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Friendship's Bondage Disclaimer: All characters in story are the property of Clamp.
Story is written entirely for entertainment. No violations
are intended. Sakura Kinomoto, a young brown-haired girl with large curious green eyes, stood alone in a dark void. In her hand was the "Book of Sakura" formerly known as the "Book of Clow". She opened the book and studied its contents. Unlike other books, there were no pages, only cards. She slowly and carefully picked one up and studied it. The reddish-orange card glowed a bright white light. Sakura shut her eyes in its intensity then as sudden as it appeared, it faded. In her hands was no longer the red-orange card, but a pink and white one. She studied the pink-white card closer analyzing its every line and curve. She picked up another card from the book and compared the textural differences. *** "Sakura Kinomoto, what do you think of Poe's style that makes his writing unique from other writers of his time?" Terada-sensei asked as his eyes narrowed focusing onto Sakura who was dozing off at her seat by the window, the second last one from the row. "Huh?" Sakura muttered in a confused daze. "Nice to see you returning. Now from your response, I gather you find Poe's writing a bit plain." "No! I don't think..." Sakura trailed off. "Well then, what do you think of his style?" "I--" She began but her answer was abruptly interrupted by the bell signifying the end of class. Terada-sensei let out a sigh and turned to face the class. "That's all for today. Have a great lunch," he announced then turning back to Sakura "Stay awake next time," he winked. *** Sakura opened her locker with a great sigh relieved that the ever-long English class had finally come to a close. She tossed her reading books into her locker and pulled out her lunch. 'I'll stay awake next time' she promised herself and smiled then turned to her friend, Tomoyo Daidouji. "I really screwed up today, did I Tomoyo-chan?" she said. Tomoyo, a girl of the same height with pale skin and long black hair, was her life-long best friend. She was also Sakura's second cousin with the impulsive urge to film Sakura's life as though she was on the constant journey of producing Sakura's life biography. Tomoyo was always supportive, cheerful and talented. It was these qualities that made Sakura admire and envy Tomoyo. Tomoyo paused and smiled at Sakura "Don't worry! It wasn't too bad," she replied. So characteristic of Tomoyo! She would never say anything against Sakura. She would always manage to say something kind. "Next time I'll be awake in class," Sakura promised. "I'm sure you'd have come up with something good to say even if the class didn't end," Tomoyo reassured. "Oi! Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan! Rika has baked some chocolate cupcakes last night and wanted you guys to join us for lunch!" Chiharu called from down the hall. Chiharu was a classmate of Sakura. Her curly light brown hair was always tied in neat pigtails. She smiled at the two girls and waved them towards her. "Coming!" called Sakura and Tomoyo in unison. *** Other than Chiharu, Sakura and Tomoyo, there were two other girls sitting in a circle outside on the grass field in the warm day with a light breeze. The first girl was Naoko, a girl with short black hair with glasses. By far the most creative girl Sakura has met, Naoko loved fantasy and horror stories. The other was Rika, the girl who baked the chocolate cupcakes and kindly invited Sakura and Tomoyo to join her. She was a shy girl with short brown hair. She set the box containing the six cupcakes at the center of the circle and handed one to each of her friends. "I hope you like them," Rika smiled. Naoko took a deep bite into the cupcake and smiled broadly. "They are delicious! You must teach me to make them, Rika-chan!" Chiharu took a bite in hers. "Wait! There are only five of us but there are six cupcakes. Who are you going to treat the last cupcake to, Rika-chan?" Rika blushed slightly and mumbled "To someone special," Naoko and Chiharu's eyes widened. "To whom?" Rika blushed even more and shook her head. "Not going to tell you!" she insisted. Rika looked around the field then turned back to the others "Are you guys going to the Valentine Festival tonight?" she asked desperately trying to change topics. Much to Rika's surprise, her plan worked. The