As you know, I don't own CCS. This story is a homage to Stephen King's Storm of the Century. I, of course, don't own the rights to that either. Besides, Clamp and Stephen King have lots more money than me, solawsuits are just pointless...                                                 Seiki no Arashi Sakura's class was outdoors having gym when the storm came out of nowhere. The wind was so strong it could turn snowflakes into tiny lethal blades, but there wasn't snow, no, the wind was full of needle-like ice. If the wind had blown from the opposite side, where Sakura's gym class was, they all would have died instantly. As it was, with the school building in between acting as a windbreak, things were still pretty horrible. First of all, the impact knocked Sakura down and her head cracked against the ground while being constantly stabbed all over by ice needles and on top of that the wind stole heat as fast as her body made it, here clothes being no help at all. So with this combined with the initial shock left her stunned for too long. By the time she fumbled for her key and released Shield, and except for the blood staining her now shredded clothes, all she could see was white. No classmates. Fear was biting her heart. "Tomoyo-chan!" was first on her thoughts. Where was she before the storm started? She couldn't remember. "TOMOYO-CHAN!" but the wind drowned out her panicked screams. "Become a deflecting barrier! Windy! Shield, return!" Windy swirled around and around Sakura, knocking away the ice before it could hit her. She still couldn't see anything in the white-out, but she'd search. She didn't want to be left alone in this death storm. So she searched. But Windy gave out way faster than she imagined, and she bent over so she'd be stabbed less. Don't panic, don't panic. That won't solve anything. Think. The blood on the clothes and skin were crystalizing into ice. Concentrate. Couldn't, she was really sleepy for some reason. Just lie down for a little while... CRASH! Someone tripped over Sakura, startling her out of her cold-induced stupor. Another hugged her tightly and asked "Daijoubu desu ka?" At the same time Person 1 yelled "Gomen!" Tomoyo-chan and Shaoran-kun. They had been looking for her. Bloody and cold as they were, Shaoran's magic was stronger, so his own windy sticker provided better protection, and it was clear Sakura was the biggest wreck out of them all, turning blue-white from cold and blood loss. They had to get indoors. Slowly, painfully, for they were walking against the wind and by this time the ice had slicked the ground so they spent more time on their butts or knees then on their feet, they made it to the school building. But before any of them opened the door, it swung open and someone shot out, bumping into Sakura and yelling "Don't go in! You'll die!" They were stunned into silence. Tomoyo saw Shaoran look away and realized not only did he know this child, he was scared of her. Tomoyo and Sakura had met her, too, but knew little more than her name. "Nan desu ka, Hana-chan?" Tomoyo asked. Hana looked up at her. "Everyone's running, screaming, pushing, even the senseis. They're so scared they don't know what to do." She paused, and saw that these senpais were still trying to enter the building, because chaos was better than freezing and bleeding, especially since Sakura- oneichan was barely able to stand up, so Hana blurted, "My classmates are dead!" That got their attention. They stopped and turned to stare at her. Tomoyo was surprised that Hana wasn't very frightened about this. She continued "My classmates and everyone in the classrooms next to mine, and those next to them and in all the rooms on the side of the school the wind hit first." Shaoran tried to cover fear with suspicion. "But you're not even badly hurt, let alone dead." "I don't know why, but ano hito can't hurt me very much." ??? Was the only reaction because Sakura fainted a moment later. Shaoran caught her and opened the door anyway, concern for Sakura and the chilblains and blood-ice forming on his body overruling Hana's warning. What did that creepy little sister know, anyway? Quite a bit, actually. The best way to describe what was going on inside was similar to setting off a small bomb in the subways during rush hour. Only involving children. Shaoran quickly stepped back outside. Chilblains it is. Meanwhile, Hana was making a large circle on the ground, using the many ubiquitous beads in her pockets. Seeing there was no ice or wind inside the circle, Tomoyo stepped in, with Shaoran grudgingly following behind. Despite his deep distrust (he wouldn't admit it was fear), he knew she wouldn't hurt any of them. Sakura was carefully laid down and kashin was shoraied, which warmed everyone up, but made their chilblains itch horribly, and worse, thawed their blood, making it flow freely out the countless cuts on their bodies. The cuts were small and mostly harmless, but the acumulation was far from it. But what would they do? They didn't even have clothes that were in one piece (Hana excepting), let alone a first aid kit. Pretty helpless once you think about it. Satisfied