Nadesico's Daughter:

.:Part One:.

A Card-Captor Sakura Fanfiction by Kit Spooner

All characters portrayed here are the property of CLAMP, Kodansha, a bunch of other Japanese media companies, and a certain Canadian dubbing company that will heretofore go unnamed. I don't claim to own these characters, but the situations I put them in belong to me. I would rather this wasn't posted anywhere without my permission, so email me with questions. Don't steal. I bite.

Author's Pre-Notes: For everyone's information, this fic falls under the 'Alternate Universe' category. Basically, I'd love to have my story fit into the glorious CCS canon, but I haven't seen/read enough of the later episodes/issues to be able to confidently write about it. My story begins (in flash-back form) a little while after Sakura has finished capturing all the cards and has already faced Yue. The action in this story (aside from flash-backs) takes place about five years later. I think. So, uh, if you don't want to be spoiled for the first half of the Card Captor Sakura story (the whole Clow Cards story arc), then you probably shouldn't read this. Then again, I don't go into too much detail. There are a few events which I borrowed (in some form) from the Sakura Cards arc (mostly Touya/Yukito/Yue stuff), and you'll probably notice them when they come. If I get details wrong or something, feel free to blast me for it. I'm just an ignorant fan. Okay, 'nuff chit chat.




Li Syaoran was indulging in what could only be called his favorite pastime: watching Kinomoto Sakura. It looked like the girl was as bored with the teacher's lecture as he was, since her expression was one of bland disinterest and she was idly winding one lock of her auburn hair around her index finger. Despite the fact that her brilliant green eyes were slightly glazed, and there was a reddened portion of flesh on the side of her face betraying the fact that she'd been napping on her desk but a minute ago, Syaoran was reminded how lovely she was, in all her mundane glory. For mundane she truly was, now that she had no more magical power than the average seventeen-year-old.

As had become habit for the boy, Li Syaoran reached out with a faint tendril of his own magic, gently probing at the edges of Sakura's mind, testing for the surge of almost-electricity that would signal the return of her powers . . . and her memories. It was with both relief and inexorable sadness that Syaoran confirmed that Sakura was still ordinary, and had no recollection of her time as a Card Captor. She didn't even remember him. Oh, she certainly knew who Li Syaoran was, since despite his rather taciturn nature, Li-kun was fairly popular, particularly with the female population of the high school, but Sakura didn't remember being with him, didn't remember how he'd saved her those many times, how she'd saved his life just as frequently, how she'd saved it that one, final time, during that pivotal moment.

Syaoran's eyes squeezed shut. No, he thought fiercely, trying to turn his mind away from painful memories and back to the more pleasant task of memorizing Sakura's features. Don't think about it. It's over, you've just got to wait. That's what they told you so many years ago. All it will take is time. And Syaoran had waited, waited an eternity. Perhaps not an eternity, but those five long years had felt like one. He wondered for the thousandth time what she would say to him once she regained her memories, once she suddenly remembered the boy who'd loved her so very much. Would she remember the things she'd told him that night? Or would she simply dismiss it as the dreamings of a child? Indeed, they had been children. But no longer. He was seventeen, and so was she. Hadn't it been long enough yet?

I should have forced Yue to give me an approximate date, fumed Syaoran, his features darkening at the thought. And now he's beyond my grasp and there's no one around who could tell me. Not Yukito, the poor man. Not Tomoyo, for all her attentiveness. Not even Touya, had I the courage to ask him. Li Syaoran was stuck, to put it simply. He could not go back, and he could not move forward. He could only wait . . . and remember. The memories struck at the most inopportune times, and that terrifying night slid back before his idle eyes more frequently than he would have preferred.


He remembered the cold, and the heat, and how it was difficult to differentiate between the two. It had been dark, but the dark held pain, so Syaoran had struggled back to consciousness in time to see Sakura blast the creature. Sakura's control over the Clow Cards had increased to the point where she could call two at the same time, and she took advantage of this skill now to wield her flaming rapier. The Sword worked in tandem with the Fiery, giving form to the hungry flames, and together they struck out at the oozing darkness, evil given form, that Sakura fought. Sakura's fury fanned the flames hotter and the creature screamed, a high, lost sound that hurt Syaoran's ears and made him flinch away from the battle.

The faint movement was enough to remind him of his wounds. He'd managed to slow the bleeding from the slash down his leg by tying a length of cloth ripped from his robe around his thigh, but each breath pained him and he suspected that he'd broken at least a couple of ribs during his earlier attacks on the creature. Syaoran steadfastly refused to acknowledge the pain that radiated from his spine and burned with frost. He didn't blame Sakura, he could never blame her, not her . . .

