CardCaptor Sakura Remastered IV Episode 6 (10)

January was rolling along.

The threat of CLAMP School no longer existed, so things rolled along as they should have. Quietly and at it’s own pace.
Still, even without the “threat” that once lingered overhead the inevitable still occurred. The Council, not so patient with Sakura’s slow pace of capture, came down with it’s request to speeding up of the process to capture Clow Cards, which only seemed to make Nina sneer at the thought (again).

It was hard enough to track down and locate each card, especially
since there’d been a recent slump in card appearances as of late, but
to pick up the pace with said slump hindering them? It seemed an unreasonable request yet there it was all the same.

“How am I going to carry this out?” she griped, looking over the
letter again as she laid in bed. The “letter” was a copy of a
communique she received yesterday, yet it troubled her even now.

There just didn’t seem to be an answer to the problem of increasing
the pace to search for Clow Cards. Sakura could do more “patrols”, but
they seemed to have learned their lesson the second time around and
were finding new and inventive ways to “lie low” and stay in hiding.
Clearly new tricks had to be used to flush them out, but what?

A few gentle fingers brushed through her green hair, bringing Nina’s
attention up towards Tina who laid close to her smiling at her. “Isn’t there someway to do this?” Tina asked, to which Nina replied “I suppose, but I wish it was something you could chase away with your fingertips.” she sighed, drawing her Sexdroid love close to kiss her, letting the paper fall to one side as they cuddled.

* * * * * *

It was a weekend, so Sakura didn’t wake up early for school.

Yet, if Nina was the one being asked, she would complain that Sakura
didn’t wake up early for anything (even her own funeral).
Tomoyo, however, kept to her usual schedule. She woke up the same time every morning regardless of whether it was school or not, though
occasionally she lingered in bed if only to relish and treasure the
soft glow of sleeping in Sakura’s loving embrace just for a little bit
longer. As she woke this morning she brushed a few fingers across
Sakura’s sleeping face, feeling quite warm just looking at her.

Carefully her fingers loosened the sheet around one arm so she could
look at it. The arm didn’t bear any marks from when she gripped Sakura
too hard a few weeks ago, but the thought still lingered.

She didn’t know why but that moment she -- at that moment she stopped
and chided herself. She was thinking to hard about it. Slowly she dressed and snuck out to make breakfast, leaving Sakura behind.
Ten minutes later the door opened and someone else entered.

She was not tall, nor was she terribly short, but she did seem to
stand out from her appearance.

She had short red hair, a mischievous look on her face, and wore a
strange mis-mash of an Alliance uniform jacket, a t-shirt with a face
sticking it’s tongue out at the viewer, shorts, high top sneakers, arm
and leg pads and three pairs of gloves which hung off a belt on her
waist ranging from tough work gloves to soft petite gloves. She also
wore a backpack slung on her back which made a soft beeping noise
every so often.

If one had to decide the person she resembled in passing, it would be
Radical Ed (Cowboy Bebop), but the appearance was altered making her
her own individual and not a clone, though in a sense cloning was
involved in her “Creation”.

She stopped, tilted her head slightly upon looking at Sakura, and
blinked a few times. Then she jumped onto the bed hard, bringing Sakura up from her sleep in a panicked shrieking yelp, screaming “ME-ME!!” at Sakura as she sent the formerly sleeping one into a panic.

Sakura wouldn’t stop screaming, or trying to get away from the now
grabby and huggy girl until Tomoyo came to cuddle and comfort her now
stressed out lover. Sakura’s screams could be heard all the way from
the upstairs kitchen so Tomoyo quickly abandoned the room and came
running to her aid.

Leaving one rather frustrated Umi with breakfast to make.
Gaia couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the former Clow Card
making breakfast, to which she was promptly scowled at by the stove
burdened girl who growled, “Well? Don’t just stand there! Plates!!”

* * * * * *

The first thing Nina did when she entered the upstairs kitchen was
sigh miserably.

“Where is she?”

“Where’s who?” Umi grumbled, looking over at their new “guest”.

The strange girl at the table looked over at Nina and smiled, pointing
a finger at her and going “Nena!”

“Nina, not “Nena“ you social retard.” she growled, looking at the girl
severely. Sakura (still being comforted) was being watched over by
Tomoyo as she fed the mistress of the cards her breakfast. “It’s Nina.
Can’t you get that through your---”

“Miyu-chan says HI!!”

Nina falls into one of the chairs and grabs some food, “So where is
the furball anyway? Sleeping? Eating the plants? Making mad love to
the first unconscious girl she could subdue on the street? What?!”

“She’s putting in the Nasty Clow Card Tracking Gizmo Device thing you
ordered!” (makes a weird face) “Track those nasty Card things and
wham! Bam!” (smiles) “That’ll be 59,350 credits please, no IOUs.”

“---whatever---” Nina sighed, waving her off with a dull expression.

Since Sakura was staring at her with anxious eyes, and Tomoyo seemed
interested in hearing an explanation as well, Nina bit the bullet and
started. “Sakura---?”

“HAI!” (the strange girl shot her arm up)

“Wait a second--- Sakura---”

“HAI!” (again, the strange girl shot her arm up)

“---sigh--- this hyperactive freaky thing over there is…” (Nina points at girl) “…that too is Sakura…” (pauses) “…don’t you want to say something?”

