and noticed with dismay that his breathing was coming shallower and shallower. Meilin sighed and sat down on the chair next to his bed, gazing at him for a while. He spent all his time here while Sakura was getting better. Maybe if I do the same he will see how loyal I am. Sakura hasn’t given him any thanks. Meilin sighed. It’s not fair! I am the one that knows his family! I’m the one that takes care of him while he’s sick! Where is Sakura right now? Probably at home, having fun. Talking to Mark on the phone. Playing with that stupid stuffed animal. Why is he helping her?

__________________________________________________________________

Sakura sighed. It was Friday. Normally she would be happy about the weekend, but now weekends just meant more cards to capture, more ghosts to face, more hardships to overcome. And Syaoran still hasn’t come to school. Meilin had been gone yesterday, but she was here today. Sakura didn’t know what that meant, but homeroom was almost over, she might be able to get a word in with Meilin during the break between classes.

Syaoran must be really sick. Sakura had already told Touya she was going to Tomoyo’s after school, aka travelling with Tomoyo to Syaoran’s apartment to check on him. I feel horrible. I wish I had a Heal card. If my cards were all working, I could probably make one, like I made the Hope card, but I doubt I’m in any shape to do that now, seeing as some of my cards are turing into Clow cards. Sakura had looked through them last night to find that the Float and the Watery had turned into Clow cards along with the Fly.

The bell rang and Sakura sprung up from her seat, heading over to Meilin, who was quick in getting out of class. Sakura had to push her way through a few people, who she apologized to breifly, and grab Meilin’s shoulder. "Meilin, wait up!" She said, finally walking up beside her. Meilin glanced over, then looked back ahead.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I, uh, I was just wondering how Syaoran is doing. You weren’t at school yesterday, and I just thought...did you take him to the doctors?" Sakura asked, passing her locker without looking back, wanting to talk to Meilin more then being on time for math class.

"Yeah, I took him to the doctors. It was horrible, Syaoran didn’t even put up a fight." She looked down at the books she was holding with softened shiny eyes. "He’ll be okay, I think. He’s got pneumonia already, the doctor said it was a fast working sickness." She stopped at her locker, quickly spinning in her combination. "He’s on antibiotics, hopefully he’ll be better after those, but his fever’s really high, he’s so weak..." She threw her books into her locker and roughly grabbed her algebra book out, slamming the locker shut with her foot.

"Oh my..." Sakura said, looking down guiltily again. "Is it alright if me and Tomoyo come visit him tonight? Or is he too sick?" Sakura asked, meeting Meilin’s fiery eyes, eyes much alike Syaoran’s.

Meilin looked down, trying to decide. She could easily say that Syaoran was too sick, Sakura had already offered that solution, but she knew Syaoran probably wanted to see Sakura, and seeing her may speed up his recovery. Still, Meilin’s dilemna raged on. "You can come over for a little bit. Not too long, though. I don’t want him worn out more than he already is."

Sakura nodded, smiling a little now that her chance to see Syaoran was more definite. "Thanks!" Sakura said, then looked down the halls, seeing that most of the people had cleared out. "I’m going to be late for math!" She squeaked, hurrying down the hall to her own locker.

__________________________________________________________________

Syaoran drank some more of the water beside him and continued on reading the book they were reading in literature. He already had alot of makeup work, and he was sure he’d be absent for a good part of the next week, so weak or not weak, he was still able to read this book. He was sitting up out of his covers for now, having broken his fever for the fourth time that day. His medicine would let him break the fever for an hour before it would come burning back again. It was obvious that his germs were fighting hard against the medicine he was on, and Syaoran was feeling the effects of his exhausted immune system. Syaoran’s breathing was horrible right now, it had become a chore, and every now and then he’d let himself stop entirely, giving his raw throat a chance to rest.

Syaoran hadn’t eaten anything the past two days, only drinken tea, because every time he’d tried to swallow something other than a hot liquid, his throat would scream, and pain so deep that it caused nausea would rise, making more pain in Syaoran’s already inflicted body. Syaoran tried to finish the chapter he was on while he was still awake, but his back ached from the little amount of pressure he was putting on it.

I’m never going to get back to training. If leaning against a bed tires me out, how will I be able to do anymore hand springs? Syaoran looked up from his book as he heard the door open in the living room. Looking at the clock next to him he found that it was time for Meilin to be coming home from school. As of now, he heard several footsteps, not just of one person.

Does Meilin not have any sympathy for her sick cousin? I can’t deal with listening to her friends tromp around the house! The group of footsteps were wandering around, and Syaoran heard a pair coming towards his room. He feircly turned his concentration back to his book, trying to block out whatever may be going on around him. Only when he heard a fimiliar voice did he look up from the page he was on.

"I’m only on chapter two. That book is so boring." Sakura said, smiling at Syaoran warmly.

Syaoran didn’t feel like trying to speak; his throat hurt enough just breathing, and he could hardly breath enough sitting completly still, let alone trying to get enough air to speak. He nodded, meeting her eyes across the room.

Sakura walked over to the chair next to his bed and sat down, looking down at the floor, feeling more guilty than ever. "I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault you got sick- I should have been the one on the roof." Sakura said, frowning with shame at the floor.

Syaoran would have like to say alot of things in response, but he could say none of them, so he could only shake his head profusely. Sakura finally looked up from the floor she had been staring at to see him disagreeing with her. She couldn’t respond with him, so she turned the subject. "The math you’ll have to make up is really hard. Well,...it probably won’t be hard for you, but..." Sakura said, trying to make light conversation, though it was going completly down hill. Syaoran just looked at her, glancing every now and then at the page he had been reading.