Yet it had been her blast that had struck him full in the back, that had sent him flying fifteen feet until he slammed into a tree and was knocked unconscious. Sakura's blast of ice had gone awry and had found Syaoran instead of the monster they'd been fighting. Syaoran's wandering thoughts suddenly focused and he wondered where Yue and Kerberos were. They should have been here to protect their mistress from creatures that would devour her and her power.

Sakura's furious scream jolted him from his daze and he jerked his head around in time to see her release an enormous sphere of pure, raw energy from her out-flung palms. The scintillating, crackling ball slammed into her opponent and the monster vaporized instantly, dissolving into nothing in the blink of an eye. All that remained was a small area of ground where the grass was singed brown. Despite the weariness that suddenly pressed down upon Sakura, she staggered back over to the tree where Syaoran was sprawled. As she approached, he could see the tears rolling down her cheeks, could see the horror in her eyes. He realized that he must look pretty bad for her to look at him like that.

"It's not as bad as it looks, Sakura," he finally said, forcing his mouth to curve into a smile, ignoring the pain of his split lip.

"Oh, Syaoran," she whispered, kneeling before him. "I'm so sorry." Her words were halting, as though she were having difficulty speaking at all. Tears still trickled down her cheeks and Syaoran raised one hand to brush away the tears with his thumb. He drew back uncertainly as the passage of his thumb across her cheek left behind a faint streak of fresh blood, probably from his leg. Sakura didn't seem to notice.

Kerberos burst into the clearing and skidded to a halt beside Sakura and Syaoran. "Are you two alright?!" he asked frantically, his eyes taking in the blood that surrounded the two children.

Yue appeared behind Kerberos and came to a more controlled rest next to the group. "They're both alive, Kerberos," he said in his oddly resonant voice, "Even if they're not 'alright'." He reached out to touch Syaoran's forehead, ascertaining in the single contact that while the boy was not in danger of his life anymore, it would certainly be a long time before he was perfectly healthy.

"It's all my fault," Sakura suddenly said, her voice unusually subdued. "I . . . I had the power to defeat it, but not the ability. What happens the next time I'm attacked? What if I hurt someone again, like Li-kun. What if I even . . ." She turned to Yue and told him, quite seriously, "Take away the power. I don't want it."

"It doesn't work that way, Mistress," Yue responded, glancing over at Kerberos for support.

Kerberos nodded and added gently. "It's not a power to be bestowed or taken away. You were born with it. It's a gift from Clow given to you through your father."

"It's not a gift!" cried Sakura, her tears flowing anew. "I almost killed Syaoran! That makes this a curse, doesn't it? I don't want it if I can't control it!"

Yue and Kerberos exchanged a long look before Yue added a quiet, slightly reproachful, "I told you she was too young."

Kerberos nodded. "I guess you were right, but it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle now. Once someone's powers are manifested, you can't just un-manifest them again."

Silence fell upon the little clearing, broken only by the irreverent song of a few brave crickets. Sakura gazed at Syaoran, and rested her hand against his cheek; he reveled in the softness of her skin against his. She appeared to be thinking very hard, and Syaoran nibbled nervously on his lower lip as he tried to figure out what was going through her mind. Was she really so upset that she'd accidentally hit him? Syaoran hadn't known she'd be so torn up about it. What did it all mean? And why was she still touching his face? A blush slowly rose up to tint the Chinese boy's scuffed face.

Sakura suddenly looked back up at Yue, who had been watching her intently. "You may not be able to take away the power, but there is something you can do, isn't there?" Her gaze was piercing and it wasn't long before Yue broke down and slowly nodded his head.

"Yes, there is something, Sakura," he replied, his words slow and carefully chosen. "We cannot remove something that you were born with. It would be like trying to remove a portion of your personality." Sakura's expression fell, and her eyes shimmered suspiciously. Yue began to speak faster, in hopes of staving off another wave of tears. "But while we can't necessarily remove your power, we can seal it away for a while. We can keep it safely inactive until you're old enough to begin learning how to control it."

Sakura immediately brightened and clasped her hands under her chin. "Really?" she said brightly, blinking away the impending tears. "That sounds like the perfect solution!" Then her gaze darted from Yue to Kerberos and back, her smile faltered slightly. "What's wrong? There's something you two aren't telling me."

