Another update guys! Again, I don't own Gakuen Alice, Kamichama Karin and Card Captor Sakura. They belong to Higuchi Tachibana, Koge-Donbo and Clamp, respectively!
~*~*~*~
Inside a dark room where the windows were covered by red curtains, the person who was still guarding the crystal was staring at the person shown in it. The raven haired man still wore that anguished expression but it was slowly disappearing until it looked as if he was asleep.
"Anything new, Sinbad?"
"Only that the Lord is overcoming the effects of the eldest queen's spell. It won't be long, Malko."
Malko sighed beside him. He was annoyed at the fact that windows were again, covered; making the room all dark and hard to see through. But the constant flicking of the crystal gave them enough light to see each other.
"I got a report of the queens next move. They are going to the next queen's location. Your plan of getting Garam and Talim with those twins astound me. You know how they don't get along well with the twins. They're mortal enemies." His mouth quirked downward in annoyance.
"Zaro and Lito are perfect for the job. The Magic Queen of Stars is able to control her cards very well. Though she's unaware of how far her abilities goes." Sinbad smirked.
Malko was not amused. "You enjoy toying with them despite you saying it was for the Lord's benefit. Why is that?"
"Because I take pleasure in their fights."
"Pleasure? The demons those two idiots sent was not enough for the Alice Queen to at least be unconscious for days! Why are we sending weak umbras and festus' anyways? We have more powerful demons at our command!"
"I'm testing their abilities. I want to see how far they go."
"Tch, did you at least get Talim's report. I've scanned it earlier and I'm actually impressed with the royals' powers. Are you sure we can control them?"
Sinbad's mouth quirked upwards to a grin. "It won't be us who controls them."
"Then who?"
"Who else? The one who will end it all, of course."
~**~
"IT'S AWESOME KARIN!" Mikan screamed in excitement and amazement as she surveyed the house in front of her. "I'm glad it's not a mansion!"
It was still rather early in the morning, approximately a quarter past 5, that after they entered out the portal, they were immediately sent to the house Karin once bought during her adventures of the Seed of Chaos. Why did she bought the house, you ask? Kaylina asked her too.
Before the peach blond could say anything, the brunette disappeared in a blur towards the house. Natsume only shook his head at his wife/fiancee/girlfriend antics and proceeded to follow her inside. Kazune followed and then Karin.
They were only in the foyer of the house where a spiral staircase against the right wall to the left leading upstairs was seen. There were two halls on opposite sides; one leading to the living room and the other to the kitchen.
Not a second later, they all heard a squeal. They sweat dropped as they saw a blur running around the house. Natsume's voice was then heard.
"MIKAN! STOP RUNNING!"
The blur stopped just in front of the other two blond couples. Mikan pouted and crossed her arms. It wasn't her fault the house was amazing!
Sighing, Karin spoke, "Okay, everyone your room are upstairs with your symbols on the surface. Natsume's door is red with a fire symbol, Kazune is a symbol of his Apollo ring, Mikan is sun, mine is a flower bell. Your rooms are already decorated-"
"Courtesy of Karin and I!" Mikan cut in with a smile.
"-so get some sleep for two hours and we will head out to a cafe so we can talk about what needs to be said."
Everyone nodded and walked upstairs.
~*~*~*~
Two hours later...
"Hey, about that cafe?" The brunette pointed at a fairly decent cafe called 'Sweet Pastry'. Natsume glared at said cafe.
"Sweet."
Mikan rolled her eyes. "You've ate Howalon. Which was sweet. What's the difference?" She argued with crossed arms.
"It was bearable." He answered.
"Well-"
"How about..." Karin cut in, before it turn to a full blown argument. "We go there. Both of us eat. You two order drinks that are not sweet." She gave them a sweet smile but she was radiating a dark aura. The two nodded and walked towards the cafe without another word.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Kazune commented behind her, his hands in his pockets. Karin rolled her eyes.
As they entered the cafe, the bell above the door rung, indicating new costumers. They chose a table near the corner and made themselves comfortable. It was 7: 30 in the morning so not a lot of people were in the cafe. A waitress came towards the table and gave them each a menu.
"I will be right back to get your order! Please take your time to choose one of our pastries and drinks!" She bowed and left.
They all scanned their menu, already knowing what they would order. Clearing her throat, Karin spoke.