that at least thses three were safe, Hana wandered off. Being her magic was completely unrelated to Clow, and was very strong (though she couldn't control it worth a ****), this was nothing more than a strong breeze to her. But it was cold. Really, really, cold. Best to keep moving. Patter patter patter patter (her feet on the ice)... what was that? On the roof, that bright light. So she investigated. Someone... an otoko with black hair and glasses... waving a huge staff topped with a sun with spiky rays...standing on a elaborate sun moon and star pattern etched in light. Hana's hands itched for some wire to try and duplicate the complex design and then wear it like a brooch or pendant, but this person was far more interesting. She came closer for a better look. Eriol turned to see a small girl who looked like she stepped from a Miyazaki film staring at him, quite fasinated. She couldn't help but ask "Won't you get a cold standing there making all that wind and ice?" Eriol turned and grinnned at this girl.  She probably had no idea she just said that in flawless English.  Interesting.  "The seal I'm standing on gives off heat," he answered, not in Japanese.  He couldn't tell if she understood him or not, as she resumed studying the intricate pattern of the mahoujin.  Eriol turned back to what he was doing. *           *            *                *             *               *                  *               *                  *                    * Dam'e dam'e dam'e dam'e (Bad, bad, bad, bad) Hikari dake, yami ja nai(Only light, no darkness) Nigero! Nigero! (Run away! Run away!) Yami ja nai kara, mieru(Because if there's no darkness, they can see you) Dam'e dam'e dam'e dam'e...(Bad, bad, bad, bad...) Since the wind was so strong, Sakura and others didn't hear Hana's chant until she was less than a meter from the circle.  They had no idea how long they were there, or how long it took Sakura to wake up, or-- in fact, they lost all sense of time, because they couldn't see the sky, and the light never changed.  It didn't get dark. Anyway, Hana stuck her head inside the circle and informed them that "the oniichan with dark hair and glasses says it's safe to come back inside". "......." Inside, Shaonra was swearing in every language he could think of.  To follow advice of not one, but 2 people he didn't like or trust, he might as well as put his head on the chopping block and drop the axe himself.  On Sakura's neck as well as his own. -_-;; Speaking of which, it was probably safer for her to be inside, rather than out.  Sigh. *                   *             *               *               *               *                   *                 *                *          * "Ho-hoeeeeeee..." Everywhere, there were dead bodies.  It was impossible not to look, because if you didn't, you'd trip over and land on corpses, which would, of course, be even worse.  Just going through the halls would give Tomoyo, Sakura, and Shaoran nightmares for weeks. The other member of their party was surpringly nonchalant about all of this.  She didn't say anything, just jumped over the bodies like this was an elaborate hopscotch game.  Being the only one not partially frozen with fear, she went well ahead of others and they lost sight of her. Behind them, something broke off from the general shapeless mess of shadows to become an independent, child-shaped silhouette, and walked behind Sakura-tachi, effortlessly catching up with them. "Yokatta desu ne." the shadow quietly said. "KYAAA!" "HOEEEE!" "Sumimasen.  Did I frighten you?" It was Eriol.  Sakura was relieved to see a familiar, non-dead face.  Tomoyo smiled quietly, for similar reasons.  Shaonra was pissed Eriol saw him scream. "Please come." Sakura-tachi turned to follow Eriol.  Tomoyo and Sakura very badly wanted to know what happened to the rest of their classmates, but they wre afraid to find out. They entered their homeroom and were greeted by voices saying "Yokatta!". Terada-sensei, Rika, Takashi, Chiharu, and Naoko were there-- the only ones left behind from their class.  Sakura and those who remained tried to focus on the positives.  There were people they knew that were still alive.  Yes, think about that, now how there was no heat, and the storm was still so bad, it was impossible to go home.  Only think about the good.  And it mostly worked. Except for the voice that whispered "Relapse," in Rika's ear. *                *               *               *                *                *                   *                *                *           * Rika felt her heart stop.  A relapse? Masaka... how could it happen? Afraid her face would betray her feelings, she slipped out of the room and walked down the hall. Terada-sensei.  She loved him.  Why else would she put up with all the secrecy, looking over her shoulder, and all the other sneaky things she had to do, just to see and speak to him outside the classroom, as the one she cared the most about, not just a sensei who she'll barely remember in few years? She was so grateful he returned her feelings.  It would hurt, like waring clothes made of broken glass, if it was merely one-sided.  