Hunting Emerald's Secret

Chapter 20: Apart from reality

--- Author's Comment ---

Well, this is it: The end. And this time I'm not kidding. It's finally the last chapter. I only want to give hugs to all those who reviewed me. And yes, Mystress Tate, thank you for pointing out my spelling error. I accidentally spelled Eisein when it's Einsen. They are the same person so don't get confused. And I also made another mistake, the part where they find that out that Kazue is not Yuka's grandmother. (I accidentally wrote granddaughter ^^;) For all of those who didn't understand my last chapter, here is a little review.

--- Last time ---

Sakura was about to insert the pendant into the pyramid made of vespers. But Yuka stopped her because she knew that the legend had all been a lie, that it was actually a weapon. Sakura starts to doubt between the two of them, and Einsen does not wait for her. He tries to force Sakura into placing the vesper, but Syaoran kicks him. Einsen however, does not give up that easily and punches Syaoran back, therefore reaching out for Sakura's pendant again. Sakura had already thought that this would happen and throws the pendant away. It falls outside the balcony and Einsen goes after it, dragging along Sakura. They both start falling, but Syaoran manages to grab Sakura's hand. Nevertheless, his hold isn't enough, and Sakura starts falling. But before she reaches the end, the emerald shatters to pieces and she smiles. 

--- ----

" Nothing is what it seems in this world... "

There was a short period where Sakura couldn't feel a thing. Only blackness surrounded her as she felt her head ache. However, she found herself able to actually blink slowly, since her eyelids currently felt heavy.

The first thing that she saw was a blinding white light that made her shut her eyes again. It was not until later that she started hearing whisperings around her.

' Oh no. I'm dead, aren't I? Of course, silly... I couldn't have survived...'

The murmurings died away when she tried again to open her eyes. There were two unidentified figures standing in front of her. She squinted as though she was staring into the blazing sun and gasped. She recognized them when they became visible.

" A-Am I in h-h-heaven? " She suddenly found herself asking. Her voice was tiny and reduced, as frail as a whisper.

There was a familiar chuckle heard. She knew it by heart to whom it belonged. But it couldn't have been. Sakura's family had all died. All by Einsen's fault... then that could only mean, heaven or not, that she was indeed dead.

" Touya? " She asked again.

" In the flesh, monster... " 

Her eyes became teary when she heard that voice she had longed for, and her vision became blurry when she recognized that the second person was her father.

" I missed you both..." She called out, to the nothingness, since she was still blinded by the strong light.

" We missed you too, Sakura " her father responded, " I was so scared... "

" Scared, why? "

" That you would leave us, just like your mother. We didn't want to loose you... "

' Loose me?! What the- what's going on?! '

Sakura's mind suddenly crashed making her headache intensify. What were they talking about? It was them who had died. Not Sakura.

" What do you mean? " She asked perplexed, still sightless.

" Don't you remember, honey? " Her father asked in a sad tone.

" Remember what? "

" The accident... "

" I died... didn't I? " Sakura interrupted him.

" What are you talking about? " Touya now awkwardly asked.

" I fell down..."

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. Someone cleared his throat and her father answered.

" Yeah, you fell. But you are not dead... why would you be? "

Sakura just didn't get it. Did her family believe that they were all alive and healthy? What was wrong with them?

" I won't deny what happened. Just please tell me the truth... "

" Sakura, what's wrong with you? " Touya now worriedly asked. " Why don't you see for yourself? "

Sakura took a deep breath and sighed. She slowly opened her eyes and found out that they had already started adjusting to the light. Little by little she noticed that the light was actually a lamp that hung up in the ceiling. She burrowed her eyebrows when her brain couldn't coordinate the situation.

She was apparently in a grayish room, since the walls that used to be white, were stained with dust. There were all sorts of equipment around her including tubes that came in and out of her body.

Sakura soon found out that she couldn't move at all, even though she wanted.  

" W-Where the hell am I? " She managed to choke out.

Hadn't she been falling down an eleven-foot building along with Einsen?