She thinks about it for awhile, before asking Tomoyo for the syrup.

Nina - “Now, Sakura here…”

“HAI!”

“WOULD YOU STOP THAT ALREADY!!” (snarls) “SAKURA HERE IS A WHACKED OUT
SEX DROID OUR CHIEF ENGINEER OWNS! SHE’S A PAIN UP THE ASS AND ABOUT
AS MUCH FUN AS A STRAP ON THAT’S WAY TOO THICK, WHICH IS IRONIC
BECAUSE SHE’S WAY TOO “THICK” FOR HER OWN GOOD!!” (Nina stops and
pants to catch her breath) “There… I said it. Good riddance.”

Sakura, the other Sakura, sits at her chair eating mindlessly not
paying Nina one bit of attention. Finally giving up, Nina ignores her
and eats as Tina walks into the kitchen. The minute the taller
woman’s eyes falls on “Sakura” she gives out a cheery cry and waves “Hi!“ (the other Sakura responds in kind) “So you know Miyuko’s here already, right?”

“How’d you guess?” Nina grumbled in an unpleasant manner.

“Because Sakura’s here and… oh, right, you can see her. Thank you.” (Tina smiles as she takes a plate of food from Tomoyo) “How’s the work
progressing?”

“Miyuko needs Nina to give her the data on…”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME SOONER?!?” Nina screams, storming out of the
room as she does. “Sakura” looks at her leave, frowns, then goes back
to eating with the same strange smile on her face.

“She’s got Miyuko’s strangeness down pat at least.” the other Sakura said before going back to eating.

* * * * * *

Once the system was up Nina couldn’t wait to shove the catgirl and her
Sex Droid into a shuttle and ship them back to the USS Ryoko ASAP.
Problem was, however, they weren’t going anywhere!

“Captain wants us to give you technical backup and nerve center
support.” Miyuko responded, pushing herself out of Nina’s grasp as she did so.

“We’ll get your back up and nerves out in no time!” “Sakura added.

“Too late.” Nina hissed, walking out of the room with the appearance
of wanting to kill someone.

“She’s funny.” (“Sakura”) “Will she always be this angry?”

* * * * * *

Nina didn’t take too long to call Michi to complain about it.
Her one mistake.

Michi didn’t look like she was in a very good mood since it looked
like the call came during sex, but she took the call anyway. She
explained (bluntly) that Miyuko was there to speed things up and there
was nothing she could do about it.

As Rahne tended to Michi’s feelings (the link severing) Nina set down
the first ground rule of the house (despite the fact that she
shouldn’t have been making ground rules in the first place).

“You’re Ed.”

“Sakura is Sakura.” Sakura pointed out, as the two (Miyuko as well as the original “Sakura”) looked at each other oddly.

“No, YOU ARE ED!” Nina repeated firmly, “We can’t have two Sakuras in this house! It’d mess up communications and we’d get a lot of mixed signals and awkward situations so from now on we’re calling red here “Ed” until you two leave, got it?”

“Ed? Sakura is Ed?”

“Whatever.” Nina spit out, turning to leave. “You’re Ed?” Miyuko said,
pointing at “Ed”.

“Sakura is Ed, but Ed isn‘t Sakura -- ok?”

“Ok.”

“Don’t worry, Miyu-chan!” “Ed” whispered (loudly) “When Miyu-chan
comes during sex and screams for Sakura-chan, Ed-chan won’t feel
jealous because Ed is Sakura and Sakura is…”

Nina slams the door before she hears another word come out of her
mouth.

(Ed) “Maybe Nina-chan needs a cookie.”

* * * * * *

The name change seemed to help. A little.

Still the strange girl made Sakura abit nervous. It was only when the
two promised to keep to the lower side of the house (and sleep out of
the huge room which they converted into a “nerve center” did Sakura
feel a little better about the situation).

Still, for everyone’s sanity, Nina surrounded the room with sound
nullers to block out the noises of lovemaking from the room. She also
put alert sensors and door locks so that people couldn’t walk in and
catch an eyeful of them doing it by accident. Still, even then, she
still felt it necessary to lay down ground rule #2 - no sex in public
areas. Now, mind you, that might seem like common sense yet for the
two of them it was as if Nina told them to stop breathing. Still, they
would comply.

“Ed can’t have fun in---”

“No Ed can’t get laid in the living room, the washroom, the bathroom,
the main hallway and NO WAY are you getting it in the front yard!”
Nina huffed, spitting out the orders in chain fire manner. “High fence
or no I don’t want you two to become a shameful public spectacle! Keep
it in bed, got it?”

“Ed have fun in Sakura’s…”

“YOUR BED!!” Nina screeched, once again slamming the door and raging
off towards the staircase. By now people have gotten used to the sound
of slamming doors since Nina did it now daily ever since the duo of
“Sakura” (who was now “Ed”) and Miyuko appeared.

That said, all they had to do now was wait for the first card to be
tagged and detected by the new equipment and see if the stuff was
working. It wouldn’t take long before the first contact --

* * * * * *

Or so they thought.

Nothing happened.

Days passed, and as each day grew longer Nina began to fear the worst.

