Hello all! I’m taking a break from A World Beyond Ours and Battlecry (which I beg you to read…yeah…shameless self-promotion), just to write some one-shot lil’ alternate reality poemfic of mine. Believe me, I have no idea where this came from…knowing that I am this happy-go-lucky-gotta-have-happy-endings person…*shudders*. But R/R, none the less!

I in the Dark, and You in the Light

"Who are you, what do you want? Are you a Clow Card?" The cry rang throughout the town, but no one heard except for Sakura and the unknown attacker, for every single person, including Tomoyo, was asleep, put in a spell that until that moment, Sakura thought only the Sleep card could do. But the shadow amidst the forest darkness was also capable of such a thing, strangely. She stared, unable to make out the features of the figure, except for the piercing amber eyes that seemed to slice her open. She held her staff out in front of her, ready for battle, if it would come. Kero lay on the floor a few feet away, already down and unconscious. Now there was only Sakura left.

Sakura was almost positive it wasn’t a card, for all cards, to her knowledge, were either female, or animals. But she could see the outline of the silhouette in the dark, it was definitely not an animal, and something told her it wasn’t her gender. "No." it answered simply. The voice was smooth but was filled with enough venom to tell her not to make another move.

"Step out, I dare you!" She didn’t know if Kero would have deemed that a good decision, but she couldn’t think of anything else at the moment. The figure mysteriously obeyed, and the shadows that were once dwelling on the figure’s face instantly disappeared as moonlight hit it. Sakura gasped. In front of her, stood a boy her age, with the same cool amber eyes and unruly brown hair. He too was clothed in costume, but one that differed greatly from hers. It was green instead of pink, and it looked Chinese. "Who…are you?" she stuttered.

"Are you a Cardcaptor?" he asked stubbornly. She nodded dumbly, unable to tear her gaze from the amber eyes. She saw them suddenly narrow, and figured that her answer was the wrong one. In the next second, he jumped and prepared to leap upon her. Using his sheathed sword, he knocked the staff out of her hands in the air, but in turn, was left with no weapon himself. So he did the next best thing. He pinned her down to the floor and stared angrily down at her. Sakura felt a blush creep up her cheeks…her enemy was handsome…

"What…do you want?" she asked timidly. He squeezed her wrists tighter as she tried to break free.

"Your life. I am to kill you."

"But why? What have I done wrong?"

"Everything. Ever since you became Cardcaptor. I was supposed to assume that role, you’ve just taken it from me, like taking candy from a baby, and now, I intend to take it back, once I get rid of you." Sakura felt fear flood every single inch of her body, and the hotness from her cheeks immediately disappeared, filled with cold dread. And the next thing she knew, she was screaming.

She closed her eyes and let it all out, hoping that someone would wake up and hear her, hoping that someone would help. But she heard no one come, no footsteps against the ground, no cry of worry for her, nor did she feel her attacker’s grip loosen. So she screamed louder, until she felt like something was being ripped out from her chest, and thrown at the boy who had her in his grasp. And finally, the hands that held her wrists suddenly disappeared, as she heard him land on the floor. She stayed on the floor for a while, eyes closed, hoping that he was really defeated.

And when she opened her eyes, she sighed a breath of relief. No boy was blocking her vision. As she turned her head to the side, she gasped. She was staring straight into his face, twisted with pain, and then she saw the floating staff behind him, and she knew what that ripping sensation was. Pushing herself slowly up, she extended her hand as the staff came flying gently into her hand. Using it as support to stand up, she looked down at the unconscious attacker…and gasped at the sight of the bleeding wound on the side of his forehead. She figured she hit him harder than she had wanted to.

Looking around, she noticed that no one was awake yet. So, alone, she half-stumbled, half-dragged him to a park bench and lay him down. Biting off a piece of her sleeve, she rolled it up around her fingers and proceeded lightly to dab his wound, whispering. "I’m sorry, please wake up, I’m sorry…" she knew that Kero would surely scold her for this, but she couldn’t care less. She couldn’t leave him here like this.

Finally, his eyes opened, the stunning amber eyes, drowsily, and they looked sleepily up at Sakura. As the attacker’s vision came into focus, his brows furrowed. "You…Cardcaptor…why did you help?" he managed to say in a hushed tone. Sakura smiled sweetly at him.

"I’m sorry for doing that, I didn’t want to hurt you this badly. I just wanted to escape. And I couldn’t leave you here by yourself like that, I don’t think I could bear it." His eyes narrowed again, and he pushed her away, sitting up.

"Go away. If this is some trick of yours, I’m not falling for it. And I don’t need pity and charity from my enemy." he said, turning away. Sakura stood alone for a moment, the bloody piece of fabric around her hand, biting her lip.

"I…was only trying to help."

"I don’t need your help." He shot back quickly. Sakura wanted to reason with him, and as she took a step forward, she didn’t notice the fallen sword from before lying on the ground. As her foot hit it, she lost her balance and fell forward; her eyes closed in fright.

Right on to him.