Kerberos sighed and ruffled his great wings. "You're getting to perceptive for your own good, Sakura-chan," he said reproachfully. "But you should know the repercussions of sealing away your powers. To begin with, the energy flows which you are barely able to control are part of you, and it is impossible for you not to manipulate them. The skill is too much a part of who you are. To seal away power, we must also seal away a part of your memories. In this case, knowledge is power, and it's a power you cannot hope to control yet." He looked towards Yue, who nodded again.

"As long as you remember being the Card Captor, we cannot protect you from your power," he summarized. "If we perform this sealing, then your life will change significantly."

Sakura's eyes had grown wide. "I won't . . . remember?" Her voice faltered as she tried to process the information. Her hand automatically sought Syaoran's again and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I won't remember the two of you, Yue, Kerberos? I won't remember the fun I had with Tomoyo-chan when she made me Card Captor costumes? I won't remember . . . Syaoran?"

Yue and Kerberos silently nodded in unison, having nothing left to say.

Syaoran, who had been listening, dazed, pushed himself upright and pulled at Sakura's hand to get her attention. "Sakura, you don't need to do this. You didn't hurt me all that much and I'm sure you can learn to control the power. I don't want you to be hurt by this. I don't want you to . . . to forget . . ."

His words trailed off as Sakura turned her gaze upon him. Her expression was enough to bring the boy close to tears himself. "I don't want to forget either, Li-kun. I don't want to forget any of this; I don't want to forget you." She reached out with her other hand to clasp his captive hand between both of hers. "But I don't want you to die. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I really hurt someone. I've already hurt you, badly, and don't shake your head at me. I know you're hurt. What if it's Tomoyo-chan next time? Or what if you aren't strong enough to ward off the blast next time ?" She shook her head, sending her short hair swinging. Her expression grew determined and her eyes, stubborn. "I have to do this, Syaoran. Please understand."

Syaoran continued to shake his head at Sakura, but his protests were even less cohesive than before. "But!" he began, raising his voice. "But I . . . I . . ." He paused to swallow against the sudden lump in his throat. "Sakura-san, I . . . I l-- . . . I lah-- . . . dammit, I l-like you!" His face was beet red from the effort and he looked ready to explode.

Sakura's brilliant green eyes widened and she looked stricken. "You . . . you do?" She squeezed his hand tight. "I didn't know, Li-kun. I had no idea . . ." She glanced over at Yue and Kerberos, who both had the grace to look a little sheepish. "Did you two know?" Both magical beings nodded and Sakura sighed. She looked back to Syaoran and smiled weakly. "Li-kun, you're my best friend, aside from Tomoyo-chan, and I don't ever want to lose you. It's why I have to go through with this. Don't you see?" She closed her eyes tightly to hold back another fall of tears. "I . . . think that I might . . . like . . . you too."

The girl's face was scarlet by the time she managed to get the words out, the blush matched only by the one blazing across Syaoran's face, stretching from ear to ear. Syaoran was so utterly flabbergasted that he couldn't speak. His mouth moved jerkily, but no sound came out. As if realizing that any delay could cost Sakura her courage, she quickly leaned forward and brushed a feathery kiss across Syaoran's cheek, then pulled away and stood up, turning to face Yue and Kerberos, who were waiting patiently.

"So when I do this sealing thing," she began slowly, her voice quavering ever so slightly, "I'll lose my memory, but no one else will, right? Both Tomoyo-chan and Li-kun will still remember?"

Kerberos nodded briskly. "We can safely leave their memories alone. We'll probably need Li-kun to keep track of things, magically-speaking, while you're unable to." He spared a quick glance towards the Chinese boy in question, but he was still reclined against the tree, his hand pressed to his flushed cheek, his gaze unfocused. "And Tomoyo is certainly trustworthy enough." Kerberos eyed Sakura for a moment before asking, his tone and words formal "Are you ready, Mistress?"

"Yes, Kerberos," she replied, her voice steady and clear. "I am ready to seal away the Clow Mistress until I am strong enough for her. Do it, Kero-chan," she added in a more conversational tone.

There was no reply save for the flare of white light that erupted around Sakura's slight form, bathing the clearing with a harsh glow. Sakura threw her head back and sang out a series of utterly incomprehensible words, her tones liquid and foreign. Then she fell silent.