girls seemed to have forgotten about the last cupcake and started thinking about the festival. "Well, I'd love to go but I can't go with anyone," Naoko said staring at the ground. "Why? Won't your parents or your brother go with you?" Chiharu asked. Rika and Tomoyo stared at Chiharu and Naoko obviously confused. Chiharu merely glared at them back and Naoko continued to look at the grass. "You know, the Valentine Festival is not only for people who are in love with each other. They are also for friends and family and to anyone you care about. I used to go every year with my father and Touya. After all, the festival is a time to celebrate your feelings towards those you care about most." Sakura explained. Chiharu nodded in agreement but Naoko continued to look at the ground. "Well, my brother has a big project to do and my parents have to work late tonight," Naoko explained. "That's too bad," Tomoyo said. "Will you be going, Chiharu-chan?" Chiharu blushed and pulled on the grass nervously. "Yes, I will be going with Takashi-chan" "I won't be going. I have to catch up on my homework," Rika said. "I'd go if I had someone to go with," Tomoyo added. "Are you going, Sakura-chan?" Sakura turned away and looked beyond the grass-field of Tomeda Elementary and to Tomeda High School where her long crush to her brother's best friend, Yukito, studied. "No," she said longingly. "This year, Touya is working part-time at the festival and my dad's out a business trip. That's really too bad," she continued turning back to her friends, "I always love to see the lantern-floats," *** Eriol Hiragizawa, the new foreign student from England, had just finished eating his lunch with Takashi and the other boys in class. The thin and tall boy had short black hair and classes and was constantly smiling. Though he was kind to everyone, he had a different side. He had magical powers and had a staff much like Sakura's and his own guardians; but his reason for attending Tomeda Elementary was unknown. In fact, his true identity was still unknown to his friends. After hearing the fantastic stories from Takashi concerning the Valentine Festival, he was as curious as ever to this Japanese tradition. Though he was aware that most of Takashi's stories were just lies, he could not help wondering what the festivities were really like. There were a number of people who he could ask to go with him but he was only truly interested in one candidate, Sakura. He had a fascination with Sakura. It was not the fascination one would have with a loved one, but something much deeper and curious. He was curious of Sakura's powers and the newly converted Clow Cards. He was curious of Sakura's personality and her resourcefulness. Most of all, he was curious about her family. However, he kept all his thoughts tightly secured behind his false cheery smile and his openness to her and to help her at school and her extra-curricular ventures. He saw Sakura and her friends sitting at a distance enjoying cupcakes and thought this would be the most opportune time to ask her to accompany him to the Valentine Festival tonight. He passed by the giant trees that were providing a nice shade along the path to the girls as he glanced up to see another boy from his class sitting on one of the strong branches, Li Syaoran. Li was also of interest to him but to a much lesser extent than Sakura. He had seen Li with Sakura and battling hard with her helping her convert the Clow Cards into Sakura cards. He had some magical powers but not as strong as his. Li had messy dark brown hair and the most intensive dark crimson eyes. Li was quiet, shy, serious and very personal. He never mixed in with the other schoolboys. He was always alone and always staring. Some classmates thought Li was smug and arrogant, but he knows otherwise. Li was actually very kind and very protective of the people around him. It seemed that Sakura knew Li had a softer side as well. Eriole found Li very peculiar and very amusing. He knew exactly how to provoke Li and he enjoyed every moment of it. The thought of asking Sakura to the Valentine Festival would definitely put the relationship between Li and him at an all time low. After all, it was obvious to him that Li was attracted to and is very protective of Sakura. Eriole giggled sinisterly to himself at the thought of taking Sakura to the festival but he soon realized that it wouldn't be