That was why he trusted her enough to tell her of his past. As a child, Terada-sensei was horribly ill.  He would reover from the disease for a little while, just long enough for his family to feel hopeful, and it would come back, in a different form, and with a serious vengence.  The more often you got sick, the less likely you would live.  By the time he was in high school, everyone thought he was going to die, himself included.  But still, he always studied hard.  If he was going to die young, it was going to be with a full head, not an empty one.  He finished high school in top 10th percentile, and ogt into a good colllege.  By the time he was a junior, he realized that not only was he alive, but he wasn't ill, either, and hadn't been for years.  So he studied even harder, now motivated by hope. Eventually, he got the teaching job.  Then he met Rika.  After all these years, he was finally happy. And now this relapse.  That would explain why he had all those poweful headaches recently.  He went to see the doctor for it, ne? Hai... he said he got the results, but he hadn't told her yet.  This would explain why.  Sonna, if the illness was in your head, it would be very hard to cure.  And combined with the fact he was so terribly sick when he was young... Rika reached the bathroom.  She stepped inside and filled the sink with water.  Wash away the thoughts tumbling in her head.  The water felt so nice.. she put her face just below the surface of the water and breathed deeply, washing away all the thoughts until it was just her-- And then even she was gone. "KYAAAAAAA!!!!!" the voice rang and echoed throughout the empty halls and into the classroom and was just as abruptly cut short. After a long, stunned pause, nearly every one jumped to their feet, ready to dash and investigate, but for some reason the sound of quick footsteps approaching made them still. Naoko appeared in the doorway, with a horrible, frozen look on her face. She pointed in the direction of the girl's bathroom, then left. She wanted to be alone. Seeing Rika's drowned body made her remember. Strange, the memories never bothered her so much now, but... * * * * * * In first grade, she lived in the U.S. The company her parents worked for wanted them there— not forever, just a year or so to work on something important. So while her parents were bus working, Naoko went to a private school most of the American company children went. Naoko didn't speak a word of English, and none of the others knew Japanese, but she really wouldn't have minded being alone. Daydreams always kept her company. However, at school, she was never alone. Her daydreams didn't keep her safe from the constant bullying, how they'd all gang up on her and leave her all bruised and bloody, how they liked to throw things at her, mostly rocks, but a few of times raw eggs smashed against the side of her head. How some of them would pin her arms behind her back and keep her still while someone else rubbed dog doo into her hair, or when they called her things that wouldn't be found in the classroom, but more likely scrawled as grafitti on the bathroom walls. It was quite obvious that she was being picked on. Her teachers did nothing. Neither did her parents. At the end of every school day, Naoko would go home, take a shower, and summon the most vivid, most powerful daydreams she could imagine to heal any scarring in her heart. She would havesurvived the year without too many problems if it weren't for the parties. Every so often, someone from her parent's company would throw a party, and other members would attend. Naoko didn't understand most of it, just that important buisness occured in these parties. Unfortunatly, the children also attended. It was at these parties that they were the meanest. One time, a few weeks before they were returning to Japan, her parents threw one. As usual, the adults would talk and do their thing inside, while the kids did their own thing either outside or upstairs. Either way, the adults never noticed the kids. This time, Naoko, sick of being picked on, had a plan. She stole some liquor bottles from downstairs and gave it too the other children, hoping they'd be too drunk to bother her. Instead, the alchohol freed them from whatever was holding them back, and they were completely without mercy. Soon they were holding Naoko's head under a sink full of water. Her arms scrambled wildly, panic overriding any common sense that could have saved her life. She sensed, rather than heard, the laughter surrounding her, and it was harder to move. Soon, her body would be too oxygen starved, and she would die for sure. She kicked the person holding her down, and as soon as their grip loosened, she started running. Down the stairs and into the crowd of adults would be safest, but they'd catch up for sure and break her neck on the stairs. So she dashed down the hall and into the room at the end of it.  She slammed the door, but it didn't even buy her a second of time. Her panicked and air-hungry brain could only think of one thing, so she jumped out the window and onto the concrete below. * * * * * * The memories usually didn't bother her that much, once again her fantasies protected her.  