Sakura, Li, and the Crystal Key
By:Corinne Price
Four Weeks Later
Sakura slept strangely that night. She had a dream that was very confusing and upsetting…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Sakura!” Li yelled, “use the wand!”
“I can’t!!! It won’t transform!”
‘Please,’ Sakura pleaded, tears going down her face, ‘please work…’
“Release!”
Nothing happened.
“Release!”
‘Oh God, please, not now, not here…’
“RELEASE!”
A dark figure was slowly approaching Li. Sakura screamed, “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH LI, YOU-YOU…”
Suddenly, she heard a scream that turned her blood to ice “NOOOOOOO!”
The creature disappeared.
Li slumped to the ground.
Sakura ran over, tears streaming steadily down her face. “Please Li,” she sobbed, “Speak to me…”
His breathing was going slower…So was his pulse.
“P…Please…Li…”
Still no answer.
“She couldn’t speak no more. She caressed Li’s head to her chest protectively and cried…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Sakura…Sakura, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”
Sakura opened her eyes slowly. She realized that tears were in her eyes. She saw Li with a look of deep concern on his face. But she didn’t notice. ‘It was a nightmare…’ It took her a long time to realize that Li was still alive, she was still caught up in that dream. But when she realized that he was standing right there, alive and breathing, she jumped up and hugged Li and cried for some time. Li looked somewhat confused, but he comforted her and asked her what happened. She managed to explain everything calmly! , but then another terrible thought came to her. ‘What if it really DOESN’T work now? What if that creature really DOES come?!’
Suddenly Sakura jumped and snatched the Star Key.
“O key of the Star
With powers burning bright
Reveal the staff
And shine your light!
Release!”
She waited for a few moments…
“Release, in the name of the Clow Mistress!”
‘Oh God…No……’
“Please…Release!”
The constant attempts to open the staff were taking away a lot of energy. She could hear Li yelling something, but she couldn’t hear him. Everything was becoming blurry. ‘I have to do this,’
“Release!”
Her limbs were shaking…She clattered down to her knees.
“Release!”
‘I can’t give up…If I do, Li will die.’
“Release!”
Unconsciousness finally took over her, and she slumped to the ground.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“No, Li! Don’t die…Say something…Please…”
Li didn’t reply.
“Li…”
She heard a high-pitched, evil cackle from above her.
“Who are you?”
“……”
“Who are you??”
“……”
“Who are you?! What have you done to Li?”
Suddenly, a huge Lion swished down from above, landing right in front of her and Li.
“Li is not dead, Sakura,” the great Lion said. His voice was very deep, with the slightest hint of a roar in his words. This is definitely not the creature who gave that high cackle.
“H-He isn’t?”
“No.”
“How can I wake him up?”
“By your staff.”
“But…But my staff doesn’t work.”
“You must find a new key.”
“…How can I find the new key?”
“Expected the unexpected, Sakura.”
“Nani?”
“Expect the unexpected.”
And with that, the Lion opened his mouth wide, and…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Sakura…Sakura, are you awake yet?”
“Hooooeeeee…”
“What were you saying?”
“…Nani?”
“You were saying something about me being dead, and then you kept asking something about a new key for waking me up again, because I wasn’t really dead, and-“
“The Star Key doesn’t work, so I had to find a new one…But…”
“But what?”
“…But I don’t get it. He told me to ‘expect the unexpected’.”
“… … …”
“Why would that thing say that?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know.”
Li was very deep in thought. ‘What could all this mean?’ He looked up and saw Sakura with tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Th-This is all so confusing…First, you die, then you’re not, then my wand doesn’t work, now my wand REALLY doesn’t work, and now…”
“I know, Sakura. It’s confusing. But we’ll figure it out. Now stop crying; It’s not gonna do either of us any good.”
“…Okay, Li.” She wiped her eyes, sat still for a moment, then said sternly, “Okay. Now, let’s think. I dreamt that the Star Staff stopped working. Then, it really DID stop working. Now, I dreamt that a huge Lion spoke to me and told me that I would have to find a new key for a new staff.