fair if he simply did that. Eriol would have to let Li into the scene and give him a chance to ask Sakura first. "Why do you always sit by yourself on the tree during lunch, Li Syaoran" Eriol asked as he stopped under the tree Li perched on. Li, who had been gazing at Sakura the entire time, was surprised by the sudden question. He looked down to see Eriol standing below looking back at him with a strange stare. In a quick stumble, he lost his balance and plunged to the ground. Before he hit the soft grass, Eriol reached out and caught Li in his arms. Li jumped up, stepped several paces away from Eriol and glared. "A smiple 'thank you' would have been fine. Hello Li-kun" Eriol smiled. "I didn't need your help," Li insisted smugly. "Ah! Then next time, please be more careful," Eriol replied as he walked past Li towards Sakura well aware that Li would follow him and see what he was doing. "Hello Eriol!" Chiharu called out from afar where she was sitting with her friends. Chiharu had seen Eriol approaching. "Hello everyone!" Eriol greeted as he walked up to the group. "I hope lunch was well," "We were just talking about the Valentine Festival tonight. Will you be going?" Rika asked Eriol. "I could answer that question in just one moment," Eriol replied kindly then turning to Sakura, "Sakura-chan, will you be going to the fest tonight?" Sakura stared back at Eriol in total confusion. "Huh?" "Well, I heard a lot about the fest from Takashi and the others during lunch. I was curious. I really want to learn as much as I can about life in Japan before I return to England. I would really love to go but I have no one to go with. I was hoping you would come with me," "Er! Ah!" Li choked from behind Eriol. Li had not moved an inch from where Eriol had caught him earlier. Li dashed up to the group as fast as he could and stood beside Eriol. "You can't do that!" he protested. Before he realized what he had said, the whole group had turned to face Li. Chiharu, Rika and Naoko seemed impressed by how fast Li had managed to show up at their group. Sakura and Tomoyo were simply surprised. "That is, of course, if Li would like to ask you first," Eriol continued trying to break the awkward moment. "I wasn't--" Li protested. "Ah, then I would," Eriol said. "No! I mean I..." Li stuttered. "Let me get this straight," Tomoyo interrupted, "Are you two trying to fight over who gets to ask Sakura-chan to the Valentine Festival tonight?" "Well no," Eriol answered, "I was wondering if Li would like to ask Sakura-chan to go," Li blushed until his entire face was as red as a tomato. The group turned to face him curiously. Sakura bent down a bit to meet Li's eyes. Gathering up all his courage, Li shook his head several times and shut his eyes tightly before finally muttered as quickly as possible "Would you go to the Valentine Fest with me tonight," Sakura looked at Li curiously and blushed. "Yes," Now the group's attention had shifted from Li to Sakura. "If you really want to go, Eriol-chan, I'd love to take you," Tomoyo offered breaking another awkward moment. "Thank you, Tomoyo-chan!" Eriol cheered. *** School had ended and Sakura had rushed home to prepare for the festival. She had washed up and was now brushing her hair and tying neat pink ribbons in it. Kero-chan sat by the mirror studying her suspiciously. The furry yellow teddy bear creature with wings looked much tamer than its true from, a winged lion. "Hmmm. What are you up to, Sakura-chan?" he asked. "I'm going to go to the Valentine Festival!" Sakura replied cheerfully. "Is there food?" Kero-chan asked hopefully. "Yes, but you're not going to come with me," Sakura insisted as she finished the last bit of her hair and had turned to change behind the closet door. "Why can't I come?" Kero whined. "Because, you're just going to eat everything and blow your cover!" Sakura called. "That sucks!" Kero protested as he crossed his arm and narrowed his eyes in anger. He knew no matter how hard he pleaded with Sakura, she would not change her mind. There was something in the tone of her voice that Kero picked up on. "Who are you going with then?" Sakura emerged from the closet dressed in a light pink kimono with white flower patterns. The pink matched the ribbons in her hair perfectly and the pale green strap on the kimono contrasted with her sparkling green eyes. Even then, Kero had to admit Sakura was a beauty. Sakura