She liked to think that some sort of fairy creature decided to help heron that day. After all, she didn't die, and between the hospital stay and the fact her family was moving back to Japan soon anyway, she never had to deal with those kids again. But seeing Rika like that, Naoko had no defense for it. She was hit hard where she was mmost vulnerable, and she really badly had to stop this feeling. But how? She stepped into an abandoned classroom on the side of impact. Strange. All the bodies were neatly laid out, with their clothes straightened, hair smoothed, and their hands folded on their waists. Most likely the work of some ghosts. But they couldn't help her with this. She could only help herself. She took a large piece of broken glass and started cutting her arm, going deeper and deeper, hoping the physical pain would cancel out the pain she was feeling inside, but no, the heart pain was stronger, so she kept cutting and kept cutting until she realized she was bleeding to death. Naoko leaned agaisnt the wall and slid to the floor, envoloped in fear. She was going to die she was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it and she cried, making small sounds because she didn't want to announce her death to what was left of her class. She cried and cried until she noticed the little girl standing next to her. By this time Naoko was dizzy from so little blood and her eyes wanted to close. With trouble— it was hard to move her good arm— she wiped her eyes and smiled at this small child. She was the one who laid out all the bodies and would be the one to guide her through the world of the dead. Naoko closed her eyes peacefully. She wasn't scared any more. * * * * * * Hana stuck her head into the classroom. She told them "The Oneichan with glasses just died," and left before any of them could react. There was a pause as everyone tried to absorb this new information. Then Shaoran jumped to his feet and dashed out the door to look for Hana. Sakura followed, close at his heels. "Sakura, you go one way, and I'll go the other?" "Un!" Shaoran ran down the halls, sword in hand. Shit, this little sister had something to do with this, but there was no way she was the one responsible, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to meet the one who was. ??? Three things at once made him trip and almost fall on his sword. 1) a patch of ice 2) the sight of all the bodies laid out as if in a really large funeral home 3) for a moment, he swore he felt a really powerful aura, though he couldn't tell where it was coming from. Suddenly afraid for Sakura, he turned around and started to look for her when he heard what sounded like an explosion accompanied by the bell-like sounds of shattered glass. * * * * * * By this time, Tomoyo also came out. "Sakura-chan, please don't be alone. It's so dangerous now," she reached for Sakura's hand, "I don't want you to get hurt." Sakura smiled at her best friend. "Thank you for worrying about me." It wasn't too long before they caught up with Hana. The smaller girl turned and smiled at them "Tomoyo-Neichan, Sakura-Oneichan!" Her face suddenly turned serious as she told them "He'll go away if you give him what he wants." "Hoe?" Hana seemed really agitated and flapped her hands as she spoke. "The Oniichan who's making the storm! He wants something only Sakura-Oneichan can give, and, and..." The two of them felt the aura at the same time. In the split second that followed, Hana had just enough time to pull the 2 older girls towards the floor as the pressure of the wind caused the windows to implode. * * * * * * "Itai!" "Sakura-chan, daijoubu desu ka?" "Ho-hoee." Bits of shattered glass lodged into their skin, but that had to wait. Right now there were more urgent things. More slowly than they wanted (some glass nearly severed Sakura's achille's tendon) they went back to their homeroom. Shaoran was waiting there outside the door. He rushed to hug Sakura, but was stopped by Tomoyo who briefly explained about the glass. Shaoran listened, then was trying to think of a tactful way to say this when Hana peeked inside, her eyes widened, turned to look at the older kids and burst "Give the Oniichan what he wants! Give it! Give it soon, or" her eyes stared filling with water "Or Dai-lo or you Oneichans will die like everyone else!" And she ran off before anyone could stop her. Tears blinded Hana so much that she didn't know Eriol was there until she crashed into him. As he hugged her and pulled some glass that was stuck between her neck and shoulder, she asked "Eriol sir, why did you make the storm? Can't you get what you want without killing everyone?"  "Because I need to persuade Sakura-san to give it to me, or she won't otherwise."  Hana sobbed some more, then she looked up at Eriol "Then, then can you have me see my oneichan? I miss her."  After processing this new information, he said "Are you sure?" she nodded.  Eriol's staff hit Hana's head with an audible crack. <To Be Continued> By Sara-sama.  Placed on Sakura Wing on January 2002 by Wing Zero.