"Okay, you already know your duties so the next thing will be about the Ritual of Binding. The ritual is done in three stages. First, the Acceptance. The Protectors have the free will to accept the duty to guard the queen or to refuse." She propped her elbows on the table and linked her fingers. "That time in the infirmary was the start of the ritual. Next, is sealing the oath- in other words, a kiss." She lightly blushed at this. "In this stage, the kiss seals the promise of protection of your respective queens.
Before she can continue, Karin waved the waitress over. The girl hurriedly came to their table with a notepad and pencil in her hands.
"What would you like to order?"
"Strawberry shortcake and green tea with honey." Karin answered, turning to the others. "What about you guys?"
"Chocolate cake and with the same tea." Mikan replied.
"Cookies and cream Shake." Kazune spoke, scanning the menu again.
"Hn. Green tea." Natsume grunted, crossing his arms.
Mikan sweat dropped. 'What's with the 'Hn'? I thought he's over that?'
The waitress quickly jolted down their orders. "Your orders will arrive shortly." She bowed and left.
When the waitress was far enough, Karin continued. "The last stage is the Mark. We must perform the full ritual in an open space and put up a barrier just in case." She paused in thought. "In this, a queen must offer some of her power to her protector in a form of a core. This core is then inserted in the body of the protector and they will feel the tremendous power which then lead to fainting."
"Fainting?" Natsume furrowed his brows in confusion. "Go on."
"Obviously, the powers of our core will be too much for you to handle-"
"No matter how much you will say otherwise." Mikan cut in again, glaring slightly at the raven haired lad who only raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"So you will faint afterwards. You will be unconscious for two days as your body needs to get used to the new extra power. When you wake up, you will come with us to the Royal Dimension to train you for your new powers." Karin ended.
"Any questions?"
The guys were quiet for a moment before Natsume spoke.
"What's the Royal Dimension?"
Mikan linked her fingers on the table. "It's a dimension that all five queens created for safety purposes. It's just like a normal realm only it's use for training and relaxing." She hummed in thought. "It also serve as a passage to each of our universes, if I remember correctly..." Karin nodded in confirmation. "So yeah! That's it."
Kazune stared at their pendants. "Those...pendants of yours." He started, hesitating slightly. "I know that Karin means 'flower bell' and I kinda understood the reason why Mikan's is sun...but I'm sure there's a reason for that, right?"
Mikan blinked. Then grinned. "It's actually represent our powers. Karin is flower bell because back in the days, those flowers were said to be a protection for fairies from rain. Karin's power came from the essence of light while mine came from the light. Her power is celestial because of her god transformations." She paused when she saw the waitress approaching, two trays of their orders balanced on her hands.
She placed the sweets and drinks on the table and smiled. "Enjoy your food! Thank you for coming to our cafe." She bowed in gratitude before walking away.
Mikan immediately took her chocolate cake with a fork on the corner and took a bite. She moaned in delight.
Karin plucked the strawberry from her cake and popped it in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. "Mikan's power is like the sun; fiery, scorching, powerful and dangerous. Her Alice was originally formed from the light but we all know that when there's light-"
"There's darkness." Natsume said.
"Exactly." She nodded, crossing her leg over the other.
They treasured the silence that fell upon them until they started talking about random things and answering questions from the male duo for half an hour . As they talked, the cafe began to fill up with people, making the place get busy.
Karin sipped the last drop of her tea and set it down on the table. Closing her eyes and gathering her thoughts, she stood up and gave a brief nod to the door of the cafe. The others nodded and stood up, Kazune leaving a tip, and exited the shop.
~*~*~*~
Tomoeda High School....
Arms stretched upwards to the sky, Sakura Kinomoto breathed the fresh cold air, smiling and humming as she walked to her school. She was in a very happy mood!
There was not a time when those two new foes that seemingly appeared out of nowhere where she could be at peace.
Remembering her two new enemies brought a small frown on her face. Those two were very advanced in terms of magic, they were practically playing her! Not only that, they were mocking her cards!
She scowled at the remembrance of their remarks, her right hand clenched into a fist. 'Nobody mocks my Cards! The next time I see them, I will-' She blinked when she felt something soft on her lips.
"Good morning."
Sakura blushed at the smirking guy in front of her. Dark brown eyes and messy chocolate colored hair. Her supposed-rival since elementary for the Clow Cards, and now her boyfriend after the Sealed Card incident.
"S-Syaoran! W-What was that for?" The gold-brown haired card mistress stammered, blushing madly.