was straightening her dress in front of a full-length mirror as she heard Kero's question and blushed. "Yue?!" Kero gasped in shock. "No, Yukito-san has to work tonight. I won't be going with him," Sakura answered. "Ah!" Kero sighed breathing a sigh of relief. "Then is it that kid you told me about at school? The new kid?" Kero said as he thought hard about the name "Ah! Eriol! Are you going with Eriol?" "No, Eriol-chan is going with Tomoyo-chan tonight," Sakura answered with a smile. "Who then? I give up!" Kero protested. "Syaoran-kun," Sakura said simply. She moved away fromt eh mirror and looked around her desk. "What! That brat! You are going with the brat?!" Kero bellowed. Sakura simply blushed and continued to look around her desk. "Help me Kero-chan. What should I give to Syaoran-kun when he arrives to pick me up?" "A kick out the door," Kero muttered. "No, it has to be something nice and sentimental. It has to be something that reminds me of him. That's the tradition, you know. You give whoever you are going to go with to the Valentine Fest a gift that reminds you of that person," Sakura explained as she looked around her room past the Book of Sakura to a pen. "That's it!" she said triumphantly. "Even an old pen is too much for him," Kero muttered under his breath. He stepped away from the desk and flew by the window and looked out. Sakura looked angrily at him and then pulled out a box from a drawer and began to wrap the gift. "Didn't you notice that this was the pen I used to sign every one of my Clow Cards?" Without turning back to Sakura, "Don't look now, but the brat is coming and he's got something for you," Kero said tonelessly. Before Kero could finish his sentence, the doorbell chimed. Kero sighed and shook his head. "Why do you have to go with him?" Sakura merely ignored Kero's last question and ran downstairs to open the front door. With a smile "Hello Syaoran-kun!" she greeted. Li stood at the doorway looking at Sakura lost in her beauty. His faced turned bright red as he stuttered attempting to say "hello" but the only words that came out were "er" and "ah". Sakura looked at him curiously. "Please come in," she invited. Li blinked several times and finally muttered "Hello," before stepping into Sakura's house. He looked at the floor and outstretched his arm to handed her a gift bag "This is for you," Sakura's face flushed upon receiving the gift. Sakura didn't notice that Li had been staring at the floor. To avoid having him see her blush, she turned to look inside the bag. She reached inside and pulled a soft, gray teddy bear. Her eyes brightened as her face turned even redder. "Thank you very much," she said. As if taken aback by the comment, Li shot up to look at her. "Do you like it?" he asked. "It's very beautiful," Sakura replied meekly. Her face was almost as red as Li's now. "Did you make it?" "Yeah," Li said quietly and almost reluctantly. Then they were quiet. The two stood in the Kinomoto residence foyer for a few moments lost of words. Then to finally break the silence, Sakura said "I left your present upstairs. I'll go get it now," Then she turned around and headed up to her room. Kero emerged from the flights of stairs and flew towards Li. His eyes narrowed as he called out "Brat! Well, you certainly didn't come dressed! At least you came prepared," Li had suddenly stopped blushing as his eyes too narrowed to meet Kero's. "Say that again, stuffed animal!" "If you lay a finger on Sakura tonight..." Kero threatened. *** Sakura looked at the teddy bear Li had given her again. She held it close to her and sniffed it. It had the scent of fresh crisp autumn air that was Li. Sakura had remembered how Li smelled from having him always being near her. Sakura blushed. She placed the bear by her bedside and picked up the wrapped pen then headed back downstairs. *** As if a war had blown out since she left, Li and Kero were bellowing insults to one another much to Sakura's surprised as she emerged from the staircase. "Stop it you two!" Then suddenly, the two stopped bickering. Li looked embarrassingly at Sakura but Kero was still flushed with anger. "Back to my room Kero-chan," Sakura said and Kero complied giving Li one last menacing look. "Sorry," Li muttered now red from embarrassment. "It's OK, Syaoran-kun. I know Kero-chan can provoke you sometimes," Sakura said. "Here. I got this for you," she handed Li the