A Cherry Blossom - The Feather

Chapter 10

Syaoran looked at me like I was crazy. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me!" I was in no mood to humor him. "A sword does more damage than any other weapon out there, even a bow and arrow. You've had experience with it, so I want you to teach me." I thought about what Link said in my last dream. There was no way that I was going to back out of my promise now. In order for me to become stronger, I had to take drastic measures.

"Are you sure, Sakura?" Navi asked. "Handling a sword can be very dangerous."

"I know," I lowered my head, losing my anger. "But I have to...There's no other way for me to really defend myself." I heard Syaoran give out a small breath, and my eyes quivered. "I can't keep on losing these fights! I can't have you keeping me safe the whole time...but most of all..." I looked up with tears rolling down my face. "I can't lose anyone else I love!" I hicced, covering my face with my hands. "I'm sorry..." I sobbed. "I've been so selfish! I didn't care about what would happen to anyone..."

"Okay," I gasped slightly, looking up from my hands. Syaoran was grinning at me with determination. "I'll teach you."

My breath stuttered in surprise. "R-really?"

"Yes." He took a step forward. "I know that you need a lot of training, but I don't believe it will be as hard as I think." He closed his eyes. "But you need to promise me something, Princess."

I didn't flinch when he called me that for some reason. "Yes?"

His brown eyes revealed an intense glare. "Promise me that if there's any moment where you can't handle it, you quit. I won't go easy on you. Because of that, I don't want you to risk your life for something that you don't have to do."

"But I do have to-" His glare sharpened, and I took a step back in fear. "I..." I didn't have a choice anymore. I relaxed my face. "I promise."

"Good." He relaxed his face then. "We'll start this afternoon. You must be hungry after all that's happened."

I didn't look up. "Not really..."

"C'mon, Sakura," Navi urged. "You're going to need your strength if you want to start training. How about we find a river to catch some tasty fish from?"

All of a sudden, my stomach wanted that juicy fish, and growled at me. "That sounds great. Let's do it." Syaoran came with us as we explored the outer region of the mountain. I was in no shape to fight, so Syaoran killed off all of the monsters that appeared after the curse was lifted.

My belly kept rumbling all the way to the river, but when I saw giant salmon leap above the water, my mouth started to water. "They're so big..." I said in hunger while my stomach roared.

Syaoran smiled. "I'll catch the fish. You find a place to sit until I do." That's when he started to look for a long stick to make a spear from.

I found a big rock to sit on, and took a big sigh. "Are you sure you want to do this, Sakura? You know Syaoran can be the one to protect you."

"But he's not always going to be the one fighting in front of me. Plus, I can't keep feeling this helpless, Navi. He even told me to get stronger this way." I had my eyes lowered and my hands in my lap as I said this.

"Who did?"

"Link did. In a dream."

Navi let out a bell jingle. "You met him in a dream?"

"Not exactly. It's more like my mind created him. But it seemed too real... He said the right things the entire time." I looked up to the mountain with my pink eyes. "And he told me to learn how to fight."