Syaoran smirked at seeing his girlfriend flustered. He leaned in and captured her lips again before saying, "Can't I kiss my girlfriend?" He took her hand and together, they walked towards the direction of their school.
Sakura tried to tone her blush down and pouted at her boyfriend. "I was surprised, that's all." She whined to herself. He only chuckled and held her hand tighter but not enough to hurt her.
He smirked, that oh so smirk that Sakura find attractive. He leaned in to her ear.
"If you continue pouting like that, I won't be able to stop myself." He whispered huskily, making the golden brunette shiver.
"Stop teasing me!" Sakura exclaimed, stomping her feet like a child. Realizing her actions, she stopped and tried to pretend that act never happened. Really? Her, a Card Mistress, acting childish. That's not how she's supposed to act.
A exasperated sigh was heard. "Will you stop it?"
"Stop what?" She asked, confused.
Syaoran tried to stop himself the urge to roll his eyes. "That. That look where you should act mature just because you are now the Card Mistress." He inserted his free hand into his pocket. "Just because you are, you are still 14. You need to have fun and relax. Not act like its the end of the world. Besides..." He flashed her a smile. "I love you being you." He softly said.
Now she looked like a tomato. "S-Syaoran." She was truly touched at his words. She relaxed, then remembered the source of her frustration. "I-I can't relax! Not with those two twins messing with me and my cards!"
Syaoran's eyebrow twitched, remembering a certain person from the blue haired duo who took a particular liking to her girlfriend. And not by looks either. He was greatly displeased.
"Yeah." He grumbled, glaring at mid air.
They arrived at the entrance of the school when a car pulled up just beside them. The car door opened and out came Sakura's best friend and cousin.
"Tomoyo!" Sakura yelled as she ran to her best friend to give her a hug. "Good morning!" She greeted after they broke apart.
Tomoyo smiled sweetly. "Good morning, Sakura, Syaoran." She walked ahead with the other two beside her. "You look like you're in a good mood today, Sakura." She mused. Sakura blushed at the remembrance of her boyfriend's touching words. Syaoran noticed her flustered face and had the nerve to smirk and wink at her behind Tomoyo's back.
"Of course she is."
She stuck her tongue out in return.
Tomoyo shook her head at their antics. Her gaze turned to the blue sky above, a smile playing softly on her lips. 'Love is a beautiful thing. I wonder whom I will share it with.'
~**~
Kaylina surveyed the black frost-like substance around her 'prison'. 'Funny how I used to call this place my sanctuary.' She mused to herself in a saddened tone. The black substance was like poison, eating the neon-colored magic in the 'room'. 'And someday, it will reach me. Unless Mikan and Karin will be able to gather the others.'
Her gaze dropped to the cherry blossom pendant around her neck. Two out of five petals were in their bright respective colors while the other three were darkening.
Sighing, she clasped her hands around the pendant and closed her eyes. With Mikan passing her second stage, she might be able to visit more frequently. But she's not gonna visit either the brunette's or peach blond's dreams.
"I guess I will visit the Queen of Magic tonight."
~**~
After class...
The trio just passed the park when the two different-hues brunettes felt a spike of magic essence. They moved to their battle stances and prepared to distinguish the location of the aura. Unfortunately, before they could do so, the aura disappeared.
"Is there something wrong you two?" Tomoyo, who was behind them, asked. They were just conversing about Sakura's new foes when the couple suddenly froze.
"You felt that too, Sakura?"
The said name nodded. "That was the same magic aura that I've felt yesterday." She said, releasing their stances.
"Yesterday?"
"Is that why you reacted strangely, Sakura? When we went to school together?" Tomoyo asked. Syaoran turned to her before putting his attention to Sakura.
She nodded, her eyes serious. "I can't explain it very well but...it feels...familiar to me somehow." She murmured. "Like I should know about it..." She trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"Let's ask Cerberus. Maybe he also felt it." The other two females threw him strange looks. Feeling defensive, he added, "Just because we don't get along doesn't change the fact that he's more informed about magic than us." He raised his hands in an attempt to look that his statement didn't bother him at all.
Sakura nodded in agreement. "Let's go to my house. My dad is coming home after a meeting and I'm planning to bake him cookies. we should ask Kero after that. Care to join me?"
"Sure!"
~**~
Knock! Knock!
"Come in!"