Sakura sighed, this conversation was helpless. It was much easier to talk to Syaoran when he was asleep and she didn’t have to worry about pauses in the conversation. Here she had to uphold both sides of speech, seeing as Syaoran couldn’t answer her. She was frustrated with herself for being so fake with him, so she forced some genuineness into her voice. "I really hope you can get better Syaoran. I saw the ghost when we were at the barn, she is really angry." Sakura said.

Syaoran desperately wanted to talk, but he knew he couldn’t. Sakura was lost in her own thought as she sunk into the wooden chair she sat in. Syaoran shivered involuntarily, finding his fever had returned. He didn’t want to go under his covers and sleep while Sakura was in the room, so he forced himself to sit normally.

Sakura realized she had been sitting quiet for a while, and she looked back to Syaoran. Apology and sympathy were written across her soft emerald eyes, though she couldn’t find the right words to express her feelings. "I’m sorry, you probably want to sleep. I shouldn’t have came and bothered you, company is probably the last thing you wanted." Sakura said.

Syaoran shook his head, making sure she saw that he was against those words and that he had really enjoyed her company.

Sakura stood up from her chair anyway, but was glad to see Syaoran disagreeing with her last statement. "Will you mind if I come tommorrow?" Sakura asked, looking intently at him.

Syaoran shook his head again, hoping desperately for her company.

"Well sorry for such a short visit, but you really need to sleep. Don’t worry about reading that book, I can fill you in on the details after we fnish reading it in class if you want." Sakura said, smiling. "Bye, hope you feel alot better." Sakura said, smiling at him as she quickly rushed out of the room.

That was so uncomfortable. If he could have at least talked...poor guy. At least I know I’m not bothering him. I hope that medicine works. Sakura entered the living room where Tomoyo and Meilin were sitting on the couch, talking lightly.

Tomoyo looked up. "I’m sure he was happy to see you." She said, smiling.

Sakura half nodded, knowing that Syaoran could still hear everything she said from in here, because the living room was so close to his own room. "I hope he’s feeling better tommorrow. We’re supposed to have nice warm spring weather for a change, maybe he can sit out on the balcony."

"Syaoran’s not going anywhere except for his bed until he will eat something." Meilin said, glaring towards his room.

Sakura smiled and shrugged. "Thanks for letting us come." Sakura said, though Tomoyo hadn’t really done anything but talk to Meilin. Sakura and Tomoyo left quietly, stepping into the hall and breathing in the fresh air deeply.

"How did he seem?" Tomoyo asked, pressing the button for the elevator.

"Not very good." Sakura said with dismay. "I’m sure he’ll be fine once the medicine starts to kick in." She said more optimistically.

They stepped into the elevator and Sakura looked at its walls, not helping but thinking about the time she had fallen through its walls, just barely missing Syaoran’s hand...and he had said her name for the first time. Sakura sighed. We say each other’s names now like there’s nothing special about it. It was silly for us to have kept using each other’s last names. Still, that was definitely a landmark. A slight blush painted Sakura’s cheeks as she thought about him hugging her, completly of his own will.

"Are you alright Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, noticing her friend’s flushed cheeks.

"Huh? Oh, heh, yeah, fine." Sakura said, smiling.

"I thought maybe you had caught some of Syaoran’s germs." Tomoyo said.

Sakura smiled and shook her head. "I don’t think he’s contagious anymore, he’s on antibiotics."

Tomoyo nodded and they stopped their conversation as they stepped into the lobby from the elevator, heading for the doors.

"Are you going anywhere tommorrow?" Sakura asked Tomoyo, realizing she had empty plans.

Tomoyo nodded. "Remember my aunt that lives at the cow farm? We are going to visit her, me and my mother." She said, smiling.

"Sounds fun!" Sakura said, stepping out into the cold early spring wind.

"Mhm." Tomoyo said, looking around the parkinglot. "Are you doing anything tommorrow? I’m sorry but I can’t invite you to come along, it’s a ‘family’ thing." Tomoyo said.

"Oh, no, I understand." Sakura said, doing her best to smile, though she get a bit choked up every time someone mentioned family, thinking about her uncle. "I think I’ll probably do something with Chindra tommorrow."

Tomoyo nodded. "I can’t wait for some warmer weather!"

Sakura nodded, smiling. "It will be wonderful after this horrible winter!"

"Hopefully we won’t have any weather problems again!" Tomoyo said.

Sakura nodded. "None card related, anyway, we’ve got Storm recaptured. It’s a good thing Syaoran put a spell on those lightening rods, I would have never though of that. If he hadn’t helped, we might not of captured it."

"He definitely helps out alot." Tomoyo said.

Sakura nodded.

__________________________________________________________________

"Yes it was a very bad storm." Chindra said. She and Sakura were discussing the previous weather that week over baking a double batch of sugar cookies. "You were outside that night. What you do?"

Sakura knew Chindra was definitely someone to be trusted - in fact Sakura thought there was more to Chindra than what was skin deep. "I was fighting the Storm. So was my friend, that’s how he got sick, from all the cold rain."

Chindra nodded, setting the dough down she had been rolling. "Come with me." She said, stepping away from the counter. Sakura followed her away from the kitchen and up the stairs, walking down the hall. Chindra walked into her room and pulled open a drawer. "In here has special flowers. Passed through family. All the way from Egypt." Chindra said, pulling out some dry looking sticks.

"What do they do?" Sakura asked.

"Help sick. Any sickness, these cure. Have your friend drink in tea. He will feel better." Chindra said, holding the brittle leaves out for Sakura to take.

Sakura picked them gently out of Chindra’s palms and inspected them. "Thank you very much! Are you sure you want me to use them? If these are from Egypt, aren’t they really old? You could probably get money from them!"

Chindra shook her head, smiling. "Not for money, only to help." She motioned to her drawer, showing Sakura all the many herbs held inside. "I keep this with me always. Many things for different sickness. Don’t worry, take them."

