Card Captor Sakura
Hidden Within the Heart
by Hikaru

Chapter 7
Limits
. . . . . . . . . . . .

The group slowly made their way outside. "So Kero-chan," Sakura observed. "If you couldn't find the location of any cards then-"

Suddenly, a great flash of light appeared in the distance. The air quickly began to reek of smoke. Sakura, Meiling and Kero-chan nodded to each other.

A smile appeared on Sakura's face. "Guess we didn't have to search for very long."

As Sakura took a step forward, an odd feeling slowly came upon her, starting at her toes and inching ever upwards. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling. Suddenly, the warmth grew in speed until the feeling finally reached her brain.

Li-kun.

It had to be.

"I-I- can feel him."

"Who?" Meiling questioned.

Another poignant pause. It appeared to the others that it would take some force to make Sakura leave. "Li-kun," she finally said. "He's over-- there!" Sakura pointed over to the bright light in the distance. The fire became more violent as she pointed towards it, indicating that he was, indeed, there.

Meiling's lips curved into a frown, jealous over the fact that Sakura had sensed Syaoran and not her. "I don't feel anything." She said dryly.

Sakura turned to Meiling and looked her directly in the eyes. "He's definitely there. I'm sure of it."

Stepping forward, Tomoyo butted into the conversation, hoping to stop any on-coming fight. "So, what are we waiting for?! Let's get going!"

"Wait, Tomoyo- You're coming too?" Sakura questioned. The fact that her best friend was coming on one of the most, if not the most, dangerous missions that she herself had ever been on frightened Sakura. The thought of loosing her-

A smile appeared on Tomoyo's face. "Well of course I'm coming! After all, who else is going to videotape Card Captor Sakura's triumphal return?" Tomoyo raised her video camera up to her eye. The world turned black and white as Tomoyo relied on the camera as her view on the world. Suddenly the view went black. Tomoyo pulled back from the camera to see that Sakura had turned it off. "Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo said, in a hurt voice. She wasn't going to let her go, was she?

"I'm sorry Tomoyo-chan..." Sakura spoke in a soft voice. She raised her hand and placed it on Tomoyo's shoulder. "I couldn't bear it- If I lost you too." Tomoyo opened her mouth to protest, but Sakura shook her head. "Please. Stay here."

Her shoulders falling, Tomoyo looked down to the ground. She could understand where Sakura was coming from, but still-- She wanted to be there so if Sakura got hurt, someone could take care of her. Sakura was always so worried for others, yet never for herself.

Tomoyo's misty eyes locked on Sakura's.

Who will take care of you Sakura?

Holding back her tears, Tomoyo nodded towards the fire. "You better get going you two-"

Both Meiling and Sakura nodded, "Right." The two headed off toward the blast, pounding the road underneath their footsteps.

As he was about to fly away, Kero-chan looked back to Tomoyo. "They'll be okay." After a nod from Tomoyo, Kero-chan followed Meiling and Sakura's path to the fiery arena.

Clow protect us from these mistakes made in the past.

The extreme heat of the fire slowed both Meiling and Sakura down. Now closer to the fire, they could now see that it was burning down a small wooded area. The smell of burning wood filled Sakura's nostrils, making her feel un-easy. Moving in closer to the woods, Sakura slowed down her pace. The smoke was beginning to get to her. Meiling turned back and looked to Sakura with some concern, "Are you okay?"

A coughing spell came upon Sakura as she doubled over, trying to clear her lungs of smoke.

Kero-chan flew to Sakura's side, patting her on the back. "Sakura! Sakura can you hear me?"

Sakura slowly nodded as she tried to suppress her coughs. Suddenly a chill went down Sakura's spine. In response, she snapped her head up to see the ruby eyes of the first CLOW card.

FIREY.

The attack was so unexpected, Sakura didn't even have a minute to react. The burning being was racing towards both her and Meiling at an incredible speed. Sakura clasped down her eyes, as if to protect her from the pain coming.

"SAKURA!" Kero-chan's shout echoed through Sakura's mind as her eyes shut.

This is it--

I'm sorry Li-kun, I couldn't even save you-

Yet, no fire enveloped her. Sakura waited for the pain and suffering to come, and yet it never did. She slowly opened her eyes to see that Meiling had summoned a barrier. She shot a odd look to Meiling who simply winked back at her. "Syaoran's mom has taught me a few tricks." Sakura raised an eyebrow as her mind slowly computed what was happening. "Now's your chance Sakura!"