" You are in a hospital... " Her father explained.

" Because... "

" You had an accident, monster. You fell... " Touya tried to continue, but Sakura was too stubborn.

"... From a building, didn't I? " She completed, her eyes waiting for the answer she knew.

Touya made an expression and frowned, " Not exactly..." 

" You are both dead! How can I be speaking to you?! " Sakura managed to barge in yet again.

They both sighed. Touya muttered audible enough for Sakura to hear, " The doctor mentioned that this would happen... "

" Doctor?! What doctor?! Why can't I move?!?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?! " Sakura raised her voice starting to freak out.

Her father tried to calm her down, " Don't worry, everything will soon make sense. It was just a trauma, one that you survived... "

" Survived from what? "

" From death " Touya pointed out.

" I don't get it... What happened? "

" Honey, don't you remember anything? " Her father asked.

' I remember quite a lot, thank you. Einsen, Syaoran, the emerald pendant, the rest of the gang... I was clearly in the air last time I remembered... '

" Don't you remember that you were at the mall? When you were with your friends? " Her dad insisted.

" But, b-but that was a week ago... " Sakura replied.

" Bingo! " She heard Touya say, and ignored him.

" What was the last thing that you did at that mall? "

" I forgot my shopping bag... " Sakura recalled, "... but I bumped into Syao- I mean, this guy... " She suddenly stopped. Knowing that she couldn't speak any further of what had happened.  It was all supposed to be a secret.

As though she had already found the answer, her father responded, " You had an accident with that same boy... "

" By what do you mean... accident? I m-mean, s-s-sure I bumped into him, but there was nothing serious, w-was there? "

His father frowned at this and shook his head.  Sakura nervously laughed, thinking that it was all a joke. As if he had read her mind, he suddenly said.

" This is nothing to joke about. It's quite serious... " He sighed and rubbed his forehead with his fingers, " I know this is hard, and you probably haven't noticed, but you've been... in coma... "

" WHAT? " Sakura couldn't believe it.

' This is just a crazy dream... Please tell me that it is... '

" Calm down. It wasn't that severe... It only lasted a week... that's all... "

" A WEEK!? YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT I'VE BEEN LYING IN THIS BED FOR A WHOLE WEEK WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT? "

He nodded.

Sakura tried to grip her head with both hands but it was impossible. Instead she shut her eyes. Today she was feeling like shit: her whole body ached, her head hurt, and her brain couldn't absorb what her father had said.

" IT CAN'T BE! I WAS... I MEAN- I WAS ALIVE! I KNOW IT! "

" You were about to die... You just had dreams... Nothing was real... "

Sakura shook her head, " ...it can't be... "

Were they playing with her? What was going on? Had everything she had lived for the past days been a lie? Syaoran, Tomoyo, Meilin, Daisuke, Yuka, Einsen... They had all been so real. She had tasted anger, love, and sadness. She had felt pain. She had kissed the guy whom she had fallen in love with, and never regretted the moment. She had smelled the rain in the mornings and the warm air in the evenings...

How could all of this not be real?

" I'm telling you. I did live. I think that I died, and here I am. In what's supposed to be heaven... "

" Sakura, get a grip on yourself. You are in the world... reality. You had a coma for a week and thankfully you awoke from it. You bumped into a guy at the mall and that you accidentally hit your head... understand? " Touya replied.

" NO! I BUMPED INTO HIM AND RAN AWAY FOLLOWING HIM... HE HAD LOST SOMETHING!!!! I'M TELLING YOU!! YOU'VE GOT TO BELIEVE ME!!!!!!!"

She was loosing control and reaching a peak where she couldn't stop. Everything had been and felt so real... just yesterday she had caught a fever... And in the midst of this agitation, she barely noticed the doctor standing next to her; holding an injection. He grabbed her arm and stuck it in. Sakura felt a little sting and she started feeling drowsy, until her eyelids could take no more.

--- A week later ---

The birds chirped harmoniously outside Sakura's window as the sun started to rise into the early morning. And even though the day was pleasant and cool, the trees were already leaving their red, green and orange leaves on the ground.   