gift. Li opened the box slowly to see a pen. He picked it up and examined it curiously. "It's the pen I used to sign every one of the cards I captured. Every time I think of you, I think of how you help me capture the cards. We really should get going to Tomoyo-chan's house" Sakura explained as she began to blush and opened the door. Li carefully put he pen back in the box and put it in his backpack and stepped out followed by Sakura. Kero looked on from the staircase as the couple left with contempt. *** The streets were dim and only the flickering street light and the round moon lighted the sky. Li walked nervously beside Sakura taking sideway glances at her graceful stature. Sakura blushed beside Li feeling giddy and nervous. "I'm really glad you asked me to go to the Valentine Festival with you. We have gone through so much together and have know each other for so long but we never seem to do anything together except things concerning the cards," Sakura said breaking the uneasy silence. "I'm really sorry I embarrassed you today," Li replied. "It wasn't so bad," Sakura smiled. "Spending the night with you having fun is worth it," Li was relieved to hear it. He smiled and turned to Sakura. "You look very nice in that," Sakura blushed and smiled. "I think Tomoyo-chan may have something for you," she said awkwardly as the two continued to walk in silence towards the Daidouji residence. *** "Oi! Sakura-chan! Li-kun!" Tomoyo waved from the front porch of her house. She was waiting there with Eriol who was wearing a blue and black outfit that was sewn by Tomoyo. Tomoyo was wearing a light and dark blue kimono to match Eriol. "Ah! Sakura-chan, you look very nice," Eriol complemented. "Thank you," Sakura replied. Li glared at Eriol in jealousy. "Li-kun! I made you something to wear to the festival! Come in!" Tomoyo insisted as she grabbed a hold of his hand and dragged the reluctant Li inside the house. "You'll need to change into it!" Sakura and Eriol gave each other a knowing glance as Li was dragged inside. Moments later Li emerged from the front door dressed in a dark-green outfit. Tomoyo was obviously much more serious in her design because the outfit actually complemented Li. "Doesn't he look nice?" Tomoyo asked with a glitter in her eyes proud of her latest creation. "He does," Eriol smiled and Sakura nodded. "Great! Let's get going!" *** Tomoyo and Sakura trailed at the back of Li and Eriol as the four walked in the dim light towards the festival which was by the beach. Tomoyo seemed pleased and excited that not only Eriol was wearing one of her outfits but also Li. "What did you give Li-kun for his invitation?" Tomoyo whispered next to Sakura. "I gave him the pen I signed my cards with," Sakura whispered back and blushed. "Syaoran-kun gave me a teddy bear," "That's so nice! Eriol-kun gave me a pair of scissors because he always imagine me making costumes and I gave him my happy-face bank," Sakura smiled at her best friend. Tomoyo could always make any occasion light and cheerful. The four had arrived at the gates of the festival. Li and Eriol turned back to face Sakura and Tomoyo. "So, what do you guys want to look at?" Tomoyo asked. "I could look at the lantern-floats all night!" Sakura smiled as she stared into the sky and down the ocean which was flooded with multi-coloured glowing lantern-floats each unique from the next. "I would really prefer to take a look all over the festival before looking at the floats," Eriol said. "Then it's simple! I can take Eriol around the festival and Sakura can look at the floats," Tomoyo suggested, "Would you like to come with us to see the festivities or do you want to stay and watch the floats, Li-kun?" Li looked longingly at Sakura and then turned to Tomoyo, "I'll stay," "We'll meet you at the floats when we're done looking!" Eriol called as he turned around to drag Tomoyo away. *** Sakura and Li sat along the beach shoreline looking as the masses released more floats into the ocean and the sky. Sakura studied every one of the floats in awe and admiration. Li looked at the floats for a bit and then studied Sakura's amazement. In the dim lights, her eyes still sparkled brightly. Li began to blush but shook it off. "What do these lantern-floats mean?" he asked Sakura finally drawing her attention away from the glittering spots. "Well, there's a legend that on this day, if you write a message to