Sakura smiled, Chindra was turning out to be a very nice person. "Thank you very much."

Chindra nodded, her black curls falling into her face, which she brushed away. She shut the drawer and Sakura couldn’t help but notice as she shut it and her sleeve went up just slightly the remains of a scar on her wrist, four slash marks running down, looking much like fingernail scratch marks. "Chindra, what did you have to do with Aruka? Why did you have to take care of her?" Sakura finally dared to say.

Chindra looked down at her wrist and quickly pulled her sleeve up, tears of shame pricking her deep brown eyes. "She...she was my mother." She looked up at Sakura, pleading tears starting to fall out of the corners of her eyes. "Did not mean for anything to happen! Uncle Guan, good person! Took her in, he did, from institution, let her stay in his house. I cared her, kept her from escaping. But your family, she did not like. For your family were reasons she was not right in head. Hate in her. She told me stories..." Chindra stopped, biting her lip to keep it from quivering, tears now making flood lines down Chindra’s cheeks.

Sakura looked at the girl with the highest of sympathy. She didn’t want to make her cry, this all must be very hard for her to say. "Don’t blame yourself, Chindra! It was my fault, I’m sure, I cause everything to go wrong. He didn’t die because of you, she escaped because she wanted me, that’s all." Sakura said, tears making their way to her own green eyes. Chindra just cried, trying to hold back sobs. Sakura hugged the girl, feeling horrible for provoking such emotion. "Please, I didn’t mean to make you remember anything, I just wanted to know, I ‘m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked." Sakura said.

Sakura stepped back as Chindra did, meeting the brown eyes that held a strange curiosity as she sniffed away her tears.

"You are not like rest of your family. My mother, her family hates your family since beginning." Chindra said.

Sakura was shocked- had this girl carried the answer to the puzzle the whole time? "Why!? Why does Aruka hate us? Why did she kill my mother?" Sakura asked desperately.

"Yes, you know of mother’s death? She beleives in story of our family from ages ago. At beginning of dark magic, when your mother- your mother’s mother’s mother’s mother and so forth, generations behind us, when she was in love with magician. My mother’s mother’s mother and so forth loved him too. Uncle Guan never told you of story?" Chindra asked.

"No!" Sakura said, shaking her head quickly, taking in this information as quickly as she could.

"My family- my mother at a great ball, she saw magician was falling in love with your mother- she had to stop it- she locked your mother away. Angry your mother was - couldn’t get out, stuck in same room for years - the same halls she lived in for years. My mother gave her food to keep her living, but never allowed her to escape."

Sakura frowned- this made an eerie kind of sense...When I was walking in Uncle Guan’s house- I saw that vision. A pretty girl that looked like the ghost only younger- in a dancing gown! She was running down a hall-...then someone with black curls! She looked like Chindra- I remember! She locked the door and trapped the ghost in! That’s why the ghost hates Aruka! She locked her away! "But why does my- why does my mother’s mother’s mother hate me? Why does she hate her own family?"

"Magician charmed many woman. Your mother arranged to marry another. Her mother despised her for loving magician. Her mother found that she had been locked away, she didn’t help. Left her to Aruka family’s care."

"Her own mother left her trapped? How did she ever escape? How did she have any children? Did she marry the magician?" Sakura asked, questions coming faster than she could answer.

"Escape she did not. People moved out of big house, she was released by my family. She had been fed lies- told magician that she loved was the one that locked her away."

This was a very complex story, Sakura was having difficulty following it, and she hated herself for not having a pen and paper to take notes. "Then why does the magician want back his cards?" Sakura asked unintentionally aloud, thinking of her cards changing back.

"Cards? You know of Reed’s cards?" Chindra asked with wide eyes.

"You know who Clow Reed is!?" Sakura asked, shock hitting her.

"Of course! Magician! Name that is!" Chindar said quickly, staring at Sakura with still widened eyes.

"My mother was in love with Clow Reed?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. My family in love with him also. It’s said your mother always trying to kill my family. Silly I think, but then again...then again...Aruka was killed." Chindra said.

"You don’t beleive in this family feud- right? Do you...do you hate my family?" Sakura asked carefully.

"No, your family kind! Why we hate you is gone, I only remain, silly to hate for past." Chindra said.

"I can’t beleive all this time,....you knew...." Sakura mumbled to herself, losing herself in her own thoughts. She looked up at Chindra. "Okay, let me see if I have this straight. My family and your family were at a ball at which Clow Reed was at. My mother and your mother were both in love with him, and to keep him from falling in love with my mother, your mother locked mine away and hid her for years. My mother’s mother had arranged for her to be married, and hated her own daughter, and allowed for her to be locked up. Now my mother’s ghost runs around trying to kill her own family and your family, and your family tries to kill my family."

Chindra nodded slowly.

"So how did Aruka use magic? I know she did, I watched her, just after she killed,...she killed uncle." Sakura asked.

"Beginning, only Reed had magic, used it for good and bad- for himself sometimes, some say it is by magic both our mothers fell in love with him, others say not. Gave magic to two families; yours and mine. Our magic has been cut off, all my relatives are locked away, I am only one survive. I don’t have magic. I do not know of your family. To my family he gave special crystals, each crystal containing the source of one’s magic. To yours have gave cards, each holding its own power. My mother jealous of yours- you given the higher amount of magic. These gifts presented at ball, they were. When your mother locked up, cards lost for your family for at time. Your mother found them just before death, hid them away from Reed." Chindra explained.

Sakura’s head was swimming, some of this made strange sense, while some of it seemed completly farfetched. She was about to speak when she noticed a dark look had taken to Chindra’s face.

"He tested us with crystals. My family fought to contain them, finally sealing their magic away. But Reed did not want his magic to be contained any longer. He took back our crystals, leaving us with only myths and legends about what once was."

