Cherry Blossom's Wolf: Sakura-X-Syaoran (Cardcaptor Sakura FanFic)

Chapter 2: Fluctuating Illness (Illness Arc 2/5)

"I guess. . . My mother isn't much of a cook, and you know how siblings are. So I usually have to do this stuff, myself."

If she was anyone else, she may not have seen the brief flash of homesickness in his eyes when he said that. But she wasn't anyone else to him, and he wasn't just anyone to her, and so she reached for his hand and squeezed.

"You know. . . I'm really glad you're here, Syaoran-kun. . . And I'm especially happy that I get to spend New Years with you."

His face flushed red again, but his smile reached his eyes when he turned back to her, squeezing her hand back.

"I'm glad, too, Sakura. There's no one else I'd rather spend it with," slowly, giving her time to meet him half-way, he pulled her into his arms, resting his cheek against her hair. "Because you're my most important person."

* * * * * 

Sakura's lids were heavy as she came into wakefulness, the memory still swimming around in her head. The phantom remembrance of his warmth still blanketed her, and she briefly nuzzled into the comfort of her Syaoran-bear, suddenly missing him very much. After walking her home, she'd insisted she was fine and sent him back to his own, but he'd really looked like he wanted to stay. Maybe she should have let him...

Before she could ponder it further, her body suddenly reminded her again of just what had woken her up; she desperately had to go to the bathroom.

Noticing her movement, Kero briefly looked up from his game and flicked his tail in greeting, "Yo kiddo, have a nice nap? It's already after dark."

She gave a non-committal grunt as she glanced at the clock, seeing she'd been asleep for about three and a half hours. Rubbing her eyes, she shifted to move off the bed.

"Hey now, are you sure you should be getting up? Your brother will bring your dinner up, ya know." Kero had paused the game and was fluttering around her head in concern.

"Bathroom," she answered simply, taking slow steps towards the door between coughs.

There was a flash of light from behind her, and she turned back to see her guardian's wings extend, only to enclose him in a beautiful film of feathers. When the white-plumed appendages pulled back, Cerberus was in his true form – a great helmed lion.

The beast of the seal sighed, before crouching down, "Here, get on. You're not fit to walk, with those wobbly legs of yours."

"Kero-chan, you changed! I thought you said you couldn't, earlier?"

"I've been feeling up and down," he responded with a shrug of his broad shoulders, "At any rate, just get on."

She obliged slowly, leaning forward to bury her face in his golden neck when she couldn't support her weight.

"Don't fly in the house in that form," she warned, muffled by his fur.

"Like I'd do something like that!"

Moments later, Sakura had relieved herself, but getting up even just to go to the bathroom had worn her out beyond belief, and all she wanted to do was eat her dinner and go back to sleep. Mounting Kero again took all her reservoirs of energy, and they were both panting by the time they arrived in her room.

"Kero-chan, what's wrong? You're breathing so hard," she managed to ask before yet another fit of coughing snatched her voice away from her.

As soon as she was in bed again, the great cat nearly collapsed, his sides heaving as he answered her, "Your magic is receding again. . . I can't keep my true form."

Then, as if in direct response to his words, his body began to glow and recede back into his smaller self, though she could tell he'd tried to fight it. Picking up his reverted form, Sakura thanked him quietly before setting him on her pillow next to her, to rest.

Truth be told, she was scared witless that this was happening. She'd been sick before, of course, but not this bad since she'd become the new master and had to sustain everyone on her own power.

Kero chose that moment to speak up, "It seems like your body and magic aren't on the same page anymore, now that your body's weakened. Your powers will probably fluctuate."

"Fluctuate?"

"Right. Clow Reed split his magic in half. Since your his reincarnation you already possessed one from the beginning, and reclaimed the other half after obtaining all of the Cards. You're probably one of the most powerful magic-users in existence now. But the thing is, Clow had to train his body for many years in order withstand all of that power, which is something you lack. That means when your body can't keep up, and that huge amount of magic might go a little wild without the vessel to control it."

She bit her lip and once again looked at the Sakura Cards in concern, "What do I do?"

Obviously having recovered a little, the orange creature sat up, crossing his arms in thought, "The fluctuations themselves aren't the problem, aside from being uncomfortable – as long as they don't last for an extended period, we and the Cards should be fine if we rest. The only thing is that your body will just continue to wear itself out until the magic stops, and that's not good for your recovery. At this rate, you could be sick for a long time."

Sakura pulled the covers up over her nose. She'd thought her problems with magic-related things were over once she'd captured and changed all the Cards... Situations like this hadn't even popped into her head, and now more than ever, she wanted someone who might understand the looming prospect of what she was facing. She wanted Syaoran.

A knock at the door signaled Tōya's arrival with her dinner, which she gratefully accepted after he helped her sit up. Her brother finally seemed to notice the black stain on her desk, and gave her a long, significant stare. She only blinked at him, chewing on the end of her chopsticks, the food already making her feel more energetic.

"What?"

"We have a stove, you know," he stated blandly, before exiting the room with one last mutter of, "Monster..."

"I'm not a monster!" she declared angrily, grabbing her pillow and chucking it at the door just as he closed it, though it lacked her usual vehemence, "And it was Kero-chan, not me!" she huffed, settling back down to eat and casting a quick glare at the animal in question, making him sweat.

After she was full, Sakura quickly found herself growing sleepy again. Her strength was failing her and her cough was back, along with some new chills and a cold sweat. Kero pulled the covers around her as she lay down and quickly slipped back into sleep.

* * * * *

(AN)

Once again, I apologize for the long wait. Busy schedule. Fortunately I'll be able to upload again tomorrow, after I'm done baby sitting.

At the moment things don't look so good for Sakura right now. And they're only going to get worse next chapter. How will she get better? 

Tune in next time to find out.

Please don't forget to vote if you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next chapter where we'll see are main heroin's health worsen. :(