When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself being held up by his hands, which were pushing her up by her shoulders. She blinked and blushed dark shades of crimson, as she realized that she had pushed him down onto the bench on his back. Looking away, she pushed herself up and bowed in apology. "Sorry…" she managed to say, but she was staring at the floor uneasily. His touch had felt so cold, and his eyes had been so solid…like he didn’t care for a soul in the world.

She had followed him through the forest when he had got up and left. She knew he noticed her behind him, but he hadn’t said a word yet. On impulse, he turned on his heels and glared at her, pushing his head angrily forward, Sakura noticed that it was painstakingly near to hers…and she turned red. "Why are you following me? Why don’t you go back to your little stuffed animal now? You’ve beat me, happy? Were you waiting for me to admit it? Now go away! Leave me alone!" he yelled. Her eyes widened at the hate that filled those words.

"But I’m sorry. I want to make it up to you. Please tell me how."

"What are you sorry for, girl?"

"I’m sorry for falling like that. My name is Sakura, what’s yours?"

"Why do you want to know my name? Who said I wanted to know yours?" he sounded almost hysterical. But she stared innocently up at him, hurt filling every brim of her eyes. He suddenly felt something inside melt and turn into jelly with the look she gave him, and he drew his head back, trying to figure out what that feeling was. She was so…he searched for the word…sweet. And for some reason, she cared about someone who was trying to kill her. An unusual one, he thought. Turning forward, he muttered a softer reply. "My name is Syaoran. Nice to meet you…Sakura." He said. Why am I doing this for her? What do I owe her?

She suddenly beamed and smiled. "Very pleased to meet you, Syaoran. Syaoran…that’s a nice name." Though he wasn’t facing her, he felt an unfamiliar heat wave rush up to his neck and into his face. What is this feeling? Is she putting a spell on me? What does she want? He turned around and stared at the floor. "What is this feeling when you suddenly feel hot…Sakura?"

Sakura looked clueless for a second, then burst into giggles. "It’s called blushing…" she said, suddenly realizing what her words meant. She quieted down. "It’s what you do when…you…" she suddenly stopped and stared into his amber red eyes, which were staring gently into her emerald pools.

"When you…" he whispered. She shrugged and lied.

"I don’t know." Not receiving an answer, Syaoran stared at her and abruptly turned around, feeling the blush again. Soon, he continued walking. "May I follow you, Syaoran?"

"No…" he paused and hesitated…"if you want…" What am I doing?

"Sakura…" Syaoran whispered into her ear. She snuggled up closer to his chest and lay her head back on his shoulder. He smiled slightly at the warmth and wrapped his arms around her. When he threatened to pull them back, Sakura held them there and sighed deeply. "How did we get into this predicament?" She shrugged.

"I don’t know." She said. She breathed evenly and quietly. "I don’t care."

"Sakura…what is this feeling?" he said as he played with the little pink puffball on her shoulder that was part of the costume Tomoyo had tailored for her. He felt her cheek against his neck as she replied.

"I think they call this love."

"But we were enemies an hour ago."

"A lot can happen in an hour. Syaoran…"

"Yes?"

"Tell me that you return what I feel." He hesitated before replying, suddenly remembering his duty as a Cardcaptor to get rid of the one he held in his arms. But he couldn’t…yet he didn’t dare go back to his family after failing. If he told her he loved her, it would be an unbreakable commitment…but it was the truth. Yet if he told her he loved her…he would be dragging her deep into the punishment that his family gave him…and he couldn’t bear that. But to deny that fact, would be torture, to her, and to him.

Unbearable torture and he didn’t want to put her through that.

"Yes. I do." He said. She smiled gently and stared up into his eyes, before pushing his head down lightly so that his lips met hers again.

Syaoran glanced once more at the sleeping figure on his bed, covered by blankets and resting her head on his pillow. His heart was aching to stay, to tell her a million times that he loved her, and to hear her say that she loved him too a million times back. But he couldn’t, for he had already failed his duty. And yet, somewhere inside, he felt that he had accomplished something, that actually, he had won, for he had Sakura. And the tough ragged elders who screeched day in and day out about how he must not let them down, none of them have anyone. He was glad he wouldn’t turn out like them.

Grabbing his sword from the table near the door, he stared once again upstairs at the door of his room. He didn’t want to leave a message, for something that could be kept for a long time would cause heartbreak many more times than what he did now would. And he didn’t want to tell her now, because obviously, she wouldn’t let him go. So he would leave, by himself.

And he would leave for good, so that he would never cause trouble for her…the one he loved.

He didn’t feel any pain when the blade came ramming into his chest. Nor did he feel any cold when he saw his own puddle of blood beside him, the teeming red life pouring out of him like water out of a vase. But he did feel a sense of right doing, a sense that he had done what he should have. And he knew that Sakura would understand, and that was all he needed to know. But as thoughts drifted quickly to Sakura, he smiled, for her understanding wasn’t the best part.

No, it wasn’t.

The best part was…he knew he loved her…and that she loved him back.