Now what? He said to expect the unexpected. So that means…”
“that we will not be expecting the key to come when-slash-where it goes and does.”
“Oooooohhhhhhhhh, okay. That makes sense now. So, we have to just wait for the key to come?”
“No, it will come when we DON’T expect it. Waiting for it is to EXPECT it coming, so, if we don’t think about it, it will come.”
“Oh, okay, NOW it makes sense.”
“Yeah, for now, we just push it out of our minds and think of other things.”
“Right.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That night…
“The great Lion opened his mouth, and gave a loud, hideous, beautiful roar that shook the earth and the green sky. A bolt of pink lightning shot down from the heavens and beamed down over Sakura. She looked up just as the lightning reached her. It hit her point-blank into Sakura’s forehead.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!”
A small mark, shaped like a crescent moon with the points pointing up, appeared on Sakura’s forehead.
Now, a beam of golden light shone over her. She looked up and saw a small key falling down to her. She stretched her arm above her, palm up, and felt something smack into her hands, just as……
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
She woke up in her bed, gasping. She looked at the clock. It was 5:30 a.m. She swiveled her head around and saw Li, sleeping soundly. She smiled to herself, then crossed her arms, just as something fell out of her right hand. She immediately picked up the object and saw a small key on a golden chain necklace. The key looked much like her Star Key, but, instead of a pink star, there was a blue and sparkly moon, with the points pointing up, but a little to the side. ‘Wait a minute…’
She hopped out of her bed and ran silently to her mirror, and gasped. On her forehead, there was an up-pointed crescent moon on her forehead, blue and sparkly. She cautiously put a finger to the mark. It felt like solid glass. She turned the light on. ‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that was solid sapphire or aquamarine.’ So it was. She just stood there for a moment, before she realized that her eyes had changed color, too. They had gone from emerald-green to deep sapphire-blue, matching the mark on her forehead. ‘How, in the name of ! Clow Reed, did this all happen?’ She thought, dazed.
She went back to bed and lied down for a few minutes. Then, she got up again. She wouldn’t be able to sleep after this. She quietly got out of bed and walked to the common room (living room, for you dense people) and sat down in a large couch. She looked at the key. ‘I wonder what you are…and what you look like when you transform…what is the phrase to transform you?’ Almost in answer, a small piece of parchment fell out of nowhere and landed in her lap. She picked it up and read:
The Key of the Crystal
Is the original key
To Clow Reed’s unseen.
For the magic contained
Has the power to become the staff of Evil’s bane.
To release the magic within
Say these lines four;
O Key of the Crystal,
With the magic of Clow Reed,
And the powers of Sun and Thunder
Become the Staff of evil’s blunder.
You may not learn
The Magic of Clow Reed’s
Staff of Life
But his magic is within yourself
~use this staff well, Sakura~
“But…” Sakura said, looking up. Sakura thought, ‘I wonder who they are…’
Li was having a strange dream, with a huge Lion in it. And Sakura, but she had a mark on her forehead. And she was holding a strange staff. And her eyes had changed. He didn’t know from far away just what everything looked like.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Li! Come here!”
Li began running.
“I’m coming, Sakura!”
Just then, a Lion swooped don in front of Sakura.
“You shall be given this,” the Lion said, then it took a deep breath, and blew on Li. Li seemed to become blind for a few moments, then, as his eyesight came back, he realized he was wearing an outfit. It looked exactly like his other one, but the colors were more enhanced and the outfit shimmered in the light. He looked over at Sakura. He ran over to her now. She was holding a sword. The hilt of the sword was solid unbreakable emerald, and the blade itself was not metal, but diamond-hard, also unbreakable crystal. She handed it to Li.&nb! sp; A man appeared behind Sakura and said, “Use my sword well, Li.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Li woke up with a start. He looked around him. Sakura was probably up by now, since she wasn’t in bed. ‘Unnatural of her to wake up early for once,’ Li thought. He sat up. There was something hard laying in his lap. He looked.
Sakura was just about to try the phrase, when she heard, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!”
She closed her eyes. ‘Li must be up,’ she thought. Then she put the key in front of her and began chanting.