Touya came into Sakura's room and smiled mischievously. ' What to do next? ' He thought to himself and then a wide grin spread across his face. He hurried out of the room and returned minutes later with a bucket full of ice...

" WHAT THE-?! "

Touya dashed out closing the door.

" I'M GONNA KILL YOU TOUYA!!!!! DAMNIT!!! "

Life had returned back in Sakura. Her father had explained to her what she had heard that horrible day. She had been in a coma for hitting her head. At first she couldn't seem to move her body, but she took therapy for a week and now she was back to normal.

There was one thing that she learned though, and that was to never let out that secret that she had. She didn't dare to tell her father or Touya about the vespers and how she had fallen in love with Syaoran. She sort of knew that if she told them, then she would probably end up in an asylum. However, she still had faith in what she had lived that week.

" Touya, you are soooo going to pay!!! " Sakura warned, dashing off to school since she was already five minutes late.

--- School ---

Sakura's friends immediately hugged her when they saw her. It had been practically two weeks since they had seen each other with no news. Unfortunately, Sakura had missed her first dance with her hot date, but that didn't matter anymore. Her heart currently belonged to someone else.

" Aww... it's a shame that you missed it... " Naoko kept insisting, "... you had the perfect dress and date... "

Sakura sighed and replied, " Yeah, I know... "

" I heard that he went out with Amy... " Chiharu suddenly mentioned, as if this matter would be important to Sakura.

But she didn't seem to respond; her mind was drifting somewhere else...

" Sakura, what's wrong with you? " Rika noticed.

" What? Oh... nothing "

" Don't worry, there are other dances... You'll have tons of chances to get another date with Sadao. " Chiharu encouraged her.

Sakura smiled knowing that her friends were trying to get her happy again, but currently she couldn't avoid being miserable. She decided to head back home.

--- Home ---

Sakura reached her room and dove in the bed with tears already forming in her eyes. She had been crying every day knowing that she couldn't return back. She was happy that her family was alive and with her, but the truth was that she deeply missed Syaoran and the rest of the gang. It hurt her to not know what had happened after the emerald pendant had cracked...

Sakura buried her head under the pillows and let herself drown in her own depression. What if her father was right? What if they all had never existed? Once she had thought about it, it did seem a little too weird. There were parts in her adventure that had seemed fiction. Like the way she had been sucked into the mirror, or those holograms that she had seen in the haunted mansion...

There were little details that she hadn't given her full attention to. Kind of like clues that somehow told her that part of it did exist and the other didn't. What if it represented something? The whole idea of the hunting had been to make dreams come true. But Yuka had said it had all been a fraud, that it had been really a bomb...

They had already existed in previous forms: hope, desire, soul, wish, feelings, trust and prospect... Could it be that they were somehow related to each other?

The doorbell rang and Sakura's dad opened the door. A little while later he shouted, " Sakura, there's a person I'd like you to meet... "

Sakura rolled her eyes thinking that this was not the time, and unwillingly stood up and wiped her tears with her hands. She took a second to look at the mirror. The girl in front of her looked wretched. She straightened her uniform and combed her hair. Trying to smile she went downstairs.

" Sakura, remember how I told you bumped into a boy? " Her father asked.

Sakura nodded.

" Well, he came to see how you were feeling. "

" Dad, now's not the time... " Sakura replied.

" Nonsense, you need to thank him. He did quite a lot. I'm sure that he will explain you the trouble he went... "

Sakura sighed defeated. " Okay, were is he? "

" Outside. "

" Fine "

Sakura opened the door and stepped into the sunlight. She squinted and saw a figure a steps away from her. It was the boy.

He was apparently with his back toward her, staring at a tree which leaves were falling. Sakura cleared her throat but he didn't budge. Seeing no response she walked a few steps and did the same. The guy simply ignored her.

' Oh come on. As if he's deaf or something... '

Sakura stepped right beside him with an enormous space between them both. By now the only detail that she knew about him was that he had brown hair. She didn't dare look at his face, since she was still thinking about that adventure that she had once had.