someone you cared about telling them your deepest thoughts and feelings and then sending it out on the floats, once the candle in the floats dies out and the floats are beyond the horizon, the person you wrote the message to will somehow receive the message intuitively," Sakura explained, "My father, Touya and I used to come here every year with our float and we'd write a message to my mother then we'd send it off. We made our own floats but some people buy theirs over there at those booths" "Then why are some in the sky and some in the water?" "I don't know. I think you're supposed to send it whichever way you feel best," Li studied Sakura's gaze for a moment then stood up and held out his hand. "Do you want to send a float this year?" Sakura smiled and reached for Li's hand. *** Sakura and Li had each bought a lantern-float to send out. Sakura was curious of what Li would write in his but Li was nervous about what Sakura would write. He quickly brushed the thought aside as he grabbed a piece of parchment. He turned around to see Sakura at the opposite end of the booth bending down writing her message. Li blushed as he watched her gentle body move in her frustration of phrasing the message. Li turned around to concentrate on his. There was only one thing he really wanted to write. In fact, there was only one thing he wanted the person he cared about the most to know. It was simple yet so complex because the person he loved the most, doesn't really know how he felt. He took up a nearby brush on the counter where he had stretched out a piece of parchment. "Sakura Kinomoto, I love you. Li Syaoran" he wrote in clear bold strokes. He blew on the ink to dry and put the message at the bottom of the float. Without giving the message a second thought, he gently replaced the candle and took the lantern over to the vendor to light the candle. Sakura was madly scribbling messages on the parchment. She had no idea what to write but was surprised that Li was done so quickly. She wondered for a moment what Li wrote then turned back to her own paper. "I miss you, mom. Sakura" was her first message but then she quickly tore it up and took another fresh piece of paper "I like you, Yukito-San. Sakura" she wrote but that too didn't seem right. She sighed in exasperation. Li had completed his so easily and was now standing patiently outside the booth waiting for Sakura. He was tall and handsome in the light and the outfit. His gruff brown hair was gently blown in the wind and his intense crimson eyes were simply wondering around looking at the scenery. Sakura blushed at the sight of him. Through his strong presence, Sakura knew Li as a gentle shy boy who had the warmest heart you could remember. Then Sakura pulled out another piece of parchment and wrote "Li Syaoran, thank you for always being there for me. I hope you'll always be there. Sakura Kinomoto". Sakura smiled at the parchment, it sounded perfect. *** There was a long lineup of people to release their floats. Through the crowd and the spectators, Li and Sakura had finally made their way to the front. Li bent down and placed his float in the water and let go. The float slowly drifted away along with the rest of the floats from other festivalgoers. Li gave one last look at the float and its hopeful legendary prospects of bringing messages to loved ones then stood up. Sakura had released hers to the sky and was waving it good journey before turning to Li and smiled. The two made their way out of the crowd and back to the beach where some festivalgoers were taking some time away from the excitement and were lazily sitting around watching the hopeful floats fly away. "What did you write in your float, Syaoran-kun?" Sakura asked meekly as she sat down next to him on the sand. "Er. Ah." Li stuttered "You first," "Promise not to laugh!" Sakura insisted as she began to blush and turned to Li. He simply nodded and gazed deeply. "OK..." Sakura stalled, "I wrote that I thank you for all your support and help," Sakura said quietly not turning to meet Li's gaze. Li paused for a bit and turned to look at the sky full of floats. When there was no reply from Li, Sakura turned to face him "Syaoran-kun?" This time, it was Li who was avoiding Sakura's gaze. Without turning to face her he replied "I guess the float's messages to get sent because now I know your message," He turned to Sakura with a slight blush and