He tested me with the cards. But I defeated them. And I sealed them. And now Eriol is living peacefully, he doesn’t want anything to do with magic, he doesn’t want these back. But then...why are they turning back to clow cards? "Are you saying he may try and take the cards back from my family?"

Chindra nodded. "He probably taken them long since. This all happen many years ago. Magic exists not anymore."

Sakura shook her head. "No, you don’t understand, I have the cards!" Sakura blurted out, unable to hold it back any longer.

Chindra stared at her for a moment. "You...you...own cards? But..."

"I have seen my mother’s ghost! She tries to kill me, she says she will kill me by my ‘true love’s sword.’"

"She hates her family, if one is in love with a descendant of Clow Reed, she will kill them with his power."

"But she ran away last time, when the sword card appeared- I mean- she is afraid of Clow Reed, like they hate each other now."

"Reed wants his cards back. Using magic against you, he is, taking back his cards. You are in danger." Chindra said. "As long as cards in your hand, Reed takes them away."

"And as long as...." A descendant of Clow Reed...Syaoran is a descendant of Clow Reed, and ...the ghost tried to kill me with his sword. "Chindra what can I do!? Why can’t I just give him back his cards? I don’t want them!"

"No! Must fight him! Once all magic he had, myth says our families will be destroyed for their foolishness, all the magic going to Reed’s family! Fight him you must!" Chindra said, putting her hands on Sakura’s shoulders.

"But...but I can’t...I don’t have any power..." Sakura said.

"Magic source from Reed or from self?" Chindra asked.

"My..my star- myself." Sakura said.

"Further then my family you got. Stronger you are. Use self’s magic against him."

"But how!? I use my magic to use the cards, I don’t know how to use it any other way! I don’t stand a chance against him, even with Kero and Yue’s help!" Sakura said.

"You must!" Chindra insisted.

Their conversation was cut short, as the door downstairs opened and shut. "Cookies...!" Sakura heard Touya’s voice call from downstairs. Sakura looked at Chindra with a look of confusion and uncertainty, then she darted out of the room, dropping the herbs Chindra had given her on her bed. Sakura tromped down the stairs and saw Touya picking a peice of dough off a long roll Sakura had made.

"Touya! Don’t!" Sakura scolded, hurrying to the counter.

Touya shrugged and walked away cooly, chewing on the peice of cookie. Sakura looked to the cookies in front of her with exasperation. How can that all be true? How do I know she isn’t lying? Maybe it’s a double...No, that can’t be true. Clow Reed is against me? There’s a thought. I can’t beleive that all that judgement stuff and him handing everything off to me was just some big test. But then...what if Chindra’s right? What if I’m ignorant to brush this away and not try to learn from our past? This just isn’t fair! I have to fight two enemies - some psycho ghost that I’m related to, some freako magician that I thought was nice... argh this doesn’t make sense. I have to talk to Syaoran, he would tell me what’s true or not. Sakura tried to ignore the fact that some things were even above Syaoran’s head, and that according to Chindra, Syaoran’s family wasn’t exactly on her side. Sakura quickly set the cookies in the oven and hurried to her room, not wanting to see Chindra for a little while, trying to let things soak in.

Kero fluttered over to Sakura’s side and hovered by her face. "What’s up? You look stressed."

Sakura looked nervously at Kero. He had been given to her as a gaurdian by Clow Reed. Clow Reed. That name now held a sort of suspicion. How was Sakura to be sure he wasn’t secretly against her? During all the recent card escapes, Kero hadn’t exactly been her best supporter. This is stupid. I can’t beleive all that crap, can I? I’m so gullible. "No, nothing Kero. I was just thinking about how long to leave the cookies in, that’s all."

"Cookies!" Kero said triumphantly, putting his little arm into the air. He flew over to the half open window and faced Sakura. "Save me some! I’m going to see Tomoyo."

Before Sakura could put in a word, Kero was out the window, a distant yellow speck in the city landscaping. Sakura waited anxiously for the evening to come, so she could sleep into the next day, then go and tell Syaoran everything she had just heard.

As suddenly as it had before, an image of trees captivated Sakura’s eyes for a split second, then quickly disappeared. Sakura frowned and got up from her bed, heading down to take the cookies out of the oven and trying to comtemplate all this tree stuff.

_________________________________________________________________

Sakura had been about to burst with all the recent information she had had all day now, and she had been overly ecstatic when the clock had finally hit six. She figured she would head over to Syaoran’s in the evening, hopefully he’d have the most time to get better through the day. Sakura had sprinted most of the distance between her house and his apartment, and had skipped her way down the lobby and into the elevator, anxious to see him. Sakura reached their door and knock quickly, her energy making her fist knock without consent from her brain.

Meilin came to the door and only had half a grin for Sakura. "Hey." She said bluntly, then opened the door wide enough for Sakura to come in. "No Tomoyo?" She asked.

"No, Tomoyo went to her aunt’s today. How is Syaoran doing?" Sakura asked.

"Not much better." Meilin said, sighing. "If he would freaking eat something!" She said, putting her hand to her head. "Sorry, I’ve had a headache all day." Meilin said.

"It’s alright." Sakura said. "I brought some herbs from Chindra, she said they should help him get better, can I make some tea really fast?"

Meilin nodded, leading her over to the kettle. "That’s all he does is drink tea. No wonder he can’t walk around, he has no food for his poor muscles to work on. His fever’s been down all day, that’s good." Meilin quickly turned the burner on high and walked over to the cupboard to get a glass.

"Glad he’s doing a little bit better."

"Yeah, but his breathing is terrible. It’s hard for him, every time he breaths in, you can tell if you watch him. He thinks the tea helps, I don’t know. He seems overall miserable to me. He can’t talk at all."