The cards may not have had the spectre of CLAMP School overhead but they were not more willing to come out as they were before. Still there didn’t seem to be any reason to fear. Clow Cards were not pulling a “Mimic” and launcing pre-emptive attacks, Fly like incidents were not happening, and things overall seemed rather quiet for the most part.
Wasn’t helping with card capturing, but wasn’t hurting anyone either.

Still, as long as they were looking for runaway Clow Cards they had something to do -- even if it was becoming a test in futility as cards were not so willing to accomidate the Council’s wishes for the hunt to speed up.

Still, something had to give sooner or later.

* * * * * *

Tomoyo decided that the whole gang needed a break from the constant
pressure of hunting Clow Cards.

The first thing Sakura realized when Tomoyo said they were going to
have a little girl’s night slumber party is that all the girls were
going to be invited.

However when she saw the guests she realized she got the “girls”
wrong. It was all the girls from inside the house, not from school.
Tomoyo shrugged and whispered “They were all busy tonight.”

Umi, abit uncomfortable in her jammies, prodded at the material and
sighed every few minutes, muttering “Is this becoming wet? This isn’t
drawing moisture from my body, is it? I don’t like dry skin. I don’t
like this material, it feels too squishy. Am I wetting it? I sleep in
the nude. This won‘t make me sweaty, right?”

“Is there something wrong with your pajamas?” Tomoyo asked, to which
Gaia replied “Umi prefers to sleep in the nude.” to which Tomoyo
nodded (having already heard Umi say that three times), causing Sakura
to blush as she glanced at her. Tomoyo also slept in the nude from
time to time, which usually was because she was too exhausted to dress
after lovemaking.

Light & Dark would have made a matching set if not for the fact that
Light wore midnight black panties/bra while Dark wore soft white in
the same design and fashion as Light. Fuu wore her usual nightie.

Cloud had skipped out of the party because Kero had gotten a batch of
new games and she wanted to break them in with him. That, however,
didn’t stop Umi from occasionally (when not complaining about the
state of her jammies) kidding that the two were experimenting with sex
awkwardly in his closet/bedroom (Gaia kept reminding Umi to behave
herself).

Keiko/Eve also were no shows despite the fact that they were invited.
Miyuko/“Ed” slash “Sakura” didn’t show up, they preferred to watch TV,
eat and do whatever else they did in the privacy of their own room,
which suited Nina just fine. As for Nina? She laid listlessly in a
pile of one huge quilt and a bunch of pillows looking rather bored.
“When you said “slumber party” I thought you meant “orgy”, but this is
dumb.” she pouted, her feet kicking listlessly as she turned to look
over at Tina who seemed rather into the girl talk everyone was into.
“Somebody play Hentai Truth or Dare, or something which the loser ends
up naked and at our mercies -- or something.”

“You might be the victim more than the rest of us if we play Hentai
Trivial Pursuit, Nina.” Tina remarked truthfully, drawing a frown from her lover. “The questions are all stupid anyway, so what.”

* * * * * *

Over the kitchen countertop in Sakura’s “lab” hung a simple looking board. Usually reserved for listing the meal being served or a shopping list written in haste, it now held a list of a different sort.
Cards captured to date.

Clow Cards (19)
Big, Bubble, Cloud, Create, Dash, Erase, Flower, Fly, Hope, Illusion, Little, Maze, Rain, Shadow, Shield, Shot, Silence, Sword, Thunder

Hybrid Cards (7)
Animus Dark, Animus Light, Animus Mirror, Animus Water, Animus Windy, Animus Woods, FairyGlow

Fan Cards (captured, lost or unusable)
Fear (lost), Pervert (unusable), Prism, Toon

Known Cards in Tokyo area (at large) (2)
Fight, Power

28 Remaining Cards to be accounted for - 26 Below it all, scrawled in quick handwriting, was the words “SAND FOUND!” Everyone who was in the capturing party was already there.

* * * * * *

New King Penguin Park
Tomoyo jumped back, hand still grasping her camcorder as she filmed Sakura’s bravery against the Sand card. Eve, however, was having a time of it barely holding Sand’s relentless attacks back with her NovaShields. If she was hoping for a lax day today then she was sorely disappointed.

Keiko jumped back, backpedaling as she slashed at the shots of sand coming straight at her, taking as much sand in the hair and face as she reflected away with gusts of wind. Even with her protective gasmask from one of her tesseract pouches she was still being overwhelmed by Sand’s attacks.

The huge King Penguin slide shook as the sandy ground beneath it liquefied and began to suck it in. Sakura barely had time to leap onto the back of the huge slide and climb up to the two trapped kids on the top. Eve, hands full protecting three young girls with her NovaShield spell, turned her attention towards Nina. “Give Sakura some cover fire!” she yelled, continuously fortifying her NovaShields spell with her willpower.

Nina, lugging her pulse rifle upwards, carefully took shot after shot, clipping each sand tentacle as it tried to latch onto Sakura to drag her down, all the while slowly dragging the huge penguin slide downward into the now liquid sand beneath it. “Nina! Behind you!” Tina suddenly yells out, just as two sand tentacles attack Nina from behind. She barely manages to dodge them as the whoosh over her, her rifle firing blindly upwards as she tries to nail them.