O Key of the Crystal,
With the Magic of Clow Reed,
And the powers of Sun and Thunder,
Reveal the Staff of Evil’s blunder,
Release!
The key transformed into a beautiful staff. It had a crescent moon on the top, but instead of it pointing straight up, it was pointing at an angle. The rest of it was solid sapphire, with a diamond-hard crystal polish coating. Simple, yet beautiful. The moon on the top was made of solid diamond. Just then, Li walked in the door, a sword in his hands. “It came,” Sakura said.
“Yeah, so did mine,” Li said.
“Yours?”
“Yeah, a new sword.”
Sakura eyed the sword, then pointed to the piece of parchment on the table. Li snatched up the note and read it. After a few moments, he said, “So, your staff and my sword are like brother and sister items?”
“Yeah, even though we’re not related.”
“Well, which one am I?”
“You’re the Thunder. I already found the Sun.”
“Who is it?”
“Honestly, I thought you’d figure out. Eli, of course.”
“…ELI?!?!?!?!”
“Who else has the same power as us?”
“I…Well…I mean, you know…He IS Clow Reed reincarnated…Do you honestly think it would count, I mean…”
“Of course it would count. He says he is Clow Reed reincarnated. He’s the most powerful person on this planet besides you.”
“Me? YOU’RE more powerful than me!”
“You are Clow Reed’s descendant! You WOULD be the strongest person if I hadn’t butted into all this! And you ARE stronger than me, because you are RELATED to Clow Reed/Eli!”
Li furrowed his brow at the sound of Clow Reed/Eli.
“…OH, I get it now…”
“Nani?” Li said quickly.
“Well, of course, why didn’t I see it before?”
“NANI?”
“You…are…jealous of Eli, because-“
“I AM NOT JEALOUS OF THAT…that…”
“See? You’re afraid to insult him, because, for once, there IS someone more powerful than you. Hey…!”
“What?”
“Okay, you said that you’re Clow Reed’s descendant, right?”
“…Yeah,” said Li cocking an eyebrow.
“Well, now that he is alive, reincarnated…”
“Yeah.”
“Wouldn’t that sorta make him…”
“Make him what?!”
“I dunno, maybe your brother?”
Li thought of this for a moment. ‘Is she right? He has more power than me.’
“That’s not possible.”
“Oh, and why not?”
“Because he’s more powerful than me!”
“Well, he can’t be your dad, and he IS older than you…”
“…So?”
“Weeellll…There is no other spot…”
“What if he’s a cousin?”
”Not possible. You’re related to him by BLOOD, not by marriage.”
“… … …”
“Well!” she said cheerfully, “You have a very cute older brother, Li!” She teased.
"Aaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh! Don’t call him my brother!”
“Well, it does make sense. It’s no wonder we’ve got the new stuff. I mean, he is Clow Reed reincarnated, you’re his last descendant, and I’m the Card Mistress. I’ve got the moon, you’ve got the thunder, and he’s got the sun.”
“Are you saying, that, in a way, we’re all related?”
“You and him are. I’m the Clow mistress. We’re the only people who capture cards. Get it now?”
“Oh, okay, yeah.”
“…I still think you have a very cute older brother, Li.” Sakura said, giggling.
“AAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!”
“How about we talk about the problem, now, ok?
“Okay. So…-”
“So we have figured out about the new staff and sword. Number one: done. Number two: why do I have this thing on my head?”
It wasn’t until then that Li saw what she was talking about. In the center of her forehead, there was a mark on her forehead, shaped like a crescent moon. From what it looked, it was made of aquamarine. Then, Li noticed something else.
“Your eyes…”
“Yeah, I know. It happened right after I woke up from that dream-“
“Did it have a lion in it?”
“Y-Yes it did.”
“He was in my dream also.”
“So that means that the lion has something to do with this.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never talked to one that would TALK BACK.”
“I know. We better ask him some stuff.”
“Ask who?”
“Your very cute older brother, Eli!” She said, laughing.
“AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!”
~~~Eli’s Place~~~
“So, Tokoaitao, did you send them their items?” Eli asked.