Nodding, Sakura slowly picked herself off from the ground and grasped the CLOW key in her hand. "O key that hides the power of dark, reveal thy true form to me. I, Sakura, command you....RELEASE!!!"

The CLOW key slowly grew in her mid-air. As Sakura grasped the staff in her hand, she felt the power of CLOW flow through her body once more.

And for a moment, time froze. Sakura could feel the warmth of Clow's magic enveloping her, giving her strength. She could do this. All she had to do was have faith.

Faith-

I once had faith that Li-kun would return to me.

Now, I just want to make Li-kun happy. I do this for your happiness Li-kun. I risk my life for your happiness.

My Life.

As Sakura opened her eyes, time once more flowed as it should. With incredible speed, Sakura threw out a CLOW card and struck her staff with it, shouting "FLY!" Wings sprouted from Sakura's back and she could feel herself becoming lighter and lighter as her body began to float off the ground. Meiling released the barrier over the two and Sakura soared through the air while Meiling dropped to the ground, making FIREY miss hitting Sakura and Meiling completely.

Sifting through her mind, Sakura began to ponder what she could do. Since WATERY had also escaped, there was no easy way of capturing FIREY since it was so powerful. As Sakura thought, she continued to fly higher in the air. A near-by branch, engulfed in ruby flames suddenly broke loose from it's tree and fell. Reacting quickly, Sakura dodged the branch. But the immense heat from the ever-growing fire was getting worse. A thread of perspiration went down the side of Sakura's face. It cooled her a little, calming her nerves.

Wait a minute-

Cooling?

The idea stuck Sakura. Of course! Her little run in the night before may be useful now. Flapping her wings Sakura pushed her body towards the ground, where she softly landed on the grass. Oh the heat- It felt as if her skin was melting off of her. Sakura gritted her teeth as FLY sealed itself and she pulled out her next card.

Come out here FIREY!

The heat around her slowly started to grow. Sensing movement behind her, Sakura turned to her right, where FIREY was waiting for her. A smirk appeared on Sakura's face as she pulled out the card.

"ILLUSION!"

The heat of the fire quickly disappeared into nothingness and was replaced by an extreme cold. Snow flurries slowly danced in the sky, making a light frost on the ground. FIREY began to shiver from the immense cold, dropping its guard. Losing its powers quickly, FIREY fell to the ground in shivering convulsions.

Taking a step forward, Sakura pointed her staff at FIREY. "I am your *true* master FIREY. It's time you realize that." The air sung as she snapped her staff. "Return to thy true form! CLOW CARD!!!"

FIREY let out a small cry as its body was morphed back into its true form of a CLOW card. A breeze swept though the air carrying FIREY over to Sakura's out stretched hand as ILLUSION's blizzard disappeared and the burning forest returned.

Meling pushed herself off the ground, mesmerized by Sakura's tactics. It had been so long since she had seen Sakura in action. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Meiling took a step forward towards Sakura, a smile on her face. "Very good Sakura." Putting out her arm, she offered her hand. "Shall we continue on our little adventure?"

As she took Meiling's hand, Sakura nodded.

My happiness for yours.

The three continued to race through the burning woods. They had long since passed the most extreme part of the fire; nevertheless the woods were still ablaze. They had to find WATERY and put out the fire. Fast. As they sped through the grass, a splashing sound came from beneath them. Sakura and Meiling slowed down, as did Kero-chan. Looking down to the puddle, Sakura looked quizingly at Kero-chan. "Wouldn't this water have evaporated by now?"

"Yeah-" Kero-chan spoke brokenly, as he was trying to figure out why water was in the middle of the burning woods. "Unless-"

A thundering boom sounded above the group. Meiling and Sakura snapped their attention up to the sky, where THUNDER was waiting for them. In a flash, Sakura grabbed Meiling's hand and un-sealed another card.

"JUMP!"

Before Meiling could realize what was happening, she found herself flying through the air. Her only lifeline was Sakura’s grip on her. The cool breeze swept through their hair, chilling their heated bodies. Sakura landed on a high up branch, away from THUNDER's wrath, and also not on fire. Letting go of Meiling, Sakura turned to jump once more. Meiling grabbed Sakura's shoulder and held her back. "What are you going to do?!"