Tomoyo, filming Sakura’s heroic acts, cringes inwardly as she watches. ‘All the trees are too far away.’ she thinks to herself, ‘I can’t use Gaia’s ring to help Sakura-chan -- but maybe --” Tomoyo’s free hand raises upwards, Gaia’s ring pulsating with energy, “Trees! Use your roots to cut down Sand’s tentacles!” Almost instantly long strings of roots shoot out from the ground near the trees, whipping through the air hacking into each sand tentacle that rises from the ground.

As the tree roots keep Sand occupied, Sakura reaches the two children and grabs onto them, using Windy’s ring to give her a boost over Sand and onto the grass in one long jump from slide to safety. As she sends the children to Eve for protection, she turns and regards Sand, her hand bearing the Water ring rising into the air. “Umi! Give me your strength in the form of a waterfall to restrict Sand!”

From above a shimmering disc of blue begins to form, the air growing dry as moisture is drawn into the circle and condensed. From that circle a powerful blast of water shoots into the sandy ground, soaking it through and through making the entire sandy pit into a dense clump of sand. From the quagmire, Sand’s true form appears, covered in the sandy gunk and bogged down by it’s weight. Quickly Sakura rushes up and slams her staff down, “CLOW CARD RETURN TO YOUR POWER CONFINED! SAND CARD!!”

Tendrils of energy shoot out, encapsulating the card’s physical form, transforming it, and turning it back into a card. It shoots into the air, and lands in Sakura’s hand.

Nina, dazed and dirty, turns and claps from her resting position on the ground, “You did it!” As everyone gathers around Sakura, whose blushing, Tomoyo taps her on the shoulder, “Now all we need to do is retrieve King Penguin.”

“What?” Sakura asks, confused, “What do you---” (stops and looks) “---hooooeeee!!!” King Penguin rested half trapped in the sand, tilted at an awkward angle. Nina, putting her rifle down, moves in a mock stumble towards the slide and screams “Damn you, King Penguin! You did it! You did it!”

“Yeah, yeah, Planet of the Apes. Figures.” Keiko grumbles, annoyed by Nina’s antics. “Get a life.”

It takes a little effort, and the tech shuttle of Nina’s which she summons to the park via remote, but eventually the penguin is dug out and set upright again. By the time the news crews arrive everyone had already left and the situation was resolved.

The Daidouji Residence
Keiko sat quietly on the second story balcony outside of Mirra/Hikaru’s room, watching the clouds roll by. She had been rather quiet since Eve went to see her parents, and yet she didn’t seem angry or frustrated, she just seemed deep in thought.

Suddenly she turns and smiles, motioning for Tomoyo to join her outside. “You alright?” she asked, “You seem rather worn down today. Sand?” Tomoyo shakes her head, “No. Not Sand, but---” Silence reigns for a bit, until finally…

* * * * * *

The night before.
Shh. Tomoyo’s sleeping.
While dreams, true dreams that those of the waking world take for granted, are not to be had here, dream they still can (in a sense).

Instead of dreams they see visions. Sometimes to occupy a mind craving something to fill the void between “darkness” and the light of “dawn”. Sometimes to help the person remember something, or someone.
Sometimes it’s a hint or a clue to something yet to come -- or a painful reminder of what came before.

For Tomoyo it’s the last of these which has her dreaming. Tears flowed hotly down her face, stinging her eyes and making her face red. Sakura was back, and she was her’s -- but at a price. When Sakura came back she was on cloud nine, then it happened. She became sick for no reason, and her mother began to dread. She was taken to the hospital and -- Tomoyo wakes up, eyes glancing about the darkened bedroom.

Suddenly she could feel movement to her side, and knew she wasn’t the only one up. “What’s wrong, Sakura-chan.” For what seemed like forever there was only silence, then in a thin whisper she said “Why can’t we have children? Children of our own I mean. Mirra-chan is a beautiful daughter but-- I mean--”

Tomoyo lowers her head, knowing that it had finally come to past.
The day she had dreaded was here. She had to tell Sakura the truth now. She laid back, and at first tried to be relaxed about it. “Girls can’t make girls pregnant, remember?”

“But -- with the stuff they have today? Can’t we -- can’t we make a baby? I mean, I’ll work hard to get a job as a mage after school and become the best mistress of the cards in the world so I can support you and our baby! Can’t we --”

“Money isn’t the problem, Sakura-chan. You can’t bear our child because I’m not -- suitable -- to bear offspring with you. No magical lineage.”

“But --”

“And I can’t bear our child because -- papa made me sterile.”

“---Tomo-chan---” Sakura rasped, Tomoyo already picturing Sakura shoving her fists into her mouth in the darkness to stifle her whimpers. With that she grasped Sakura tightly, drawing her shivering body close to comfort her at tears rolled down her face. “It’s alright. It’s alright.”

“But why--- how---” she cried, no doubt confused by what Tomoyo said. With a deep breath she rolled herself onto her back, drawing Sakura with her, so she could slowly tell her what happened. “When you returned, do you remember a few weeks later when I became sick? And I had to go to the hospital after awhile?”

“Yes.” Sakura answered meekly. “Well -- that day --”

* * * * * *

Tomoyo’s flashback
Tomoyo sat on the bed of the doctor’s exam room stunned. She reached down and slowly ran a circle about her belly beneath the cloth of the examination robes she wore, then she drew a figure eight.
Sonomi wouldn’t stop crying. She didn’t want Tomoyo to see her cry, but she knew that mother was crying in another room. Tomoyo was pregnant.