“Yes, I did. To both of them.”
“Excellent.”
“What have I to do with this, Eli?”
“You are a mythical creature. You are the last of your species. With their help, you can bring your people to the ones where they live.”
“Do they not have humans there?”
“No. There are no longer humans there except themselves and Sakura’s…er, relatives.”
“Oh, I see.”
(phone rings)”I’ll get the phone.”
“Hello, Eli speaking.”
-Eli? This is Sakura-
“Why, hello Sakura. How are you today?” Eli replied, looking at the huge lion.
-Hey. Did you get something…new today when you woke up?-
“No, but I have reason to believe you did.”
-H…How did you know?-
“The lion is here having a little chat with me.”
-Well, what is he doing there?-
“He’s just told me that he sent you and my younger brother some items that should help you.”
-How are they gonna help us? And what do you mean by your younger bro-OH! You mean Li, huh? (Li screams in the background for just learning that Sakura is right o.o;)-
“Yes.”
-May I ask why I have a mark on my head for it for?-
“Sure.………………………………He says it’s your symbol of being the Card Mistress, and because your symbol is the moon. If you look closely, Li is forming a bolt of lightning across his own forehead, as the symbol of thunder.”
-(in the background)WHAT?!?!?!?-
“Yes. I don’t have one because I am reincarnated.”
-Oh, okay.-
“Are there any other questions?”
(Li gets on another phone)~Yeah, I’ve got another question-~
-Li…-
~How did you go from being my descendant to being my older brother?!~
“Well, even I don’t understand that, Li. I’m not Einstein.”
~Oh, yeah, before I forget, why did Sakura and I have to go through all that crap just to get a staff and a sword? Why not just walk over, hand them to us, and tell us, what’s gonna happen? What IS gonna happen? Why did you give us this stuff? AND-~
-LI! Give yourself time to breathe!-
“Please, please, it’s so confusing with you both arguing like such.”
Sakura and Li: -BUT-
“Don’t ‘but’ me, lovebirds! Little brother, you be careful with Sakura. She’s more valuable than the diamond on her staff. Sakura, don’t let my brother do anything stupid, okay? Good day to you two.” And he hung up the phone.
~~~By the way, in here, Eli’s not Sakura’s half father or anything, so don’t get any ideas about Sakura and Li!~~~
~~~~~Back at Li and Sakura~~~~~
Sakura’s normally really nice. But when she gets mad…
Li was cowering in the corner. Literally.
Sakura was rounding up on him.
“WHY DID YOU GET ON THE OTHER PHONE, LI?!?!?!?!
“I was gonna ask him a question.”
“HONESTLY, SOMETIMES YOU ARE THE ONE THAT’S CONFUSING! I THOUGHT YOU’D DIE FOR NOT BREATHING AND THAT ELI WOULD TOO FOR NOT LETTING HIM EITHER!”
“Okay! I’m sorry! I’m just as confused as you! You know how I am. I don’t like not knowing things.”
“Well, neither do I, Li. But that doesn’t leave you the right to go off and do THAT to your older brother!” Sakura said. She seemed to be getting her humour back and toning down on the anger.
“THAT IS NOT FUNNY, SAKURA!”
“It’s not?! I’m supposed to be crying?”
“NO! IT’S JUST NOT FUNNY THAT HE IS MY OLDER BROTHER!”
“Did I say it was funny? Dear me, I meant kawaii!”
“THIS IS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER!”
“It’s a crying matter, then?”
“YES!!”
Sakura was giggling uncontrollably. Then her face went sad. She knew Li hated it when she was upset. Especially hated it when she was crying.
“So…it’s a sad matter,” She said, with a small (but fake) tear streaming down her face.
Li knew what she was doing, but he still couldn’t help it. He did NOT want to see her upset. Not even faking. She’s very good at faking sometimes. That is not a good thing right now.
He bit his lip as another (fake!) tear slid down her cheek.
Sakura saw him bite his lip, trying not to show that it was working.
“…It’s working…” Sakura said in her singsong voice.
Li closed his eyes. He could not stand this.
“This isn’t fair, Sakura. You know my weak point.”