Sakura frowned sympathetically. "Hopefully this stuff will do something." She said, pouring the steaming water into the cup. She took a spoon from Meilin and stirred the herbs in until they dissinigrated, then picked up the cup by it’s handle. "Here goes." Sakura said, smiling at Meilin then turning and walked to Syaoran’s room.

She stepped in softly and walked her way down the small hall type entry, peering around the corner and meeting Syaoran’s fiery eyes. He was sitting out of his blankets, looking at least a little healthier than he had yesterday, but he was still silent.

Sakura smiled at him and walked over to the chair, setting the glass of steaming tea on his nightstand. "I brought some tea; Chindra had an old recipe that’s supposed to help." Sakura said, sitting down.

Syaoran smiled as best he could then looked back towards the window, which he had been gazing out of most of the day.

Sakura sighed inwardly, hating to see him suffer so. She was dying to tell him everything she had heard, but she didn’t want to make him feel like he had to talk, so she held it in for now.

Syaoran took the tea from the table beside him and took a drink of it, setting it down with a cringing look on his face.

"Sorry, I don’t know what it tastes like, it’s just supposed to help."

Syaoran half grinned. "Whatever works." He said in a rusty voice.

"Meilin said you couldn’t talk!" Sakura said, surprised to hear his voice for the first time in days.

Syaoran wanted to explain the long explaination about how if he talked, Meilin would force him into conversations, but his talking was still very limited, his breathing still coming fast and shallow. He just smirked and looked down at the sheets he was sitting on.

Sakura eyed him for a moment, trying to determine whether she should explain everything Chindra had said or not. "I found alot of stuff out." Sakura said.

Syaoran looked up and could see the depth of that statement in Sakura’s face. "Like what?" He asked, though his voice was a bit odd sounding still.

"Okay, this is a really long story, but you seem like you can listen very well." Sakura said, adding a grin at him. "I started talking with Chindra, and I found out she knows alot more than I ever would have imagined. First of all, the ghost is actaully one of my relatives. She is after me because...well see Chindra’s relative locked her away during some big ball because they were both in love with Clow Reed. And my relative’s mother wanted her to marry some other guy, so she didn’t care if she was locked up because she hated her for loving someone else. So that’s why the ghost is after me and Aruka- cause Aruka’s Chindra’s mother. Clow Reed gave both our families magic, but then he wanted to take it back, I dunno what that’s about, but see, he’s trying to take back my cards- just like he took away Chindra’s family’s stuff." Sakura said, looking at Syaoran to see if he had gotten all of that.

Syaoran sat with an exstremly perplexed look on his face. He stared blankly back at her, trying to decide whether he beleived all of this. "How do we know....it’s true?" Syaoran asked, having to do double time with his breathing to make up for the short sentence.

"I don’t. That’s the thing. It’s just...so much of it makes sense...I just don’t get it...I mean, wow, I am fighting against the very person that gave me magic? I’m not able to do that." Sakura said.

Syaoran drank down some more of the tea, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the taste, then he looked at Sakura. "Where do I come in?" Syaoran asked.

Erm..you’re the one that’s supposed to kill me, according to my old grandmother’s ghost. "I’m not sure."

Syaoran sighed and looked back to the sheets in front of him. He blinked slowly, his eyelids starting to weigh. Sakura noticed and felt bad that she was keeping him. She didn’t have time to say anything, because Syaoran had already fallen asleep in the sitting position he was in, the cup of tea in his hand hanging dangerously by the handle on one of his fingers.

Sakura sighed sympathetically, standing up out of her chair. She carefully took the cup off his finger and set it down on the table, then scratched her head, trying to figure out what she was going to do with him. He was shivering, though he was asleep, and he obviously should have been asleep under his mound of blankets, though he had probably delayed that because of Sakura’s presence. Sakura decided the first order of business was to shut the heavy curtains across the room that hung on his sliding doors. Sunset had already passed, and the sky was in twilight, only gray glowing through.

She walked back over to his side and began carefully pulling the blankets out from under him, then carefully pulled him down from where he had been sitting against the postboard. Syaoran didn’t even stir, obviously in deep stages of sleep, so Sakura carefully tucked his blankets around him, making sure he would be warm enough. Satisfied, Sakura sat on the edge of his bed, gazing around for a while.

I should probably go home. Then again, Syaoran stayed with me all night when I got electricuted. Yeah, so it was his own room, but still, he deserves the same treatment, if not more. I wish the cards had never come to my family, however they came to be. Sakura looked at Syaoran, who’s face was highlighted by twilight’s glow. His breathing was coming very fast and shallow, as Meilin had said, now that Sakura heard it as everything else was totally silent. His labored breathing showed through his whole body, which had to put in all its effort to keep itself with an adequate amount of oxygen. Sakura’s eyes watered, guilt rushing over herself again.

I’m so sorry Syaoran. You shouldn’t be going through this. Sakura brushed the tears from her eyes. Syaoran’s seemed to flutter ever so slightly under his eye lids, but he remained perfectly still. Sakura sighed with a shaky breath. She put her hand gently on his forehead to see his temperature. It was hot, but not horribly hot, definitely a manageable fever now. Sakura ran her fingers through his soft hair absently, thoughts proceeding her actions. At least he will get better soon. I’m sure the antibiotics and the tea will join up and get his lungs clear in not time. She traced her fingers through his hair for a little while longer, then rested herself against the bedpost, sitting back in the quiet room.

Every time I have seen him sleep he has been sick or exhausted. I wonder how he sleeps normally? He probably can hear a penny being dropped three apartments down. I guess I should enjoy the peacefulness while I still can.