Her “father” had made her pregnant. With that she clenched her eyes shut and damned her “father” for the first time in her life. She lost her virginity to him. Her first time. And now, she could lose Sakura’s love if she knew -- she saw only pain and regret in this yet, as she touched her belly with one finger, she wondered what it would be like to have a daughter of her own.

But her mother wasn’t ready for it, and neither was she. Her mother’s money made a lot of things appear in Tokyo, but that day she used her fortune to make something disappear…

The night before
“Abortion?” Sakura whispered, feeling Tomoyo nod her head. “Mother said I was too young to have a baby of my own while I was still a “baby” myself. I couldn’t raise my child properly, and I feared -- I was going to lose you if you knew I was -- burdened with child.”

“Noooo -- noooo -- I wouldn’t have left you -- I love you!!”

“I know! I know!” Tomoyo cried, holding Sakura tighter, “But I was so afraid, and I didn’t know what to do! I leaned on mother for support and she told me that I had to have an abortion! I couldn’t say no, but I didn’t want the baby to die so I -- asked them to -- remove the baby so it could be born by another.”

“Is that -- possible?” Sakura asked, “Yes.” Tomoyo said, “But in the end -- there was a mistake.”

* * * * * *

Tomoyo’s flashback
Sonomi was furious. She looked ready to kill. Her screams echoed throughout the hospital. She was ready to kill someone. Tomoyo laid in her hospital bed stunned. She couldn’t move.

When Sakura came to see her she put up a brave front, hiding the truth. They did it in one day. With the technology of the 23rd Century, and a fortune fueling the job’s costs, Sonomi had her former husband’s “mark” removed from Tomoyo -- but it was too fast. In her rush she pushed too hard, and because it was done that day they couldn’t prepare for all the possible repercussions of saving the slowly growing fetus instead of killing it outright.
When she came out of the operating room Tomoyo was sterile.

The operation damaged her reproductive systems beyond hope of repair, even with 23rd Century tech. It was a fluke, a one in a million mishap often practiced for in Medical School, but that didn’t comfort Sonomi who blamed herself and the doctors for the damage caused to her precious baby. Sonomi was on the edge of a breakdown, but she hid it from Tomoyo to keep her spirits high.

She agreed to take anti-depressants, medications, anything to keep herself together if only for Tomoyo’s sake. But Tomoyo felt cheated by this. She couldn’t lose her virginity to Sakura. Sakura couldn’t be her first. And now she couldn’t even bear Sakura’s child.
Everything pure and wholesome she ever dreamed about was taken away from her by her father. Her first time, her first child, but not her first love. When Tomoyo turned 14 Sakura gave her a beautiful ring and vowed one day to be her one and only.

That day Tomoyo cried, and Sakura thought she angered her friend. She smiled, tears flowing down her cheeks, and whispered “But I’m happy! I’m so happy---” When Sakura turned 16 Tomoyo gave her a ring of her own, and gave herself body and soul. The minute she opened her robes, allowing them to drop to her feet baring her nude form to Sakura she knew that she would be Sakura’s forever. But what she never told Sakura was the first time they made love she wanted to cry -- she felt like she was giving Sakura a ruined “gift”, a spoiled unwanted shell of a young woman that she had no right presenting to her beautiful Sakura-chan.

Sakura, not realizing then about Tomoyo’s misgivings, asked her why she was crying. “You deserve better than me.” she whispered, to which Sakura replied “But all I ever wanted is you. Ever since the day I realized how truly special you were to me, all I ever wanted was you.” From that day forward Sakura had never faltered, never failed Tomoyo once, never left her side. At times poor Sakura-chan beats herself down because she fells at times she isn’t worthy of Tomoyo’s love, to that she smiles.

She herself felt so often that she could never be worthy of Sakura’s love that hearing Sakura say that made her realize how petty and baseless her fears were. She would gently reprimand Sakura for her silly thoughts -- only because she had felt the same way time and time again, but realized that they were as untrue as Sakura‘s fears that Tomoyo did not love her.

Finally, after a long time of soul searching and thought, Tomoyo came to the conclusion eventually that she was indeed worthy of Sakura’s love, because she knew Sakura was always worthy of her love.

* * * * * *

The night before
Sakura reached down, and touched Tomoyo’s belly, “If I had the power to take back what happened to you, and give you a child of our love I would---” tears rolled down Sakura’s cheeks and she tried to hold them back, gritting her teeth to be brave. “I would do anything for you -- anything.”

“Sakura-chan---” she whispered, holding Sakura tightly. “Let it go. Don’t hold your tears back for me -- let it go--“
As Sakura collapsed into her grasp, they held each other tight until all their tears were wept, and all their fears shed away in their warm embrace. Slowly their eyes fluttered close and they fell asleep held tightly together, the sound of their heartbeats lulling them to sleep.

* * * * * *

The present Keiko nods her head, looking abit worn from the telling.
“I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t tell anyone.” Tomoyo admitted, “Only mother, Fuu, Sakura and you know -- and I trust --”

“That I won’t tell a soul. Ok, leave it to me.” Keiko whispers, winking at Tomoyo as she takes her leave. Tomoyo sits down in the chair, and looks out over the yard.