smiled. Sakura smiled back at Li relieved that he didn't react badly to her message. "What did you write?" Li blushed and began "I wrote that I lo--" "Sakura-chan! Li-kun!" Tomoyo interrupted as she ran up to them holding a bag of roasted meatballs. Eriol was close behind. He, too, held a bag of treats. "We were looking for you!" "We went to release the flats," Sakura told her friend. "Really? Which one is yours?" Tomoyo asked curiously. "That one!" Sakura pointed at the tiny bright red spot in the sky. Her float was almost out of sight. She then pointed to the turquoise spot far in the ocean "That's Syaoran-kun's". Tomoyo smiled and handed Sakura a bag of treats. "We ran into Touya-san while going through the booths. He was cooking these and told us to bring you some," "What's a float?" Eriol asked as he gazed into the sky at the hundreds of tiny shining dots. "You write a message in it and it gets sent out to the person you addressed it to," Tomoyo answered simply. "I want to try one," Eriol said his eyes still fixed on the hundreds of sparkling dots in the sky. "Sure! I'll do one with you!" Tomoyo offered as she led the group to a booth. *** Li and Sakura were waiting outside the booth for Tomoyo and Eriol. Tomoyo quickly finished her float and headed out to wait with them. She smiled happily at Sakura. Noticing that Tomoyo has moved away and was now casually chatting with Sakura and Li, Eriol placed his hand on the float as it glowed a bit yellow. He folded an empty parchment into the lantern and then lighted the candle. The hastily exited the booth to join his friends. "Sorry to keep you all waiting," Eriol apologized. "Don't worry about it," Tomoyo smiled. "Come! Let's release ours!" Tomoyo smiled and walked towards the crowd of people launching their floats as Eriol followed. Sakura and Li stood on the beach and watched as Tomoyo and Eriol released theirs. They both let their floats go in the sky. The two quickly hustled back to join Sakura and Li. "Well, that was really fun! It is getting late and I am tired, should we be heading back now?" Eriol suggested. "Well, we do have school tomorrow," Tomoyo said as she looked at her watch. "Maybe we should head back," Before Tomoyo could finish her comment, a lantern exploded in the sky. Fiery sparks spew out of the lantern and hitting at the innocent bystanders. The festival quickly turned into mad frenzy chaos with a mob running frantically away from the beach area and various booths catching fire from the sparks of the exploded lantern. The mad crowd screamed and ran in all directions. "Sakura-chan, did you see what happened to that float?" Tomoyo cried out through the screams and yells. "You've got to get the crowd under control!" Li yelled through the noise "Use the sleep card!" "Eriol!" Sakura cried. "Eriol-chan is gone!" Tomoyo looked frantically around but Eriol was lost in the crowd. "Forget him! Use the sleep card!" Li urged once more. Sakura nodded as she pulled out her key pendent which transformed into a staff. She pulled out the sleep card and yelled "RELEASE". Under the influence of the sleep, the crowd calmed and fell to the ground in seconds leaving Sakura and Li standing in its wake. The fire sparks continue to blast at the festival setting booths on fire but for now, the crowd was calm and no one would be able to watch her use magic. Sakura pulled out another card, the watery, and stared at it for split second. "Help me" she said to the card as though it would hear her then she shut her eyes. There was faint white glow but it quickly faded. From its once orange tinge, the card was now pink. "WATERY" she cried out. The card faded away as a watery mermaid figure appeared. Its eyes snapped open as from a deep sleep. It dove into the ocean as though in strict obedience to the cardholder. Splashes of water shot up from beneath counteracting the sparks. Puff of dark smoke appeared as bit by bit, the card counteracted the flames. Eventually, water jets shot from the ocean attacking the float. Then a huge water cylinder shot up from the ocean and pulled it into the ocean smothering its fire. The source of the sparks was destroyed now and the only task left was to put out the fires in the tents and booths. Sakura watched as the watery card moved in grace to put out the flames on the booths one by one. Li stood idly by feeling entirely useless but awed by Sakura's remarkable control