Syaoran, his breathing sped up a little, kept himself still, his eyes shut, enjoying the massaging feeling of Sakura’s fingers through his hair. If I move, she’d probably freak out and run away. I better keep pretending like I am sleeping. But wow, did I really doze off that much? I was sitting against the headboard then all the sudden- poof! I am nice and warm under my blankets with Sakura’s caressing fingertips at my disposal. Syaoran wanted to peak open an eye, just to check out the expression on Sakura’s face, but he was afraid she might be looking at him, and he didn’t want to risk losing this free massage. Syaoran sighed inwardly. Why can’t things be like this when we’re awake? Syaoran couldn’t hold back his curiosity much longer, his eyes begged to open.

Sakura’s hand stopped moving, though it was still resting warmly on his head. Syaoran finally squinted open his right eye, turning his head ever so slightly so he could see her. Sakura’s eyes were shut, it seems the quiet atmosphere of the room had affected her too. Syaoran watched her for a while, her peacefulness helping him forget his own pain for a while, but other thoughts started to invade in. If Meilin comes in here, we’re doomed. Sakura alone with me is tolerable, but in my room in the dark asleep on the side of my bed is a whole different thing. Meilin’s going to come in here with my sword and kill us both. But Syaoran didn’t have the heart to wake Sakura up, she looked so peaceful, and her hand was doing a great job in keeping the top of his head warm.

Syaoran half sighed with content- his sigh a bit choppy because his stomach pained when he tried to exhale that much oxygen. It seemed some of the elasticity of his lungs had gone away for now; with every breath he had to use his stomach muscles to push the air out, which needless to say was very hard work after about a thousand breaths. Inhaling was no peice of cake either, his throat seemed to close a little bit more with every breath he took. Still, at this moment, he felt peaceful enough to sleep, so Syaoran rolled over a little closer to Sakura and fell asleep.

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Sakura opened her eyes with alarm. How long had she been sleeping? She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She was supposed to go home about three hours ago, according to the clock next to her on Syaoran’s nightstand. Well if I’m not home by midnight, I doubt they’ll mind if I stay until sunrise. They probably think I went to Tomoyo’s anyway.

Sakura blinked and a vision of trees flashed through her mind, this time much more vivid and real. Trees and vines...I could smell the wood this time...Sakura quickly realized what she had been seeing. Woody! Oh no, not woody next! I can’t- no, I can’t loose another card! The spine tingling sensation that had flooded in from the back of her mind quickly called to her attention.

It’s here! Sakura carefull slid off the side of Syaoran’s bed, carefully taking her hand off his warm head, and softly padded her way out of his room. Sakura stepped into the dark living room, looking around for any clue. It’s downstairs. The lobby. I sense it. Sakura looked around the room for a weapon. I can’t go at this empty handed! Syaoran always does all the work for me, well now I have to do it. She spotted a shining blade leaning against a cabinent. Sakura hurried over to it and picked the sword up my it’s cold hilt. It wasn’t as heavy as Syaoran’s sword, and Sakura could see none of the Li clan’s engravements on it. This must be a practice sword or something. Do they make those? Who knows. I’m sure they won’t mind if I borrow it, it’s not the Li clan sword, after all.

Sakura took the blade determinedly and headed to the door. She opened it carefully, trying not to let it squeak or make any cracking noises that would wake Syaoran or Meilin up, and she carefully stepped out into the dimly lit hall. She looked both ways down it. Elevator or stairs? Syaoran said that you should approach a card as quietly as possible. Sakura turned towards the stairs and carefully walked down the hall. She stepped down the rubber coated stairs carefully, knowing at each step could lie the potential trigger of Woody’s power.

Sakura’s feet hit the tile bottom of the stairs with a dull echo, and Sakura was faced with another door. She carefully opened it, looking out into the lobby. She was carrying a sword; she probably didn’t look exactly normal to the average people that hung out in this lobby. The attendant was gone, along with the pizza place people, everything long shut down. Sakura stepped onto the carpeted lobby floor and walked around, her senses becoming stronger than ever. Sakura heard the rustle of a leaf and she jumped towards that direction. On the other side of the lobby she could see a thin vine peering around the edge of the wall. It was in a hall Sakura hadn’t been down before, but she was pretty sure it was just used as an extra exit.

Sakura walked carefully forward, holding the sword in her hands as closely as she could remember Syaoran holding it. She was just feet away from the leaf on the thin vine, now out of ideas. If only I had fire...if I could put this wood on fire...Not seeing that as an option, Sakura readied her blade. Okay. No problem. Sakura lunged forward swiftly, striking her blade down on the little vine in front of her.

Sakura thought she had gotten the vine pinned, when she looked down the hall. Vines of every shape and size ran down it, seeming to watch the girl that had their end pinned to the floor. Sakura knew she had herself outnumbered, she had no idea how she would get around this. I’ve got to run! I can’t handle this, it’s going to kill me before I even had a chance! I have no power to use against it, I’m helpless! Sakura pulled the sword out of the vine and turned to run, but the vicious little vine wrapped around her ankle, sending her to her stomach. Sakura tried to grab something to keep herself from being pulled, but the vine dragged her along, giving her carpet burns across her arms. Sakura took the sword in her hand and hacked away below her feet, cutting the vine off and freeing her ankle.

That done, Sakura was free for this instant, and she quickly got to her feet and started running back out of the hall. A swift vine caught her by both ankles and wrists this time, and Sakura was pulled completly into the air. Vines began surrounding her, entangling her. Sakura pulled with frustration at her wrists and ankles, but the vines began to enclose her firmly. I’m going to die! Sakura thought frantically, feeling the sword pulled out of her hands. She couldn’t see past the vines now, they had completly enshrouded her. The vines holding her ankles swung her upsidedown, though Sakura couldn’t really tell directions except for the sick feeling in her stomach. "Syaoran!" Sakura finally screamed out of desperation, feeling the vines tighten their hold, starting to cut away her circulation. "Someone! Please!" Sakura called, though her voice seemed to be lost in the wall of trees and vines around her. Sakura stopped talking abruptly, as the oxygen around her started to be smothered, the vines closing off all fresh air. Sakura tried to breath the air, but it was empty and used. Panic made her breath more quickly, which caused the process of oxygen loss to go much more quickly.