She didn't realize that a minute had gone without either of them talking. Remembering, she suddenly thanked him.

" Thank you for saving me " She muttered.

The guy laughed and didn't answer. Sakura felt a rush of anger.

' Couldn't he be a bit more polite? Of all the things that he can do, he chooses to laugh! '

" Why are you laughing?! I just thanked you... " Sakura replied.

This only increased the laughter that the guy had tried to hold.

" Damn it! What's wrong with you?!?!?! "

" I didn't save you... " The guy replied.

" Huh? "

" You saved yourself, Sakura "

Sakura suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her stomach that caused her to have goose bumps. She knew that voice was familiar, and she hadn't heard it for quite a while. She slowly turned her head to examine the profile of the guy, who was still watching the tree in front of him. One word could only describe him: handsome.

Little by little she began to recognize that she was trying to live that dream she had once had. And as soon as the boy realized he was being watched, he turned his head to see her face to face. Her body paralyzed.

Right in front of her very two eyes stood her dream, her non-existent love. The one she had claimed to be over.

There was something different about him: his expression had changed. He was smiling.

Laughing and smiling: an interesting combination that made him even more gorgeous than before.

His eyes were still as amber as she had last seen them. And his hair was far messier than it had ever been.

" Missed me? " He asked with a grin.

Sakura's heart leaped with joy and so did her body when she found herself in the arms of Syaoran. Her eyes began to water.

" Please tell me that this isn't a dream... " She whispered, not wanting to let go.

He laughed yet again, " No. It isn't... "

Syaoran pulled her apart and grabbed her by the shoulders. " You did it. You broke the pendant... "

" What do you mean? " Sakura asked.

" Don't worry, I know that you must be confused. Let me explain... "

They both sat down in the grass full of colored leaves. Sakura rested her head in his shoulder as he began.

" It wasn't all a dream as your father expected it to be. It was another reality, created by you. It all happened when you bumped into me and hit your head at the mall, remember? "

" I did? "

Syaoran nodded, " However, you hit your head with the floor and became unconscious. "

" What?! "

Syaoran frowned, " There was a part when I wasn't conscious myself, and when I woke up I soon realized we were both lying on the floor. I didn't know who you were or from where you came from, so I took you to a room in a motel nearby, hoping that you would wake up. And you did, but only for a minute. "

" Wait a second. I remember it. I fainted in the motorcycle, found myself in the motel room and then woke up in the subway... "

" You could say that you were in your own reality... " Syaoran pointed out. " What I mean is this, you weren't really here, but you weren't dreaming all of this. You were actually fighting. "

" Fighting? "

" Battling for your life. You were dying and I won't deny it. You were in a critical state and needed seven things to continue living. You needed hope, feelings, desire, wish, prospect and trust... "

" The seven vespers... " Sakura whispered.

" You required them to keep you alive, since they were taken away from you. And that was the secret. The legend led to your life... "

Sakura thought for a while, taking in the information. It did make sense.

" But what about the bomb... Yuka said that if I inserted the pendant inside the pyramid of vespers, then the whole humanity would die... "

" And it's true. Think of your life as a book. Without enemies or problems, there wouldn't be a meaning to it, wouldn't it? "

" No. " Sakura replied thoughtfully.

" Which means that you had to struggle trough that coma. It most have manifested in a complicated legend. You are a complex girl, after all. "

" NO, I'M NOT! " Sakura warned, her cheeks slightly pink  

Syaoran smirked at her reaction.

" Anyway, I get all of this. But how did you become involved? " Sakura asked.

" That, I have no clue... I also became unconscious for several times without even knowing it. And I found myself helping you, already knowing what I had to go after, and keep you alive... "

" So Einsen never existed? "

" No "

" Oreo and Saori? "

 Syaoran shook his head.

" Yuka? "

" What do you think? " Syaoran asked her.