She kissed me! Syaoran's mind sang. She likes me and she kissed me! Gee, this is great! The dance of silver light across Syaoran's face brought him slowly out of his daze. "Eh?" He blinked at the light and then picked out Sakura's slim shadow among the flashes. The expression on her face was one of deep sadness and she was slowly slumping to the ground. "Sakura!" shouted Syaoran as he staggered to his feet, ignoring his injuries, and leapt forward to catch Sakura before she crumpled to the ground. He ignored the coruscating lights, which began to fade even before he reached Sakura's side, and carefully lowered her to the ground. He brushed the auburn fringe back from her face and searched her covertly for signs of injury. She seemed fine aside from the fact that she was unconscious and barely breathing.

Syaoran, still crouched over Sakura, a bit like a lion over a kill, glared up at Kerberos and Yue, both of whom were at their most inscrutable. "What the hell happened?!" he demanded, his voice breaking on the final syllable.

"She agreed and we sealed," Yue replied simply.

"I'm sorry, Li-kun," added Kerberos as he padded over towards Sakura and Syaoran. "I think she made the right decision." He sighed and nudged Sakura's pale face with his nose. "And she'll be back one day. You'll see. That's the way the shield works."

"As for you, Li-kun," began Yue in a serious tone. "We need you to help us keep an eye on Sakura. My power will be severely curtailed while Sakura isn't aware enough to feed me power, and Kerberos will be somewhat limited as well, and we'll be busy monitoring the seal on Sakura's powers. No matter how well we seal them, how tightly they're kept, at least some power will leak out, and this may cause problems. I'm not really sure what else to tell you, Li-kun, but we may well need your magical talents in the coming years."

Years, thought Syaoran miserably. So it's going to be years before I get Sakura back. His eyes inexorably sought out Sakura's face, which was beginning to regain some of the color it had lost. "Don't worry, I'll watch her," he told Yue and Kerberos in a quiet, firm voice. "I promise."


Movement to his left startled Li Syaoran from his reminiscing. Class was over and the other students were gathering up their books and miscellany. They chatted and laughed and Syaoran felt oddly out of place, as he so often did. One silvery laugh drew his attention, as usual, and he found himself once again surreptitiously watching Sakura as she laughed with the cluster of girls who always hung around with her. Even without that aura of arcane power that Sakura had always exuded, she still had the power to draw people to her.

Syaoran felt his face heating as he was forced to acknowledge that he was among the people drawn to her. Her certainly wasn't alone among the male contingent of Sakura-admirers. It was very hard for Syaoran to keep from glaring at the trio of eager boys who hovered around the edges of Sakura's ring of female friends. Syaoran had to keep reminding himself that Sakura was still without her memories, and didn't really have any reason to return his interest. Whatever had been growing between them five years ago was no longer an issue, no matter how much it made his heart ache.

Instinctively, his eyes sought the one person who he could relate with. Tomoyo had taken up a position somewhat outside Sakura's immediate ring of friends, and was watching her best friend with a gently content expression on her lovely face. If Syaoran hadn't been so thoroughly smitten with the oblivious Sakura, he would certainly have noticed how Tomoyo had grown over the years, her waifish features lengthening, along with her slender frame. Her skin and eyes were still luminous, framed by the lustrous fall of her dark hair. With a start, Syaoran realized that he was staring at Tomoyo, and she was now staring back.

A mysterious little smile played about her lips as Tomoyo threaded her way around her classmates towards Syaoran. "You were staring at her again, Li-kun," she murmured once she got close enough to be heard.

Syaoran blushed. He couldn't help it. "Uh . . . was I? Whoops."

Tomoyo laughed gently. "Why don't you just ask her out?" She smiled wickedly then added, a little louder, "It's really frustrating to watch you moping around like this, Li-kun."

With a startled yelp, Syaoran clapped a hand over Tomoyo's mouth, glancing over towards Sakura to make sure she hadn't heard. "Shhh!" he hissed frantically. "Don't let anyone hear!"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Li-kun," Tomoyo chided. "She's busy listening to Chiharu-chan babble about how silly Yamazaki-kun is. She's not paying any attention right now. But I could change that, if you want . . ?"

Syaoran's glare was enough to change the subject somewhat.

"Okay, no, then," she finished. "So, how's her seal doing? I saw you go fuzzy a little earlier and that usually means you're checking in on her."

He shook his head slightly, a little surprised that Tomoyo was observant enough to notice his trance. "No change, really. It kinda fluctuates every few weeks, but nothing unusual. She looks a little . . . tired, I guess. Is that why you asked?" He tried to keep the uneasiness from surfacing in his voice.

Tomoyo didn't bother trying to hide her worry. "Yeah, she's seemed a little distant recently, and she can barely stay awake in class these days. And she's just generally not, well, genki. You know how she usually is."