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Syaoran’s eyes went open. He sat up in his bed, thinking quickly. I could have sworn I heard someone. He looked to his side, where Sakura had left. She probably went home. Syaoran looked at his clock. Quarter past midnight, of course she went home. Syaoran’s mind was not put at ease, he was sure he had heard something. He forced his legs over the side of his bed and stumbled into the living room, looking around.

Nothing was out of the ordinary, Meilin wasn’t in there, but asleep in her own room. Syaoran caught his breath from the short walk and looked around once more, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. His eyes spotted a cabinent, where they should have come over a shining blade. That sword is gone! Syaoran thought, remembering where he had last set his practicing blade down.

Someone could have moved it, I’m sure....but this just doesn’t seem right. I don’t sense anything- magic anyway - but something’s not right....Syaoran had a notion to go downstairs in the lobby. I shouldn’t be doing that! I’m going to be out of breath and about to collapse once I get down there, I know it. Still, curiosity had its way of always winning with Syaoran. He walked over to the cabinent and opened its large doors, revealing the long blade of his sword. He picked the heavy blade up, his hand falling slightly under its weight, and headed for the door. This is so stupid.

Syaoran walked out into the hallway, concentrating deeply before continuing. When suspicious, always go manual- aka the stairs. Great. I’m going to be dying here in a minute. Syaoran dragged his unbalanced feet down the hall and leaned heavily on the stair’s banister. He walked down carefully, almost falling just because of balance a few times. Finally reaching the bottom, Syaoran sensed some type of urgency. Maybe I wasn’t so wrong to come down here. Syaoran carefully opened the door and stepped into the lobby.

The sound of rustling trees immediatly met him, and Syaoran could see the edges of branches across the lobby in a hall. Sakura! His mind quickly thought, and Syaoran pushed his unbalanced weak legs into a sprint. He reached the hall and faced the vines, though they did not seem to notice him yet. They were enclosing all around a center area, which Syaoran was guessing was where the trouble was. It’s Sakura, that’s who I heard, she’s trying to fight the Woody all by herself. Syaoran’s short little sprint had seemed to make his throat cut him off from oxygen entirely. Syaoran gasped for air, though he only got about half the percent he needed. Syaoran gripped his sword tightly and started hacking at the branches, heedless to his body’s rapidly deteriorating strength.

By the second layer of branches Syaoran was cutting off, Syaoran’s head was swimming, his arms were moving the sword only by reflex, his brain temporarily leaving his aid. Syaoran tried repeatedly to concentrate, though concentration would not come. He slashed a branch and jumped back, seeing an all too familiar hand reaching out through the branches. Syaoran quickly pulled himself together and hacked at some more branches, oxygen running near empty. He pushed the last of the branches out of the way and caught Sakura’s arm. She fell halfway to the ground, half supported by Syaoran’s weak arm.

Sakura looked up with teary eyes at Syaoran, then quickly saw danger was still lurking all around them, and quickly pulled herself to her legs. More vines came at them rapidly, and Syaoran slashed them away with amazing agility, his sword moving fluently. Sakura could see that he was well beyond exhaustion, he needed to stop, to catch his breath. Sakura quickly found the sword she had taken under some branches, and so she fiddled under the vines and pulled it up, slashing the vines on the ground and cutting them off from their source, then running to Syaoran and slashing the vines with him. "This isn’t doing anything!" Sakura yelled over the vine’s windy sounds.

Syaoran couldn’t answer back, in fact her words had barely registered in his head. Sakura turned to the vines coming at them from behind and quickly tried to cut them away.

Syaoran, who was having the greatest of difficulty keeping them away, found himself outnumbered, and a thick vine swung at him with a great momentum, knocking him down by hitting him across the stomach. Syaoran fell to his knees from the blow, not able to breath at all. He had been out of breath as it was, but now to be knocked in the lungs, he could not intake any oxygen whatsoever. He could feel himself choking. In desperation, leaning on his hands and knees, Syaoran tried to cough and clear the airways, but all that came was burning blood, rising out of his throat. His throat might have cleared, Syaoran wasn’t sure, because now blood felt like it was flooding his lungs and mouth, he could feel his consciousness starting to leave him.

Sakura looked over with alarm from the vine she was cutting, seeing Syaoran cough out blood. Sakura stared with horror for a moment, then quickly came to realization and ran over to him just as he was collapsing. Sakura could see the vines starting to enclose them again, making high wooden walls around them. Sakura came up with a wild and desperate idea. Syaoran was falling almost completly to his stomach, but Sakura quickly caught him from behind, dragging him up by his arms, standing behind him. Syaoran’s full weight was on her, as he was completly incapable of supporting himself now, and Sakura stumbled back slightly. She took one hand and held out his right hand which was holding on to his sword, then took his left hand out, along with his ward cards. Throwing the card out, she pushed his hand and sword down, the sword meeting the card. "Fire! Come to our aid!" Sakura cried, concentrating desperately to force her magic into the heavy blade she tried to support with her right arm.

A flash of light came out of the card, and red orange fire streamed out, attacking the wood all around them. Sakura continued to hold his sword against the card, using the last of her magic against the wood around them. Woody cried with pain as she disappeared, and eventually everything was the same around them, the hall back to its normal quiet self. Sakura had a breif feeling of triumph, quickly taken away as Syaoran completly fell back on her. Sakura fell back to the ground behind her, Syaoran landed heavily on top. She forced him to sit up, then carefully got out from under him, holding him in sitting position.