To Be Continued (3 to go before 100)

CardCaptor Sakura Remastered IV Episode 5 (10)

NOTE - Happy 4th of July!

CardCaptor Sakura Remastered IV Episode 5 (10)

Back to Tokyo

It was raining when Sakura woke up. It was the weekend so she didn’t
need to wake up early, but still she wished it was sunny. “I was going
to go blading’ too.” she thought out loud, a sad mopey face greeting
Tomoyo as she stared at her from the bedside, “Sorry.”

“Tomo-chan!” she gasped, nearly leaping out of bed, realizing too late
that Tomoyo had brought breakfast for her in bed. “I could have done
that! I---”

“Hush.” she firmly commanded, putting a hand on Sakura’s shoulder and
gently pressing her back into the bed, “I want you to sit and eat
breakfast. After all sometimes I want to be the one to surprise my
precious in bed with breakfast.”

“---Tomo-chan---” she whispered, feeling her face blush from the
attention. As they ate the topic of the rain came up, “Yeah. We were
going to study also. I heard everyone is still coming though so we
should scrap plans to do it outside and study in here today.”

“Hoeeee----” Sakura whimpered. She loved Tomoyo a lot, and wanted to
be her best for her, but she just didn’t take to the idea of studying
very well. In fact she was rather down on it the minute Tomoyo
mentioned it. “Studying---”

“It’s good for your grades. Have to bring them up before final exams.”

“Hooe!” Sakura cried again, becoming more worried and stressed than
she already was. She wasn’t a particularly bad student, yet she wasn’t
a particularly good student either. Still, her highest trait was that
she tested well. When she tested, at least, she did exceptionally
well. It was the classes in between tests that troubled her the most.
Still, as Tomoyo said, she could stand to bring her grades up before
final exams regardless of whether she tested well or not.

As they ate a slight glint went across Tomoyo’s eyes and Sakura had
the suspicion that she was up to something. “Tomo-chan? What are you
thinking about?”

“Me? Nothing.”

“-----” Sakura sat there, munching, yet staring at Tomoyo intensely as
if waiting for her to admit something. Finally she did, in a soft
voice, “Cloud came to ask me for advice on how to keep Kero’s heart.”

“Kero’s heart?” she asked, confused, as Tomoyo elaborated. “I think
they’re in love, and Umi told me they’ve been a “pair” since the
beginning. But she’s feeling a little insecure about keeping his
feelings towards her strong so -- maybe --”

“Did you tell her that Kero loves video games and food?”

“I did.”

“And?” Sakura leans forward, interested all of a sudden. “She pouted
and said “Well THAT’s so obvious!” and stormed off in a huff. I think
she was hoping for bedroom tips from me.”

“Bedroom---” (Sakura turns bright red) “---h-h-h-”

“Hoe?” Tomoyo helps, to which Sakura nods her head up and down fast,
practically glowing red with embarrassment. “W-w-w-why?!? S-s-s-she’s
TOO young!!”

“Actually she’s older than mama, so she’s the right age--- you look
like your going to faint.”

Sakura’s eyes spun, her face was red like a lobster, and she was
sweating full ammo clips of sweat. “AUUGGHH!!”

“I guess maybe you weren’t ready for that yet.” Tomoyo admitted,
smiling meekly at Sakura’s reaction.

It didn’t help when five minutes later Kero came into the room asking
if Cloud was ready for sex in her present form. Sakura screamed,
cried, and hid beneath her blankets (thankfully she already finished
eating breakfast before Kero showed up). “Oh come on!” Kero yelled,
prodding her beneath her blankets as Tomoyo looked on rather
concerned, “Do we freak everytime you and Tomoyo do the nasty? Come
on!! Help me out here!!”

“WAAHHHH!!!”

“I think Sakura-chan’s having a bad day.” Tomoyo whispered, nudging
for Kero to leave. “Well that’s no good! What about our needs? We’re
grown individuals! Sure we look underaged but it’s all perfectly
legit!”

Sakura just didn’t seem to want to stop crying. Tomoyo spent five
minutes just to coax her out of her blankets, and another five to get
her to come to her “lab” kitchen on the second floor and ask for some
advice on Cloud’s predicament from the other Clow girls.

Umi, Gaia, Eve (Dark), Dawn (Light) & Fuu (the Daidouji Estates’ maid)
were all eating breakfast as Tomoyo led the rather shaky and spooked
Sakura into the kitchen to talk. Umi looked at her from head to toe,
and seemed concerned. “Have you been introducing mistress to some new
sextoys? She looks rather worn out and stressed today.”

“Maybe it’s her diet. She needs more greens.” Gaia mentioned, taking
another bite out of her spinach omelet. “Greens are always good for
growing young women.”

“Mistress needs more time in the sun.” Dawn noted, while Eve simply
replied, “She needs a good night’s sleep. After the sex of course, but
still she needs a solid sleep after the fun.”

Fuu simply asked for more eggs and didn’t add her two cents in, even
at Tomoyo’s insistence.

“So,” Umi finally asked, “How far do you think they went?”