Smiling at her friend, Sakura winked and replied in a sing-song way, "You'll see." She then leapt down to the ground. Using the momentum from the fall, Sakura bounced herself high off the ground once more, this time going even higher then the branch where Meiling waited. Sakura closed her eyes and let the breeze give her strength.

My life for yours.

Meiling's eyes grew wide as she saw Sakura begin to plummet to the ground. She had sealed JUMP! "What is she DOING!?!" She exclaimed, resisting the urge to go after her.

Seeing the opportunity of Sakura's weakness, THUNDER sped through the air, like a predator after its prey. The growling of the thunder began to grow louder as it approached its "former" master. But just as THUNDER was about to strike, Sakura's eyes flickered open. THUNDER jumped back from the shock, but it was too late to escape.

"It's because of you that I have suffered." Sakura cried, holding her tears back. "It's because of you that others have suffered. It's time your rampage was brought to an end, THUNDER."

Seeing the staff swerving through the air THUNDER knew it was the end. Now all THUNDER could do was pray that Shujin would take it back.

"Return to thy true form! CLOW CARD!!!"

Light shone from the end of the staff as THUNDER was pulled in, slowly turning back into its card form. Still plummeting, Sakura quickly took the card in her hand and brought a second card out.

"FLY!" She shouted, only ten feet away from crashing into the ground. Desperately, her wings flapped to bring her up from the air. Sakura sighed with relief when it was all over.

"Hey are you okay down there?"

Sakura looked up to the tree and winked. "All is okay here!"

"Good." Meiling said with a nod. She then proceeded to jump out of the tree and landed on the ground. Now looking up at Sakura, she asked, "So what about this water?"

With a few flaps of her wings, Sakura lowered herself down to the ground. "I dunno." She flatly said, peering into the puddle.

A sudden rumble from the water made Meiling jump back from the puddle. "What was-"

Suddnley water exploded out from the puddle, knocking Meiling to the ground and engulfing Sakura. Struggling against the current, Sakura flapped her wings. Air was no longer an option; she had to escape before it was too late. Pain from the pressure of the water filled her body, and darkness slowly enveloped her. Sakura could feel herself going out of consciousness.

Sakura-

Sakura?!

"Sakura?"

Sakura snapped out of her state of thought. Blinking her eyes, she tried to remember where she was. She looked down to her clothes to see that she was in her Prince outfit from the play that she and Li were in long ago. Her head snapped up and she saw the audience, waiting.

Wasn't I just fighting-

"Sakura?"

That voice!

Sakura looked down to the casket next to her, where Li lay, in the Princess dress, surrounded by cherry blossoms. She could feel the tears start to form in her eyes. His voice, it had seemed like it had been eons since she had heard it. "Li-kun.." Her voice cracked, struggling not to break into uncontrollable crying or to just pass out entirely from happiness.

"Sakura," He said, a smile growing on his face. "Please don't be scared. It's almost over." Li raised his hand to Sakura's cheek and began to trace her jaw with his fingers.

His touch-

It felt like water brushing up against her skin.

WATERY?

"All you have to do now is save your princess." Sitting up, Li slowly brought his mouth to Sakura's ear and whispered into it. "I'm waiting-"

I'm waiting to be awakened.

Blinking, Sakura moved back in shock. Had she just heard his voice in her head?

Sakura-

"SAKURA?!" Meiling slapped Sakura's face a few times. Sakura's head flopped back and forth, lifeless.

"It's no use Meiling." Kero-chan said sighing.

Meiling sat down next to Sakura's unconscious body, giving up her attempts to wake Sakura up. It was then that she noticed it. WATERY's aura. She snapped her head up to see WATERY, in its humanoid form, approaching her. Inhaling deeply, Meiling began to mentally prepare herself for anything that was about to take place.

WATERY slowly approached the group, a saddened look on its face. The poor Shujin, she was still as brave as when she first captured WATERY. It couldn't comprehend why MIRROR insisted that Shujin had become weak.

Meiling gasped as WATERY drew in nearer. What was it doing? Was WATERY going to take Sakura?

Or worse-

Kill her?