“You should know mine, Li. You’ve known for a looong time now.”
“I forgot it.”
“Watch the Weather Channel.” She smiled and wiped the tears away. The thought of a thunderstorm made her shudder. She hated thunder.
Li felt it on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite put the name to it. Then, after some thinking, he looked directly at Sakura, smiling coldly.
“It’s not thunderstorms you’re the most afraid of, Sakura.”
Sakura’s eyes widened. “Nani?”
“Your dream. You were scared of me dying.”
Sakura’s eyes widened. “Li, don’t you dare…”
Li jumped up and ran to the window. ‘I am sssooooooo evil,’ Li thought. The window was open, and he jumped on the windowsill. He heard Sakura gasp. He turned around and looked at Sakura. ‘I’ll cheer her up later,’ Li thought sinisterly, ‘now it’s time for revenge.’
“Li…What are you d-doing?” Sakura asked, her eyes open in terror.
“You want to mock me, Sakura?”
“I was j…just k-kidding.”
“Well, so am I.”
“It’s not funny, Li.”
“It wasn’t funny to me when you mocked me about my OLDER BROTHER, Sakura.”
“That’s not literally threatening to kill yourself Li.” She fell on her knees, holding out her hands. They were shaking. “Please, Li,” she whispered, “come down now.”
Li thought for a moment, then hopped down from the windowsill. Sakura jumped and ran over to him. He opened his arms just as Sakura ran into them, throwing her arms around Li. She was shaking uncontrollably.
Li put his arms around her back. After a second, Sakura stopped shivering. Then, Sakura heard a strange musical sound behind her. She turned around and gasped. Her Crystal Staff was floating in the air. Li’s sword appeared out of nowhere and began floating towards the Staff. Sakura, in awe, moved away from Li to look at the Staff. Suddenly, the Staff and sword clattered to the floor.
Li stood, transfixed. ‘What just happened?’ He thought. He furrowed his brow, thinking. ‘I know they are related somehow, and when Sakura walked towards it…’ Suddenly, Li figured it out.
“Sakura!”
“What?”
“They reacted when you touched me. When you walked away, it stopped.”
Sakura widened her eyes and looked at her Staff. She picked it up. It was vibrating slightly, then it stopped. Li picked up his sword and looked at it carefully. Sakura got a sudden idea. She walked over to Li and touched her Staff to Li’s Sword.
The crystal on the end of her Staff began glowing a brilliant white. Sakura heard a slamming noise at her desk. The Clow Book floated out of the drawer and magically opened. The Windy Card floated up and began floating toward the Staff. It finally stopped two feet away from the Staff. Sakura saw a transparent form of the Windy floating in front of the card, looking at the Staff. She put a hand out to the Staff and the sword. At the point where the Staff and the sword were touching, a stream of blue and green ribbons flowed out in all directions, surrounding Windy. Sakura was so shocked that she dropped the Staff. The Windy Card floated down to the floor. The ribbons shimmered and disappeared.
“Sakura.”
“Nani?”
“Do you think it would transform the cards again?”
“Maybe.”
“Great. Now we have to transform all the cards AGAIN.”
“This time, we’re both going to rule them.”
“Nani? How?”
“The Card only reacted when we were both touching.”
“What do you think this all means?”
”That we’re not done yet, that’s what.”
“…”
“That means Eli will rule them, too.”
“Did somebody say my name?”
Sakura and Li both turned around. Eli was standing in the doorway.
“ELI!” Sakura and Li exclaimed.
Sakura asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Good question,” he replied.
“What do you mean by that?” Li said at once.
“I mean, I’m at my house, minding my own business, and, then, everything turns white, and then I hear you, and now I’m here.”
“So you’re telling us you just popped up here out of nowhere?”
“I suppose so.” He said with his mysterious smile.
“Eli…The cards,”
“We will have to transform them into Crystal Cards.”
”What do you mean, US?” Li said.
“You know perfectly well what I mean, younger brother.”
Li growled aggressively.
Sakura said, “So…when are we going to start transforming the cards?”