“PHHTT!!” (Sakura spit out her drink looking flustered)

“Now or before? Because they went beyond “all the way” before if you
remember. When he was a big tiger and she was a full grown woman?
They‘d do it like animals and--- mistress? Are you OK? You look like
you‘re about to cry--- more than you are presently crying now I mean.” Gaia adds, slowly looking rather concerned.

“-----”

“Now of course! Then doesn’t count because that was then, this is
now!“ Umi remarked, ignoring Gaia’s frantic look and her “subtle”
motioning towards Sakura who looked nearly ready to faint, “I bet sex
between the two of them must be awkward as heck considering he‘s tiny,
she‘s “lolicon“ material, and---”

“Ahhhhhhhh!!!” Sakura wailed, arms waving frantically to catch Umi’s
attention, “Yes?”

“Do we need to talk about this?!? Can‘t we talk about something
else?!?””

“Uh---“ (catches Gaia’s frantic expression) “Sure, mistress. But isn’t
the topic of Kero and Cloud the reason why you asked us in here for in
the first place?”

“I’m sure Kero isn’t equipped now to handle Cloud’s needs.” Dawn
(Light) noted, “She’s been rather upset and uptight about their
“situation” for sometime now. I think she’s just frustrated that she’s
not getting any and---” (Eve (Dark) nudges her to silence her) “---oh.
Sorry. Almost got too graphic.”

Sakura was red from face to toe, obviously not needing very much to
stimulate her imagination as to what was going through Dawn’s head at
the moment. “Pwhee!!” she cried, “Why do I have to listen to this?!!?”

“Because your our mistress?” Umi replied, laying out her advice as
everyone listened with focused attentions, except for Sakura whose
attention strayed as she was frozen with shock from having to listen
to all this talk in the first place.

At that moment? Sakura wished she was somewhere else.

Tomoyo smiled, and placed her hands around Sakura’s ear to help her
drown out the words.

* * * * * *

When it came to her schoolwork one thing was abundantly clear. Sakura
Kinomoto had her strong points, and she had her weak points.

When it came to her strong points? PE was one of them.

When it came to her weak points? Math, Japanese and English was some
of them.

But Tomoyo remained persistent, and sat by Sakura’s side once again as
“Study Buddies” started, fully determined to help Sakura with her
grades.

Some were there to help, like Rebecca (History) and Eve (general
knowledge) for instances.

Some were there to learn, like Nina & Syaoran Li for starters.

Some were there because their significant others were present (Keiko).

Some were there for the promise of free food as well as because their
significant other was present (Nina, oddly enough, was there to BOTH learn and eat at the same time).

All in all one thing was clear though, they were there, and they were
there to learn.

Kero was of course banned from the room since everyone knew he would
sway people with his Dark Side powers and lure studiers off to play
video games. So he kept to his room with Cloud and played video games.
Hikaru & Mirra were present, even though their tests would be easier
to master than Sakura’s.

Still, Sakura was struggling abit. Math being the hardest for her.

It was during math study that she brought up the question of Ms.
Mitsuki.

Nobody seemed to have an answer to that one. Now, yes, truth be told
not many of the newcomers like Keiko and Nina liked Ms. Mitsuki, each
for their own reasons. Sakura? She adored her. She made her feel all
floaty. But still it wasn’t like Tomoyo. Tomoyo made her feel as if
she was skipping along heavenly clouds, Ms. Mitsuki made her feel
“floaty”. There was a difference.

Keiko shrugged her shoulders and looked baffled at the sudden mention
of her, “I don’t even know why your bringing her up. It’s not like
she’s family or a die hard close friend, she just comes and goes of
her own free will mostly.”

“Sorta like an alley cat only she doesn’t seem to go into heat every
so often -- then again she could be in heat right now and we wouldn’t
even know it which explains why she ---” (sighs) “---and Sakura’s
falling apart again so forget I mentioned anything.”

Sakura didn’t look like she could handle the topic of Ms. Mitsuki as
an alley cat, let alone one in “heat”, so Keiko redirected the topic.
“I’m sure she’s fine. I checked with the school when she “disappeared”
and they have it on record that she’s on “leave” for awhile. I don’t
know why she’s on leave, or why she didn’t leave Sakura a message, so
I’m guessing it’s personal business.”

“But still---” Sakura sighed, her head turning slightly as Tomoyo puts
her arm around Sakura’s shoulder, “I’m sure she’s just fine. We’ll see
her again.”

Sakura smiles, and leans against Tomoyo briefly, basking in the warmth
of her feelings, before going back to the numbers before her. For some
reason the numbers seemed less daunting as long as Tomoyo was giving
her help with the equations.

She knew she’d see Ms. Mitsuki again, it was only a matter of time.

* * * * * *

She wished she didn’t have to see Ms. Mitsuki, but she was part of the
“package”. As she stood in the observation room of the Medico Bay and watched over Mimic, Catherine entered the room. “She knows we’re here.” Kaho noted.

“Oh, really.” Catherine replied, noticing part of the “mirror” was
fogged up and someone had written the words “HOW MUCH LONGER?” on the
glass. Kaho leaned back in her chair as she motioned to the words,
remarking “I think she’s getting rather antsy.”