Kneeling down to its master, WATERY leaned over the unconscious Sakura and lowered its forehead to hers. Slowly, WATERY began to disappear, dissolving into it's true card form. Meiling stared in disbelief as Sakura slowly opened her eyes.

I'm waiting to be awakened.

Sakura could feel herself being pulled away from the darkness, being pulled back to the light. Slowly she blinked her eyes open to see Meiling, kneeling next to her. In Sakura's hand was the WATERY card. Before Sakura could ask what was happening, she felt a warm feeling fill her body once more.

Li-kun was near.

Meanwhile, a bright light began to radiate from the ground. Both Meiling and Sakura turned their attention towards the ground, where the Novice Staff lay, covered in a bright rainbow light. Slowly, the staff began to stretch. The tiny wings on the sides of the head grew out, as the round pink part of the top disappeared. Finally, the star part of the staff doubled. One of the stars spun around and landed off to it's counterpart, its ends now in-between the points of the first star.

Meiling gasped as the figure stood before them. "The Master Staff-" she said, breathlessly. She looked to Sakura, who's eyes were now glazed over. "Sakura?" She questioned. "Sakura?"

Sakura's out reached hand slowly wrapped itself around the staff. As soon as Sakura had the Master Staff in her grasp, the glow spread to her. "I can feel him." She said, her voice echoing as if she were three dimensions away.

"Syaoran?" Meiling asked.

Sakura nodded. "I must go to him."

"No!" Meiling stood and placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders. She began to lightly shake Sakura's body, "You can't go alone Sakura! You almost drowned! You're energy has been drained! Sakura-"

It was then that Meiling began to feel her body disappear. First she lost the feeling in her feet, and the feeling of emptiness crept up to her hips, then her chest, until finally-

The dark.

It was so cold. Where was she? What had happened?

"Meiling-chan?" Sakura called out, but her voice merely echoed through the burning woods. Sakura shot Kero-chan a worried look. Sakura began to scan the area for any movement, for any sign of Meiling. "Kero-chan, what happened?"

No answer.

"Kero-chan?" Sakura turned to see that her guardian had disappeared as well. A lump formed in the back of her throat as the feeling of worry came into reality.

The sound of a branch breaking behind her made Sakura's ears perk up. She turned quickly calling out "Kero-"

"Hello Shujin."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she focused on what was behind her. "MIRROR."

There MIRROR stood with Syaoran by its side, Syaoran in a catatonic state. Sakura's lips curved into a smile once she saw Li alive again, but her thoughts turned back to the missing Meiling and Kero-chan. "Give them back."

MIRROR smiled evilly as it began to caress Li's body with it's own. "Now why would I want to do a stupid thing like that? Especially when we're so close to achieving our goal."

"Goal?" Sakura questioned. "What goal?"

"You'll see soon enough." MIRROR simply said as she morphed her body into Meiling's. Sakura turned away in disgust, her fists clenched with anger. "Do you like the thought of this Shujin? After all the troubles that have happened tonight, you were willing to let Meiling have Li-kun," It paused, kissing the lifeless Li on the lips. "You would let this happen?"

Unable to ignore the display any longer Sakura turned her eyes back on the two, staring directly into Li's eyes. Even though they were glazed over, they still seemed to be pleading to her. Pleading for her to help him.

I'm waiting to be awakened.

My Happiness for yours.

My Life for yours.

There was hope-

She just had to have faith.

"LI-KUN!"

For a brief moment, his eyes flickered back to their true color of chocolate brown. Angered, MIRROR snapped its fingers, once again returning to its humanoid form. "I will not let you do this to yourself, Shujin. You will forget him!" A small yelp came out of Li as his feet began to disappear. He too was being sucked into the darkness.

"Look at me Li-kun. Remember. It's me, Sakura-" Sakura stepped forward. "Li-kun-"

"Do it-" MIRROR interrupted, "And I kill him right now." Sakura stepped down and forced herself to look away from the scene. MIRROR's smile returned once more. "Shujin, this is for your own good, you must believe me." Pausing, MIRROR continued, "The only way to let yourself move on is to erase him completely from your life." A chuckle. "We're just helping you along."