“Well, that depends how much energy we use. Since you were the recent ruler of the cards, it will probably be hard on your part, Sakura.”
“I was expecting that,” she said, heaving a sigh.
“However…I’m not sure how the cards will be after we transform them. I don’t know if they will be transformed into cards, or our staffs will simply absorb them.”
“What do you mean, absorb them?” asked Li.
“Well, we won’t have to hold them as cards. Their power will be contained in our wands (or sword), and will simply come out of our staff when we need that card.”
“So no more having to use cards?”
“No, since we will all three be sharing them as the three permanent masters of the Crystal Cards.”
“Great. Now I have to share. I haven’t even been his older brother for a day and I’m already sharing stuff. Simply PERFECT.”
Eli and Sakura burst out laughing.
“Not funny, Sakura. Eli.”
Sakura, recalling him dangling on the windowsill, gave a shudder and stifled a giggle.
“It was too funny, younger brother.”
Sakura put the back of her hand to her mouth to hide a smile.
Sakura heard Eli speaking to her by thought.
‘You can always use the Float Card if he tries to scare you via the windowsill, Sakura.’
Sakura burst out laughing again.
“I forgot about that!” She said, giggling uncontrollably.
“What?” Li snapped.
“Nothing, nothing younger brother,” said Eli.
“AAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!” Li yelled, jumping to the windowsill.
“Float Card!” Sakura yelled, pointing the Staff at Li.
Sakura wished she hadn’t afterward. Eli’s Staff and Li’s sword both swiped over and touched Sakura’s Staff. She suddenly felt her energy draining out of her. The Float Card floated up till it was two feet away from Sakura. This time, blue, green, and black ribbons shot out from the point of contact, surrounding Float’s form. Then, three balls of light were absorbed into Sakura’s and Eli’s Staff, and into Li’s sword. Finally, the Float dashed over to Li and surrounded him in light, suspended in mid-air.
Sakura smiled. She walked over to where Li was suspended, and held out her hand. Li held out his hand and touched Sakura’s. The Float slowly brought Li down, then disappeared into Sakura’s Staff. Li stood, staring with wide eyes at Sakura. Sakura smiled, then collapsed into Li’s arms, too weak to move. Li picked her up and brought her over to his bed. He gently laid her down, dragged a chair up, and sat down next to his bed, holding Sakura’s hand. “Well,” Eli said quietly, “looks like I’ll be staying here from now on.” Li wanted to protest, but he was busy watching Sakura, who was sleeping soundly.
“…Alright. If you really want to.”
“Would you mind Tomoyo (Madison) coming here, too?”
“No. Sakura would like talking to Tomoyo again.”
“Okay. I’ll need to go and retrieve a few of my items to come here. I’ll be back later.”
“…Alright…Older brother,” Li added sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Eli giggled, then, with a flash of light, was gone. Li turned his attention back to Sakura, who was still asleep.
“…Looks like you’re not gonna be having much fun this year, are you?”
Sakura continued to sleep.
Sakura was having the strangest dream…
Sakura was running through a forest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Li! Where are you?”
Sakura paused, looked around. ‘Where is he?’ She thought frantically.
“Use the wand, Sakura” She heard Eli’s voice say.
She held the Staff before her and closed her eyes, concentrating. The crescent mark on her forehead began glowing and blinking aqua. She slowly turned to the right. The blinking started going faster. She turned a little more. The blinking stopped. It just glowed. She ran that direction. She could hear Li’s voice.
“Sakura! Can you hear me? Sakura!”
“I’m coming, Li! Hold on!”
She rounded a corner, and saw Li, bound tight to a tree.
“Li!”
“Sakura!”
She grabbed her Staff and ran to the tree. Using the sharp edge of the crescent moon, she began carefully cutting each rope. It took some time, but when she finished, she hugged Li.
“Sakura, where’s Eli?”
“I haven’t found him yet.”
“Well done, Sakura.”
Sakura turned around. The Lion swished its tail. Eli was standing next to it, smiling.
“Your new mission will be ready soon, Sakura…Li.”
“What do you mean?”
“…You’ll see, younger brother.”
“If I’m your younger brother, you can tell me!”