Syaoran’s eyes were only half open, rolling back in his head, his face pale but blotched with red from exhaustion. Sakura’s eyes welled with tears at the horrible state she had put him in. "Please Syaoran, don’t die, we’ve got to get you back. Do you hear me? Syaoran? Please!" Tears streamed down her face, but she ignored them, pulling Syaoran up to his feet, putting his arm around her shoulder and trying to get him to put his weight on her so she could help him back. Syaoran made a short noise of pain, but it was quickly cut short, his raspy short breathing taking back over.

Sakura started walking forward, half dragging Syaoran beside her. "Remember when I hurt my ankle? You told me I couldn’t give up. You don’t want to be a hypocrite, Syaoran, you should follow your words." Sakura said, walking the endless distance to the elevator.

Syaoran would fall into her every few seconds, and Sakura tried to balance for both of them, dragging the two swords along behind them. She finally reached the elevator and pushed the button, the door opening immediatly.

Sakura stepped in and quickly pressed the button to their floor, then leaned against the wall. Syaoran was leaning against her heavily, and Sakura felt near collapsion as well, but she knew she had to stay strong if she wanted Syaoran to have any hope of getting back. The door opened to the next floor and Sakura quickly adjusted Syaoran’s weight and walked forward. Sakura stumbled down the hall and reached their door. She was barely able to get the door handle to turn, and she pushed the door open quickly, pushing it shut behind her, heedless of the noise it made when it shut. Sakura dragged him across the living room and was walking with her last energy into his room.

Reaching his bed, Sakura dropped the swords carelessly, collapsing across the soft mattress. Syaoran fell to her side, his eyes closing with pain. Sakura quickly forced herself up and helped pull Syaoran all the way across the bed. His breathing hadn’t improved, it was still horrible, and Sakura’s tears returned. No! It’s not fair! "Syaoran, please be okay, you’ve got to be okay!" Sakura thought rapidly about what she could do to help.

Nothing. I don’t know anything to help...Sakura half picked him up and hugged him closely, crying freely on his shoulder. "Syaoran, I’m, I’m so sorry! It’s not fair, I couldn’t do it by myself, you shouldn’t have had to help..." She held back a sob, keeping him close.

"What did you do to him?" Meilin demanded, storming in furiously in her pajamas.

Sakura looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Meilin, help me, he can’t breath!" She said, gently letting go of him.

Meilin rushed over. "Go make something hot, it may help clear his throat. Why is he bleeding? Is he coughing blood? What happened?"

Sakura rushed out of the room, leaving those questions unsaid. The kettle couldn’t have boiled fast enough, and she made a rough cup of tea quickly, running into his room with the mug. Meilin looked up and took the cup from her, looking at Syaoran. "Syaoran, you’ve gotta drink this." She said, tilting his head back and holding the cup to his lips. She carefully tipped it, letting the liquid seep into his mouth.

Syaoran started to swallow the liquid, half in consciouness, but it started to choke him, and he coughed, his whole body shaking, his eyes closing violently. Sakura walked over and sat down next to him, stroking his head. "Try to drink some, please, Syaoran!" Sakura said.

Syaoran tried to let more of it slide down his throat. It went down better then it had just before, and he felt it clear some of the blood from his throat. Syaoran took a deeper breath, this time feeling it finally hit his lungs. Syaoran opened his eyes open just slightly, finally his eyes working for him again.

Sakura watched his eyes open with happiness, throwing her arms around him once again, ignoring the fact that Meilin was watching her with fuming eyes. She hugged him tightly, letting her tears say what words couldn’t. Syaoran couldn’t exactly tell what was going on right now, but he could feel Sakura holding him. Syaoran adjusted his eyes a little more and saw he was looking into her chesnut hair. Syaoran tried to put an arm around her but his arm was too weak. Sakura sat back, and Syaoran saw she had tears on her face. He couldn’t do anything, because most of his strength was going towards breathing. Syaoran tried to smile, but it didn’t come.

Though Meilin couldn’t see the smile he was giving, but Sakura could see his eyes soften, the way they did whenever he was smiling. Sakura sighed with releif, then quickly remembered Syaoran was in pain as his eyes closed again and he was cringing. Meilin glanced furiously up at Sakura for a second then gave him another drink of the tea. "He has a hard enough time breathing without someone leaning on his lungs!" Meilin said, glaring.

Sakura glanced up at Meilin. "I’m sorry." She looked down.

They sat silently next to him for a while, and Syaoran eventually fell into a painful sleep. Sakura watched him sadly. "We should let him sleep. You can stay here, if you want." Meilin said with a grudge. She hated her conflicting feelings. She could see that Syaoran liked Sakura’s company, maybe even deeper than that, but she hated the girl for it, though she loved seeing Syaoran happy.

Meilin got up stiffly and walked out of the room, setting the glass of tea across the bed on the nightstand before leaving.

With Meilin gone, Sakura sat down on the chair next to his bed, watching him. Why would Clow Reed hurt his own descendant? Does he not want him to help me? Why does all this have to happen? Sakura looked at Syaoran, watching his chest rise and fall as he took shallow breaths. Syaoran has done so much for me. How will I ever repay him?

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TADA! Well there you have it folks. POOR SYAORAN! Ah! The poor guy, why can’t all guys be like that? And his hair! Why don’t other guys have his gorgeous hair??? Sigh. Short author’s note, I guess. I don’t have alot to say. This chapter was way long, and I cut it short! Oh well. I had to rewrite the first ten pages cause my stupid computer didn’t save. DANG IT! Oh well, I rewrote it, so now you have this revised version. Well I’ve got to work, ja ma na ni!

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