Syaoran's interest was piqued. "That could mean that the seal is beginning to weaken. Mother told me all about seals like hers when I was studying back home in Hong Kong. When the seal starts to weaken, the sealed person generally grows exhausted, since they're subconsciously shunting nearly all of their energy into maintaining the shield as long as possible." He began to grow excited, his gold-brown eyes lighting. "So maybe Sakura's starting to lose control of the shield!" He sighed. "Dammit, I wish I could ask Yue about this. He'd certainly know."

"Unfortunately," Tomoyo replied in a dry voice, "Yue's not exactly available right now. And even if he was, how do you think you're going to sneak over to Yukito's place without Touya spotting you? You know as well as I do how good Sakura's brother is at catching you off-guard."

The Chinese boy grumbled under his breath. "Stupid Touya."

Tomoyo laughed delightedly and reached out to pat Syaoran's cheek fondly. "You're so cute, Li-kun," she pronounced, a little louder than she intended.

Syaoran blushed immediately and tried to glare. He was only moderately successful.

Meanwhile, Tomoyo's declaration of Li-kun's cuteness had drawn the attention of a certain Kinomoto Sakura who watched with unusual interest as her best friend chatted with the attractive foreign student. After a few moments, Li-kun gave up trying to keep a straight face when faced with Tomoyo's sly remarks about Sakura and himself, and he fled the classroom, his face scarlet. Sakura watched him go, then walked over to where Tomoyo was still chuckling quietly. "You found yet another cute one, Tomoyo-chan," she commented, managing to keep the jealousy from surfacing in her voice.

Tomoyo blinked and glanced up at Sakura. "Who? Oh, Li-kun?" She smiled slyly. "You were watching him again?"

Sakura blushed prettily. "I was not! I was just curious to see whoever it was you were flirting with."

"Flirting?" Tomoyo asked mildly. "Hardly, Sakura-chan. He's . . . uh . . . not my type."

Sakura looked a little relieved, but she hid it well. "Are you sure? You two looked awfully close?"

Tomoyo laughed again and tossed the thick veil of her long hair over her shoulder. "He's an old friend, almost as old as you, Sakura-chan, but just a friend." She looped her arm through Sakura's and pulled her inexorably towards the doorway. "So there's no need to be jealous, ne?"

"Jealous?!" yelped Sakura, her tone rather similar to Li-kun's from earlier. "You think that I like Li Syaoran? I don't even know the boy!" She shook her head. "I mean, he is pretty darn cute, but it's not like we'd have anything to talk about even if I did try and get to know him." She glanced down the hall, as if seeking Syaoran's familiar figure, tall and leanly muscled. "He does seem awfully familiar, though. I always wonder if I know him from somewhere else . . ."

Tomoyo looked startled for a moment, her glorious violet eyes widening. Then her face relaxed into it's usual mild expression. "Perhaps you two were lovers in another life," she suggested, struggling to hide her impish smile.

"Tomoyo-chan!" gasped Sakura, her entire face flushing scarlet. She was torn between indignation from the teasing and embarrassment at how close Tomoyo's jibes seemed to cut.

Tomoyo giggled and waved her hands in a warding gesture. "Sorry, I won't mention it again. Won't mention him again. Won't mention how cute you think he is. Won't mention how you stare at him, or how he stares at you, or . . ."

Sakura rolled her eyes and decided to ignore her friend. She didn't need to be reminded of Li-kun. She'd already spotted him, walking several yards ahead of them, his bag slung carelessly over one shoulder. He certainly was undeniably cute, almost beautiful, his features were so fine. And now, as she watched him from the back, she had to admit that he had a really nice . . .

"Sakura-chan!" called Tomoyo, waving a hand in front of her friend's face. "You're staring at Li-kun's butt again!"

Staring as she was at Syaoran, Sakura couldn't help but notice how his step faltered and his back stiffened as he obviously heard every word that Tomoyo had just said. "Tomoyo-chan!" hissed Sakura, blushing horribly once more.

Tomoyo quickly changed the subject to avoid embarrassing her friend any more than necessary. Sakura made non-committal answers to the dark-haired girl's comments, but her mind was elsewhere. Li Syaoran seemed so familiar to her, and it was so very strange. She felt like she knew Li-kun, but despite going to school with him for a full five years, she hadn't spoken more than a few words to him. She glanced back ahead at his rapidly retreating form and smiled. Well, I may not know him very well right now, she thought, her smile widening into a mischievous grin, But I can certainly fix that . . .