Tears began to fall from Sakura's eyes. She trembled with anger. "I would rather die right here and now, then to EVER FORGET MY LOVE FOR LI!" Twirling out a card, Sakura clashed the Master Staff against it and released the power.

"DARK!"

ERASE was moving quickly. Li was disappearing. All that could be seen, even in this darkness, was his shoulders and up, which was fading fast.

"Why are you fighting me on this, Shujin?" MIRROR called out. Its world was a giant shadow. Darkness was each and everywhere you turned. MIRROR blindly felt its way around, hoping to find its Master. "We have known this was the best for you since you lightened the seal on the CLOW cards and let the first of us escape." Pausing, MIRROR listened for any noises Sakura may have been making. Li's lips and up were the only things visible. "We tried to make this as painless as possible," MIRROR continued. "You remember the night three years ago, when Li died, right? We had hoped that once Li was 'dead' that you would care about card captoring again. Apparently we were wrong- So how lucky we were when three years later Li decides to go back to Japan and find the woman that he loves." Pausing again, for effect. "Or maybe it wasn't just luck.

"After Meiling had told her story, didn't you find it odd that their accident just happened to happen on the same night? Curious hmm?"

A murmur came from behind MIRROR; it turned to see nothing but what it had been seeing, darkness. Li was now completely erased.

"So, Shujin, why don't we relive you of those painful memories, hmm? You can forget the sights of your beloved leaving you, of him dying in front of you, sacrificing his life for you. And in return you can once again turn your full attention to us, your destiny."

My Happiness for yours.

My Life for yours.

A flash of light shone in front of MIRROR, but it was too late. SWORD had stabbed through the CLOW element. "Nobody takes my memories, MIRROR." Sakura whispered, her voice cracking. "Return to thy true form- CLOW card."

My Heart for yours.

MIRROR could feel its body slowly drift away into its other form. And yet, as it morphed back into a card, a smile appeared on it's face.

Sighing, Sakura sealed SWORD so the Master Staff would take form once more. "ERASE. It's time for you to come too. Will you come quietly?" A shining light came from Sakura's left. She turned to see Meiling, Kero-chan and Li slowly reappearing. Then, she slowly raised her staff and chanted the ancient sealing spell, "Return to thy true form! CLOW CARD!!!"

The darkness slowly began to break up in small bits. The now extinguished wood slowly melted back into sight. Kero-chan beamed as he saw that Sakura had successfully completed her mission. He flew over to her shoulder and smiled. "YOU DID IT!"

Sakura nodded weakly as she saw Meiling tend to the unconscious Li.

"He's coming to!" Meiling announced as Li began to slowly open his eyes. Tears streamed down Meiling's face as she witnessed Li's return to her. "Syaoran..." She said, half sobbing.

"Meiling..." Syaoran's voice was quiet and broken.

"Oh SYAORAN!" Meiling collapsed on top of Li's body, sobbing uncontrollably. Li placed his hand on her back and softly patted.

Sakura smiled at the two, choking down her sobs. She then quickly gathered herself and quickly walked away, with Kero-chan still on her shoulder.

Meiling raised her head from Syaoran's chest, "Sakura I want to thank-"

Sakura was already high up in the sky, too far to hear any 'thanks'. Her light auburn hair flowed with the the windy breeze as her figure slowly disappeared into the moonlight.

Li also watched this mysterious woman fly away. As he watched in awe of the goddess' wings, an aching feeling appeared in his heart. A word slowly came to his mind, yet his mind would not allow him to say it. How could have he forgotten her? A face etched into his mind, a voice calling for him, and a name-

Sakura.

"I remember."

The sun shone brightly down on the exiting students as the bell for Seijou High rang. Hundreds of teenagers from he student body left the campus and headed their own separate ways.

"I can't believe I have homework on the first day of school!" Sakura complained as she and her best friend headed towards her home. "It's just not fair at all!"

A smile appeared on Tomoyo's face as her hair fell past her shoulders. "Well Seijou High is known for it's high expectations, so it's no wonder that we'll have tons of homework every night." She let out a giggle. "You know, the kids at Kobai High almost never have homework."

"Well ya know, I'm not the one who transferred from Kobai High to Seijou High, ya know." Sakura said, threading her fingers through her, now, short hair.

Tomoyo shook her head and laughed.

"Well it's true!" Sakura argued.

