Cardcaptor Sakura: The New Trials (Wish-luv)

Chapter 29: Never Want You To Hurt

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It’s so dark… I can’t see anything.

A rasping voice whispered, “Run, my Cherry Blossom. Run away from us. But you can’t hide, you can’t escape.”

A stitch formed on Sakura’s side as she continued to run. I can’t breathe…

Something slashed down at her. She screamed as tearing pain etched through her body. She tried to block it with her hands, yet her hands were slashed to. Unable to escape, she curled into a tight ball, trying not to scream out in agony. It’ll be all right. It’s not gonna get worse, she told herself. She tried to wet her cracking dry lips and gulp down the lump in her throat.

“You’re wrong. This is just the beginning of the nightmare,” the cruel voice told her. “Look.”

I don’t wanna look. Sakura clenched her eyes.

“You can’t run from it. LOOK!” The owner of the voice grabbed her head and forced it up. Sakura’s emerald eyes opened in horror to see Syaoran collapsed on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding him. He didn’t even stir as the ground around them trembled. Cracks began to form on the floor, and a great canyon formed right in front of her, swallowing Syaoran’s body.

A hallucinating swirl of the black gulf overwhelmed her. “SYAORAN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

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“No! Syaoran!” Sakura screamed. Someone was shaking her.

“Sakura. Kinomoto Sakura! Wake up!”

She continued to toss and turn in her bed. Someone took a firm grip of her arm with one hand and patted her face extra hard with the other.

Returning to her own room in the Li apartment, Sakura bolted awake. She was safe in her bed; nothing bad had happened.

“Are you all right?” Syaoran asked, stooping over her bed and placing a reassuring hand on her shaking shoulder. “Was it a nightmare?”

Nodding, Sakura drew her blankets closer around her. She had been shivering so bad. It had been her most vivid nightmare, ever. She could still see the limp body covered with blood.

No, it was all a dream. Then scowling, Sakura jumped away from Syaoran and asked accusingly, “What are you doing in a lady’s room in the middle of the night?”

“Are you calling yourself a lady?” he mumbled. Then he stated, “I was just trying to wake you because I thought you’re having a bad dream, but if you feel that way, I'll go.” Syaoran turned around.

“No, wait.” Sakura grabbed his pajama sleeve. “I didn’t know…” She gazed down at her bed covers. “Thanks. I appreciate it. I was having the most awful dream. But it was only a dream. That’s what matters.” Suspiciously she asked, “Wait, but how did you know I was having a nightmare?”

Winking, he tweaked her nose with two fingers. “I just did.”

Rubbing her nose, Sakura gazed up at him thoughtfully. She hardly knew anything about him. Yet, what didn’t he know about her? Something in her heart stirred… Did he get up in the middle of the night to wake her, because he knew she was suffering?

Then, grinning Syaoran stated, “But of course, you were also screaming my name so loud that the whole neighborhood probably could hear it. I woke up from my blissful sleeping thinking there was a fire or a burglar or something.”

“I was screaming for you?” Sakura blushed a deep tomato red. Ohmygosh! I remember I was shouting for Syaoran in my dream. Don’t tell me I was doing that real life! This is so humiliating~ “Ugh! I’ll get you for this, Li Syaoran!” Sakura angrily threw her pillow at Syaoran, who caught it with one hand.