over the card. *** From afar, behind the tents, behind the bizarre and the noisy festivities, Eriol stood cross-armed nodding in approval with a smile curving on his lips. "Well done, Sakura. Well done, indeed," *** As the last of the fires were put out and the sky was now covered with a smoky layer of fog, the watery figure returned to its card form and landed in Sakura's palm. Sakura smiled at the card and said "Thank you". She put the card back as her vision became blurry. The light became dimmer and dimmer as her legs began to cave into fatigue. Without control, Sakura fell limb towards sand. "Sakura!" Li cried as he ran towards her falling body catching her right before she hit the ground. He knelt down and placed Sakura's head on his lap. His eyes filled with fear and worry. As though the magical spell automatically wears out, festivalgoers regained their consciousness and looked around entirely confused. Tomoyo made a slight groan as she sat up and looked around to find Li holding Sakura tenderly. "Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said as she ran up to Li "Is she all right?" "I hope she'll be," Li replied grimly. Before long, Eriol ran up to the rest of his friends and looked worriedly at Sakura "What happened to her? I got separated from you guys when the crowd got a bit crazy. I'm really sorry I can't be here to help," Sakura gave out a weak moan. Her head was throbbing and her muscles were aching. She heard voices calling her name. She recognized Tomoyo's voice and Li's. She heard Eriol speak to them. She wanted to return to sleep but she knew her friends would be too worried. She shut her eyes for one last moment then forced them to open wide. She pulled herself up using Li's muscular body for support. She turned to face and gazed into his dark eyes. As if Li's entire mind and heart was open to her, she could she could see his fear, and his concern for her. Beyond his concern for her, Sakura could see Li's deepest feelings of care and devotion to her. Sakura smiled weakly at Li and whispered "Thank you." Li breathed a sigh of relief as he helped Sakura stand up on the ground. "Ah! Thank goodness you're all right!" Eriol sighed. "We should head home now," Tomoyo said as she looked at the crowds of people heading towards the exit confused about the whole ordeal. *** The four were once again standing on the Daidouji's residence front porch. Eriol had changed into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Li had also changed back to his old clothes. The crickets were chirping at background. The sky was pitch black now. Eriol and Li handed Tomoyo back the outfits that she'd sewn for them but Tomoyo smiled and shook her head. "Keep them, I insist," Tomoyo smiled. "Well then, I should be heading back home," Eriol smiled. "Good night, everyone! See you at school tomorrow. I hope you get better, Sakura-chan" he added before turning around and walking away. "I'll walk you home," Li said turning to Sakura. "Good night Li-kun, Sakura-chan! Get well soon! See you tomorrow!" Tomoyo waved as Li and Sakura turned around to walk home. *** Li had walked Sakura from Tomoyo's house all the way back to the Kinomoto residence. Sakura opened the door and turned back to Li and smiled. She was entirely exhausted and was ready to plop onto her bed for a long, relaxing sleep. "Thank you, Syaoran-kun, for walking me home and for everything," she said weakly. Li smiled gently back at Sakura. "Get well soon," he said. "Syaoran-kun, you never told me what you wrote in your float," Sakura said. Li hesitated and blushed. "Promise not to laugh," he said. Sakura smiled gently and reassuringly. "I wrote that..." he began, "I wrote that I wish you knew I..." he paused. Sakura stared curiously at Li. "Hmmm? You?" "I lo--I mean, I wish you knew that that the person I care about most in this world is," he hesitated "is you, Sakura" Sakura stared back at Li dumbfounded and lost to words. She stared back at him entirely confused and puzzled as to what to think or what to say. She stood there entirely still though her mind was racing with thoughts and confusion. "Good night," Li said as he turned around and left Sakura still standing at the doorway entirely motionless form shock. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bulk of this Valentine's Day special is over. If you are
still interested, read on to Friendship's Bondage |