“That makes two of us.” Catherine shot back half-heartily, looking
through the glass at Mimic as she sat down, “Jack sends his love and
three new “associates” for the job.” (sighs again) “And why am I
telling you all this anyway?”

“Because we’re “partners” in crime?”

Catherine didn’t like the sound of that one bit, but Kaho elaborated,
“Without me you wouldn’t have known when Mimic was good and ready to
be “picked up”. Also you wouldn’t have known to stay out of Tokyo and
keep from recruiting while the SpellThrashers were keeping an eye out
for any Clow girl recruitment drives after Mimic’s disappearance.
Speaking of Mimic, did you think it was wise to deploy her so soon---”

“Give it a rest already.” Catherine hissed, “You don’t need to be
psychic to know that security would have been kicked up several
notches after Mimic’s disappearance. That’s common sense.”

“Is it “common sense” that Captain Lazarus called when he did? As I
said he would? Is it also “common sense” that you need me if your
ambitions are to---”

“You have ambitions too. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t if you won’t.”

A bit of an unbearable silence fills the air as the two regard each
other, “Keiko’s right, you are creepy.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Whatever---”

Catherine stands up and motions towards Mimic who was sitting quietly
in her bed waiting, “Tell her it’s not going to be much longer. We
should be leaving soon.”

“I’ll tell her that.” Kaho agreed, looking back at the Clow girl.
“Anything else I should tell her?”

“Over your dead body.”

The doors shut behind her, leaving Kaho alone to ponder the thinly
veiled “threat”.

* * * * * *

As she re-entered her private office she re-calculated her “assets”.
She had Mimic on her team. That’s one.
Three more females were sent to her, since there was no CLAMP School the send them away to. Kaho Mitsuki. Like it or not she made five.
That left two more to go. But who---

A thin wispy feeling drifted across her mind. Short, brief, but there
nevertheless.

She felt as if someone was crying out in their mind in anguish and
pain. It was so faint she could barely hear it, but hear it she did.
Somebody was hurting badly.

Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit. With that feeling etching into her
mind slowly but surely she knew she had to shelf everything for now.

The mission, the work, even thoughts of her. She put them all aside
and focused on her job.

And as she teleported out she felt something else as well.

This was the break she needed to finish her team. She could feel it.
But why would she feel that now---?

Why with this feeling of dread and pain? It made no sense.

Yet. But it would soon.

Speaking of which she still had to check in on Mimic--- once she
returned.

* * * * * *

Cheerleading practice went well enough.If not for the mere fact that Sakura’s mind wasn’t focusing on her tasks. Twice she nearly dropped her baton. One time she did--- on her head.
All in all she couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had been
happening of late.

But this time it was more along the lines of the troubles with Kero and Cloud and other relationship problems than any external ills. Except one. The missing Clow Cards that she still had to capture.

The appearance of Meilin sometime ago was abit more comforting than worrying, and now Syaoran Li which was becoming a worrisome thing.
And now Kaho Mitsuki’s disappearance.

There was a lot of things going on, and Sakura was behind on most of
them. She felt rather out of the loop for someone who was charged with
protecting this world from Clow Card disasters. She wished she didn’t
feel that way, but she couldn’t help it -- it overwhelmed her at
times, her responsibilities.

Maybe Tomoyo could cheer her up. As she walked along the school
grounds after practice she heard Tomoyo’s voice. It was low, at first,
but then it started to grow.

She was singing. The voice just seemed to calm Sakura and ease away
her fears as she listened.

She let the voice lead her to where Tomoyo was practicing, if only to
watch her secretly as she sang.

As she reached the window she leaned against the wall and listened
silently, Tomoyo’s words seemingly taking her away from all her
worries and concerns and lifting her up to a place where she could
feel her burdens slipping away. She smiled, her arms wrapping around
herself as she listened. “She has a pretty voice.” she sighs.

“It is pretty.” the voice whispers from behind her, sending Sakura
spinning around in shock only to come face to face with, “Meilin?!”
she whispered in shock, Meilin motioning for her not to panic, “Shh!”
she hissed, motioning toward the windows where Tomoyo was practicing.
Sakura quickly clamped her hand to her mouth and nodded her head to
show she understood. As the two turned to listen, Meilin looked rather
distant, her eyes staring at Tomoyo yet not at her at the same time.

“Funny.” she muttered, though it seemed that she was only talking to
herself and not to Sakura at all, “I thought Tomoyo would get over
you. If she realized you and Li would be forever then -- maybe -- she
would have found room in her heart for --- for--”

“For you?” Sakura finished, to which Meilin nodded her head, “But in
the end we both got what we wanted.”

“Pwhee?” Sakura whispered, to which Meilin replied, “You got the love
of your life even if you didn’t know it would be Tomoyo, and I got the
love of my life -- strange how the ones we were meant to be with
aren’t the ones we at first fell in love with. It’s only after a lot
of trial, heartbreaks, and errors that we find our true loves.”

“That’s deep.” Sakura sighed, looking a little confused from it all,
“Xai’s been telling me that I’ve become rather deep lately in my
words. I hope that’s not a bad thing.”

“No--- maybe.”

By now Tomoyo was done with practice, noticing Sakura waiting for her
outside. As the two exchanged pleasantries and kisses, Meilin
retreated away from the quiet scene, a bit of a smile on her lips.

To Be Continued