She sighed, " What about Daisuke, Meilin, Tomoyo and Eriol? "

Syaoran frowned at this, " Sorry, but they were also created by you... "

A tear slid down her cheek, " B-But how did Daisuke know all those things. He told me that nothing was what it seemed. "

" It was a part of your conscious trying to snap you back to reality. It was telling you that it was an alternate world. "

" Oh, I'm going to miss them all. "

" No you are not. They will remain in your heart " Syaoran added, " Friendship can't be broken that easily... "

" So Meilin wasn't your cousin... "

" No. You made her into my cousin. " He stated, then said after a long silence, " Anyway, I finally found out about you and were you lived. So while you were in the subway with Tomoyo, I took you to the hospital, where they called your brother and father... And after that I don't quite remember only that I later woke up in a hospital bed... "

" Because you were with me, weren't you? "

He smiled.

" Sorry if I caused you problems " Sakura apologized.

" None at all. You needed me, and I wanted to help you, even if at first it didn't seem like it. You changed me, Sakura. You gave life to my heart. You freed me from my past. "

Sakura smiled as he took her hand and squeezed it lightly. 

" But what about my pendant? It disappeared in the other 'world ', but here I still have it... "

" Of course. It cracked. Let's just say that it represented your life caught inside of it, waiting to come out... The only thing that happened was that you associated your life with what your mother had given you since you were young. It influenced you. "

Sakura took out her necklace and looked at it. It reflected the sun's rays.

" So part of it was reality and the other wasn't... "

" And now that you are awake, you have to leave it behind "

" But I won't! "

Syaoran looked bewildered, " You won't?! "

" It was all too wonderful. That friendship that we all had... "

When Syaoran didn't answer Sakura moved closer to him. She continued, " Okay, so I did save myself from death, but it was you who helped me do it. You made it all too damn special and different..."

Syaoran smirked as he let her hands wrap around his neck as they both stared at each other. And suddenly the world that Sakura had once known had returned to her, as they both kissed. The gang hadn't faded. They were still there, among them both. Tomoyo was kissing Eriol, and Meilin was hugging Daisuke. She could also feel Saori petting Oreo, and Kazue smiling right back at her... And even Yuka, whose expression had changed...

She had hunted for a meaning to live again and she had found it. Not only had her secret been her life, but also the gang, her friends and Syaoran, her love. 

THE END

--- Author's FINAL Comment: ---

This is it you guys. My first story has been finished. I hope that you liked it. But before I say good bye,

A BIG THANKS TO:

(lol, I'm aware that some of the names are repeated since I only joined the people I thanked on the past chapters... ^^;)

