[I just want to thank all of you who sent such kind reviews and I wanted to
throw together a little thank-you note! ^_^ Anyway, thanks to Licho, who has
sent me more reviews by mail than I can count. You rock! Thanks to Fred, I love
you more than anything! Thanks to TamChronin and Shinimeg and to my first
reviewer Sumeragi Sakura! Thanks also to Jae and Queen of the Faeries and
Cherior and Charrlottlette and tenshiamanda!

Thanks also to Asahi Taiga who wasn't afraid to inform me that Chapter Seventeen
sucked, seriously. So, what I did is combine Chapter Seventeen to what I had
from Chapter Eighteen and totally redid the parts I didn't like. Some parts,
might still be a little off so don't be afraid to let me know it!

I have serious writers block, not to mention the delete key died on my computer
so chapters will probably be coming out slower. Just yell at me on my AIM and
I'll write faster. Hope you enjpooy the next chapter! Here's the one I fixed!
-Yakusoku]

17. In Which Touya Spies Yue and Sakura Becomes Mistress
of the Clow Cards


The earthquake! Was everyone alright? All around him were
huge pillars of stone jutting out from the ground in massive tombs.
Ambulences wailed in the distance, fighting to get to where the
injured were down the broken roadways.

Touya moved through the crowd that was running in the exact
opposite direction he was and found a rock blocking his path. He
cursed lightly under his breath and moved through the undergrowth,
then he climbed the fence surrounding the area and peeked over it.

Kaijuu and the gaki were there. Yuki was there, too! He was sleeping
in a bench. Is he hurt? No... it looks like he’s just sleeping. Is that...
Kaho? Touya sank from his viewpoint at the fence and collapsed
amidst the trees before he moved and glanced through a hole in the
fence.

Then, suddenly Touya stood straight up. Something was coming.
Touya could feel every magical sense within him scream with
anticipation. The spirits called to him, lost souls dancing between the
trees and something... else.

Shaking himself, Touya concentrated and returned to his peep-hole.
Yuki was glowing... blue. At his feet was a strange symbol. Golden
flames lapping up to form a circle of symbols... the moon, sun and
stars. Holding his breath for a second, Touya nibbled softly at his
bottom lip as he watched his lover levitate slightly, the symbol
underneathe him. Then, to Touya’s shock, wings sprouted from the
shoulders of his best friend. The feathery catacomb covered the
figure, cacooning him and then retreated.

“Yuki...?” he gasped as he stared. It was clearly not Yuki. The figure
now had huge, feathery wings sprouting from it’s back. Amethyst eyes
glared icily from beneath spiderweb-like lashes. Tassles waved in the
wind softly, robes fighting against it as they swung in the open air.
Tendrils of long hair whipped behind him softly, the remaining hairs
gathered into a loose, mile-long tail.

There was no sweetness about this figure. Cold and calculating, yes,
but none of Yuki’s sweet, loving expressions. Touya frowned and
gripped the sides of the fence until his knuckles turned white. This
spirit looked so... unhappy.

Then, the gaki began to rise and Touya held perfectly stil. He watched
something that he only half understood in the back of his mind.
Holding his breath, he watched silently as the gaki failed the battle
and fell to the ground near Sakura.

Sakura began to rise.

With every blow, Touya felt his heart tighten as if a cold hand had
clamped around it. He sighed and squinted, fighting to get a better
look at the Radio Tower. Slamming into the bar, Sakura seemed to
pause before selecting something from beside her... a card?

Suddenly, the winged creature turned momentarily to look his way
before returning to battle and Touya could have sworn that a spotlight
of magic had been shined onto him and then withdrawn.

‘I would never hurt her...’ the voice seemed to say. ‘Now go.’ The
order was exactly that. An order. So, Touya ran.

After the long run home, Touya slumped against the wooden surface
of his door and felt his chin hit against his chest as strands of dark
hair shrouded his face momentarily.

It had to have all been a dream? How could it have been truth? Yuki...
couldn’t be that creature. Yuki would never hurt Sakura... never.

“Am I that like him?”

Where had he heard those words? Far away in a haze of dreams,
Touya could remember the echoed phrases. So. much. pain.

“He’s the broken half that fell from my heart. Something I never
needed. What use is there for a heart that feels, anyway, when it is
only broken in the end?”

So much pain; a being writhing in agony. Full of the pain of a lost
love. This wasn’t Yukito. Not the snow bunny with the compassion and
the endless stomach. This wasn’t him.

“I am Yue. I will fulfill Clow’s wishes and then sleep. I have no need
for love.”

Yue. Its name was Yue. How can this be?

Touya felt himself shift and kick the door closed with a violent shove.
Tilting an ear to the side he listened to the sounds in the house and
heard nothing. He tilted his head to the side until it came in contact
with the wall and felt himself drift into a restless sleep.

-`-


I stirred slightly, looking up at the ceiling of the house and eyeing the
shadows that moved across the wood. The shadows reminded me of
ghouls. The kind of visions that I would have gone to my
grandparents with, asking to sleep beside them. Monsters and scary
things. A warm, soothing touch eased over my mind and the anxiety
was gone. That strange feeling happened more and more lately. It
was almost as if, the moment something bad happened, a master
puppeteer came and wiped the nightmares from my consciousness.

I turned over in my sleeping bag and looked over at the sleeping form
above me. Easing out of the bed, I knelt and watched. Touya’s chest
moved up and down with sleep and a strand of black hair was batted
out of his face as he tossed.

I moved and approached the bed, slipping slowly under the covers.
Touya had been strange around me lately. Keeping his distance and I
couldn’t understand it. Sakura had been slightly distraught, worried
and jumpy also.

Shrugging as the soothing feeling came over him, I crawled closer
towards Touya and kissed the smooth, tan face. The black haired boy
tossed in his sleep and I found myself captured by a net of soft arms.
He entombed me and I heard my name whispered, flutteringly,
against my neck.

“...my Yuki... I know you won’t hurt her,” was whispered and I
watched as Touya squirmed, grabbing me tighter.

“Who wouldn’t I hurt?” I whispered against my friend’s ear. His lips
moved softly, pale rose-colored flesh against the tanner skin of his
face.

“Sakura...”

Shaking him softly, I felt him wake. His eyes opened and cleared.
Clouded and hazy for a moment before they returned to their original
sparkle. Then, he averted his gaze as if looking at me had disturbed
him in some way. I turned away from the other boy, brushing a
strand of gray hair out of my face.

“I hate when you do that To-ya,” I whispered softly.

“Do what?” he asked, leaning against me.

“Look at me like you’re seeing someone else. Someone dangerous,” I
continued as I moved to run my hands through his hair. “Something’s
happened... I know it has. Why won’t you tell me?”

“I don’t think it’s mine to tell, Yuki.”

“Who’s then?” I asked softly.

“A moon angel in silly bunny pajamas,” he said in dire seriousness.

I shook it off and smiled brightly instead, “How about a midnight
snack?”

“That’s more like it.”

   -End Ch. 17-