The door opened as the peach blond continued whatever she was typing on her laptop. Mikan entered wearing a casual dress while looking annoyed, muttering 'stupid Natsume' under her breath.
"Yes Mikan?" Karin asked, her eyes never leaving her work.
The brunette breathed deeply before answering. "Dinner is ready. You should come down while its still hot."
"Okay. I just have to finish these application forms first."
Mikan raised her eyebrow in confusion. She approached the peach blond who was typing on her bed and peeked at the screen. "Added details? What's this about?"
"An enrollment form to Tomoeda High. We're going in as transfers."
Mikan pulled back as if she touched fire, staring at Karin with a horrified look. "E-Enrollment?! I-In NOVEMBER?"
"So?"
"Its in the middle of the school year!" Mikan protested. "This is a small town, there's a chance we could bump into her in the streets in any given time. Or maybe we could just visit the school and ask for a tour or something- but please!" She begged, giving the peach blond her best puppy dog eyes. "Let's not go to school~"
Too bad Karin didn't fell for it.
"Mikan...even though we have years of knowledge on end, Kazune and Natsume still needs to study." She said in a half-serious and half-lazy voice. "And considering the amount of girls that will possibly jump at them in a secluded place gives me a shiver down my spine. So being the caring fiancee I am, I will ward of those hungry hyenas with or without using my powers!" Saying the last statement with a devious smile made Mikan back a step.
"O-Oh, okay. Can you just...finish that after dinner? We still have to do the final ritual tomorrow so the guys can help us fight with the enemies."
Karin gave a brief nod, typing a few keys before she breath in relief. She set the laptop aside and got off her bed. "Let's go."
And then they proceeded downstairs to eat.
"By the way, what were you muttering about earlier? I heard Natsume's name."
"...Nothing."
~**~
"You don"t say..."
"Yes, do you know anything stuff toy?"
A tic mark appeared. The stuff toy formed sun guardian scowled at his mistress' lover. "WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT!"
"Just answer the question." Syaoran said in a calm manner, but his eyes were drilling holes through Kero's body.
"NOT IF YOU DON'T RESPECT ME!"
"That's because you are just a stupid stuff toy!"
"G-Guys?" Sakura sweat dropped as the two bickered, throwing insults back and forth.
After they had baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies, Sakura put it on the tray in the middle of the table with a small note. They had dinner after that and then the trio proceeded to the card mistress' room where Kero was thinking about something very deeply.
Tomoyo only giggled before separating the two. "Now, now, we won't get anywhere if you two continue to fight." She turned to Kero. "So have you felt it?"
Kero hummed and flew on Sakura's bed, glaring at the brat for a quick second, before crossing his arms and with his eyes closed. "You said that you felt the same magic presence today and yesterday morning, correct?"
"We already said that." Syaoran muttered boringly. Sakura nudged him on the ribs for his comment.
Kero 'hmm'ed and opened his eyes. "Actually, I do feel it. Yue too. We can't be sure of whom it belonged to because they are very good in masking their essence." Then he slightly smiled. "But don't worry, they are not a threat."
"How can you say that?" Sakura asked.
He just shrugged. "A feeling, I guess." While they were not looking, Kero hid his grin. 'So this is why you convinced our master to guard her, huh Lina?'
Then he yawned and flew to the drawer where his make-shift bed is. "Well, its no use pondering about it now. All you need to worry are the twins whose creating trouble around town." He lied on the bed, his eyes closed and said, "I'm gonna go to sleep. Goodnight!" And he was out like a light.
Meanwhile, Syaoran sighed and stood up. "Even though I'm skeptical about this, he's right. We'll worry about that magic later."
Sakura couldn't help but be disappointed. She really wants to know who owned that strange and familiar essence and ask how they can mask it so expertly.
'They're right.' She decided. 'I'll worry about it later.'
~*~*~*~
AND I FINALLY UPDATED!!!!! I am sosososososo sorry, my dear readers for the very late update!! I was SO busy that I had barely enough time to update. Not to mention, a lot has happened in school and I really want to sleep all day. :-}
That's why its a good thing there are no classes tomorrow because our teachers are going to have a teachers' assembly or something. Anywho, I hope this chapter was worth the wait even though I was (like) dead for almost two months. ^_^
BTW, HAPPY VALENTINES EVERYONE!!
To all singles, just eat ice cream and watch TV! :-) To all who already have a date, please share. We singles want to know what its like!
Hahaha, see you next time~