“I can’t, Li…Sakura. Good luck.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sakura woke up. She looked around her. She was in Li’s room. She smiled to herself when she saw a chair pulled up next to her bed. Just then, Li walked through the door. When he saw that Sakura was awake, he rushed over to her side.
“Are you okay, Sakura?”
“…Yeah, I’m fine, Li. What happened?”
“You passed out after transforming the Float Card. I brought you in here and you’ve been asleep ever since.”
“What time is it?”
“Time for you to get a watch.”
She rolled her eyes and looked at the clock.
“EIGHT-THIRTY?!”
“Well, you didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“So?”
“And you’re not gonna get much sleep tonight, either.”
“Why not?”
“Thunderstorm forecast. That’s what Eli said.”
“Hoooooeeeeeeee.”
“So you can sleep here tonight, and I’ll sleep here on the sofa.”
“No, I want the sofa. YOU can have your bed,” She said, standing up.
“You better sit back down, Sakura. You’re gonna get dizzy.”
“Well, then, I’ll SIT on the SOFA.”
She was getting too dizzy. She needed to sit down. Quick.
“Sakura, why are teetering back and forth?” He walked over to her and supported her.
“I’m…so…dizzy……”
Li swept her up before she fell. He tried to throw her on the bed in a last-ditch attempt to make her lay down. But, she had her arm around Li’s neck, so they both ended up crashing onto the bed. Li was so thrown off by Sakura holding him that he nearly fell on top of her, but he saw her face in front of him, and, by pure instinct, stuck his hands and legs out to hold himself up. As he did that, his face stopped no more than and inch of Sakura’s face. Li turned to stone. Sakura, smiling, did something that scared the life out of him. She rolled out of the side of the bed so she was on! the very edge, hooked her feet and hands around Li’s, and pulled. Li fell on the bed, kind of to and angle, because Sakura was still there. His legs were straight, but the rest was turned to the side. The impact of this sent Sakura toppling over, as well, right onto Li’s chest. When their eyes met, Li turned rock-solid at the sight.
“Well, younger brother, look who woke up.”
This time, Li AND Sakura turned stone. Eli was standing there, and, next to them, holding a digital camera (like always), was Tomoyo.
“Madison!”
She tried to get up, but she couldn’t move. She seemed to be stuck.
“ELI! Let us go!”
Eli was holding out the Staff, which he had done a clever freezing charm with.
“Don’t you hate it when you have a special moment to yourselves, then you get seen by your best friend, then you ‘can’t seem to move’?
“I ssssooooooooo have to get doubles of this!” Tomoyo said, taking out a flash camera.
“MADISON!!!”
The camera clicked. Li was giving Eli a glare that even made Sakura uneasy.
“One more shot, okay, lovebirds?” He teased. He moved the staff a little to the side. Sakura felt energy pushing Sakura closer to Li. The harder she pulled back, the weaker she got, for she was still very exhausted. Eli threw the staff to the left. A huge bolt of lightning struck. Followed closely by a clap of thunder loud enough to crack a drum in half. Sakura jumped-straight into Li’s arms (again!). The camera clicked. Eli said, “Oh alright, I’ll stop bugging you two.” Li jumped up and ran to Eli. He pointed the staff at him and raised him up a few inches off the ground. He said, “Be careful, little brother. Don’t do anything immature, like attempt to hurt your older brother.”
“I’m not going to hurt you-I’m going to KI-HEY! What do you mean, ‘attempt’?!”
“I believe you are smart enough to know what that means…little brother.” And with that, swished the staff up. Li went sailing through the air onto the bed again, which, luckily, Sakura had sat up, so he landed right behind her. She was so shocked by that, that she passed right back out again. She fell backward, right onto Li’s chest again. Li looked up, and Eli and Tomoyo were gone. Li heaved a great sigh and thought, ‘Well, we’re back where we started. At least we don’t have to do THAT again.’ He looked at Sakura, who was sleeping peacefully. He sighed again and laid his head back against the wall. ‘Why does it ALWAYS have to be us? Us…’ And he slowly drifted off to sleep.