"No silly," Tomoyo smiled. "I'm not laughing at that."

Sakura blinked. "Hoe?"

Pointing to her hair, Tomoyo explained. "Your hair. First it took me three years to get used to the fact that you had long hair. Now it's gonna take me another three years to get used to you having short hair again!"

The two exchanged a long lived laugh until they reached Sakura's house.

It was there that they saw a figure sitting, waiting for someone to arrive. Cautiously, Sakura stepped forward, slowly approaching the visitor.

Brown hair-

Chocolate eyes-

Sakura's heart leapt as she realized who it was. "LI-KUN!" She shouted, racing towards her long lost love.

She didn't need to know why he was back, or how. All that mattered to her was that he was back, waiting for her. Tears molded in her eyes as she ran towards him, only feet away. She had the need to hold him close and tight, just to make sure her mind wasn't fooling her.

Li stood tall, waiting for her to come to him. Sakura jumped at Li, almost making him collapse to the ground. There they held each other in their arms, the long lost warmth returning to both of their bodies. It was then that Sakura could feel her demons floating away. Li had returned. To her. Li brushed his hands through Sakura's hair, tingiling her scalp.

Dictonary -

• Hoe - Huh?
  

Author's Notes:

So that's it. That's the end of HWTH. This is the first series that I have actually completed. Its kinda scary thinking that I started this fic a year ago and I am now just finishing it. Especially since some of my newer series have more chapters planned than just seven.

So what did you think? I know the CLOW cards are never really shown talking, but I think, since Sakura is the master of them, that they communicate with her in some way. I just expressed the way in talking, that's all. The CLOW cards called Sakura Shujin kinda fits in with that too. The cards [at least to my knowledge] have never really refereed to Sakura as anything. And they can't really call her Sakura, since that would be too informal. Therefore, to put more of a Japanese twist on things, the cards call her Shujin, which is Japanese for master.

As for the Novice and Master Staff references, may I direct you to Fenya.Net, which is where Card Captor Cynical is located. There, Suppi-chan will give you a wonderful tour on the appropriate name for the things in CCS and why. She's almost as dry as I am >_> Fear much.

I know the ending is evil and I know it kinda leaves things hanging, making you think that I will be writing a sequel to this. *cough* No, I am not. Actually, I have another S+S story up my sleeve that will be starting in the Summer. As for other CCS projects, I'm not too sure at the moment. I would, however, like to write some sort of love triangle CCS series, since there are so many triangles to work from. Who, I still don't know yet, but I'm going to try and stay away from S+S. Sorry S+S fans ^^

I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I did writing it. It may have been trying sometimes, but I always made it through. It was *your* fanmail and online support that kept me working and striving for the end, despite it's twistedness.

If you would like to read other of my works, please feel free to visit my fanfiction archive, PurpleRoses, at http://www.envy.nu/purpleroses. Thank you all my fans ^.^ I luv you!

Editor’s Notes:

Muwahaha! The mighty editor inserts his comments! Muwahah-<Cough> <Cough> Fnord.

By the way, this particular chapter was (or will be, or won’t be...) late due to Hikaru getting behind schedule in sending the draft to me, and me getting behind schedule by getting a horrible sore-throat/cold on Saturday night/Sunday. So blame both of us, not either of us. ;P

Anyway, I’ve edited a grand total of two (yes, two!) chapters of HWTH, but since this is the last one, I’ve decided to put something here. I was brought on board during the fourth or fifth fic (not too sure...), then RL problems pulled me away from HWTH until now. I just have to say, though, that it quite honestly has been an honor working with Hikaru. A marvelous web-designer/master, wonderful writer, and quintessential fan, Hikaru basically is a bundle of endless energy and imagination which I just love. ^^

Not only was it awesome to work with her, but it was a marvel to take a peek at her raw writing style, and help it along. IMHO, Hikaru’s prose has improved by leaps and bounds; a tiny, tiny, tiny (yes, that small) fraction of it was due to yours truly, and the rest it was of her own accord. It makes any editor happy to see their writer improve, and Hikaru has definitely made me happy.

Ahem, it seems I’m rambling (due in no small part to Nyquil), so good night and sleep tight!

Disclaimer:

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to Hikaru. This fiction series was written entirely for entertainment purposes only. Standard disclaimers apply.