Virgo Writer, RuBy MoOn, Xiao Mei, Sakura_Free_Spirit, Amy, Kitty Neko, Ai no Senshi, Kan-chan, ChibiSakuraSyaoran, Wezl, pretty-anonymous14, emeraldiris, Catrina, Rhea, Ryuuen Star, crystal, Nymph, chibiookamigirl, BrokenWings, Emma, Luna-Sarita, sakurachick127, ClowCardGirl, Hong Ying Fa, rankane4, Sakura-Avalon, Rishaini, SweetCherryBlossom, dstrbd child, Angel Blossom, ..., SakuraBubbles, snowylove-angel, RaCHeL, tweety and Lally, crystal, s.c.a.r.l.e.t, ss forever, meinien, BrokenWings, kirjava-chan, Linky-chan, Xiao Mei, Ryuuen Star, pinklover, ChibiSakuraSyaoran, Kan-chan, Blind Fath, Sakurablossom101, aku-chan, crystal-kitty2003, Jazzy , michelle, chibisakura , carol, Illusion , Jewelkitten , ccsfanatic, Kawaii-CherryWolf , ice_queen664, Lady-Tomoyo, Lance Dragonheart , Kristal, karan, KristiexxNguyen, Tish, chibisakura, Kawaii-anime-lover , Chihiro, Anna, kawaiitenshisakura, ssforever, Din, azn-angel , Firey chan , x kyoot x, lilyflower, ChErRy BlOsSoM, mysticalia, fireangel, Cherry-Lally , HeavenlyAnimeAngel, Mei Yen, 0, SweetBabyGurl, Di, Sakura-Blossom, jg, Lady-Tomoyo, chibisakura, Ryuuen Star, sk, crystal-chan, Mei Yen, karen, Terri, mysticalia, Megami No Hikari, Karen WindStar, Linky-chan, d, Anime girl, Kawaii-Fairy-Emma, Star-Phoenix, 1, otaku, ssforever, Pink Hana, Animefreak242, SEXY VIXEN, Illusion K, carol, Sakura-Blossom, AnimeObssesionFantasy, Xiao Mei, abc, lilyflower, azn-angel, SweetBabyGurl, Fiery chan, luckyducky7too, otaku, ChErRy BlOsSoM, Crazygurl, bAbY sTaR aNg3L, Terri, Cata-chan, Cherryheart, hermionepotter, xiao ying fa, aya-yahiko, ac4cherryz, Inu-ying-fa, Jewelkitten, Kayla, acursed-angel, Pnaixr0se8, Lena... C4C, RmGrace, Arulon, hayle, LiL LiLy, Time Whoadie, pinklover-sama, Cherry, moondragon131, ssmoments, mel 88, gwen, AsnPnayCCLluver7, Kawai-CherryWolf, silent H, hana-lai, zxoaswtxiaolang4oxz, aya yahiko, Bloddlust Night, Sakura Fairy Angel, Time Whoadie, Kawai-CherryWolf, meinen, MimiGhost, Illusion 1412, LyingFatkitsune831, Sakura-Blossom12, Midnight Star, RMGrace, otaku2, Terri13, Akasha, Scarlet Rose, Tenshi-Hotaru, lei, d26, Mystress Tate, Shinigami Clara, Cherry Destruction, stary angle, Ice-saturn, old lady heart heart, Piffles, Lily*Star, 17SKY, iris dreamer, chibi tenshi, ss-kat10, Shinigami Clara, LighthawkKnight, Anime girl Carrie, Sakume Nohara, Mindy, cheriblossom, Flaming Sakura,  Kita, sAfAiA HiryUu, silent h, SaKuRa Kinomoto-Li1, Gwen, moonlight angel, cheyee, kinomoto, Evil Jealousy, chibi ijin, ClassicElfRyoko, *S*K* + *S*L*, sakura -keroberus, stranger, zero-shadow, Ria, Ice Itako, MegamiNoHikari, Linky-chan, Twilight Dragon, JG, Dragons Maiden, Sakura Angel 14, ShiintoSakka45, Youngling Milk, LiL DuDeTte, Linda18, MeMe, Suga Gurl, Angel Fairy Sakura, sonydjsnmix, Julia and Tania, anonymous, Jaina, Shinsei Kokoro, sharoN, ChibiSakuraSyaoran, Latinagal, Jiruru-chan, Cherry Jade, japanimerox, StarryC, azindreamerccs, fanfiction_lover, *S*I*T*A*295, Geminikika1, AnonymousT, demi kaijuu, kmpnay, Emily10, Mabel, ~*~*~ Angel ~*~*~*, Lilangelwithluv, sprout, ~*~sabby~*~, gamegirl546, Brenda, Game Gal, Food-luver, Forbidden_Light, Jewelkitten, Water Maiden2, EmeraldEyesofTrust, Sakura Angel 14, Jennifer^.^, Silex, BlossomBerryBabe, love ur stori, Hikaru Ayumi, Sakura(really), Starry C.

(For those who I did not mention, I didn't do it on purpose, I must have missed you, so I thank you too. And also Kisses and Hugs to those who will review after this chapter. )  

You've all been a great motivation!  ^^

Stay tuned for my next CCS fict. I don't know how it's going to be named, or what it's going to be about, but I do have some ideas, and hopefully you will find it as interesting as this one. For now, I'm taking a nice deserved break. My next one will probably be around Christmas vacations. See ya!! ^^

VIOLENT HAYES