This week's Tsubasa - Chapter 200

[nenena]

For the record, bronzemongoose called it.



We begin in the "present," with Kurogane, Fay, and Mokona making their obligatory cameo to speak to Syaoran. Mokona thinks it's amazing that Syaoran worked so hard for so many years in order to pursue his decision to protect Sakura. Syaoran says that he made that decision because he was so young - he didn't really understand what "protecting someone" really meant. But, at the same time, he is grateful for the years that he spent with Sakura, the people of the castle, and the rest of Clow Country.

Montage tiem! The artwork shows a bunch of scenes from Syaoran's time in Clow Country: Fujitaka hands him a book, Nadeshiko smiles and looks pretty, Touya and Syaoran spar with their swords, Yukito teaches Syaoran botany, the townspeople look goofily happy, and Syaoran holds Sakura's hand.

D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

In the present, Syaoran suddenly chokes up and falls silent. Fay touches his shoulder and gives him a Meaningful Look. Kurogane looks away from them both, looking vaguely Sad and Angsty.

Syaoran continues: "But no matter how much I searched, I couldn't find a way to remove the seal. And eventually, the day that I had been dreading came to pass."

Flashback again! Syaoran, Fujitaka, and Nadeshiko are at the pool in the ruins. It's Sakura's birthday, we are informed. Syaoran is beating himself up because he still doesn't know to save Sakura. Fujitaka assures him that it's not his fault - and neither Fujitaka nor Nadeshiko could find a way to save Sakura, either. "This is not your sin to bear," Fujitaka tries to tell Syaoran. But Syaoran still insists that this is all his fault. He flashes back (flashback-within-flashback!) to the moment when the black goo swallowed Sakura, and he hesitated to grab her hand in time.

Touya interrupts by waltzing in and being all, "Blah blah blah I AM TOUYA lol why is everybody so glum?" Oh, so apparently they kept Touya in the dark, too.

Then Sakura enters, escorted by Yukito. Sakura is wearing a robe covered in bells. She looks absolutely gorgeous.

But wait, what is going on? Is this her birthday party? Why are they all standing around in the ruins? I'm so confused. I think this is supposed to be some sort of ceremony... Is Sakura finally becoming the priestess? Either that, or this is the lamest birthday party ever.

Anyway, Sakura smiles at Syaoran. "Thank you for coming," she says.

Syaoran looks ready to cry. "Happy birthday."

Sakura smiles at him all cute and says, "Thanks!"

AND THEN SAKURA DIES.

No, I'm serious. She's just standing there smiling and then all of a sudden BAM! the black wings grow huge and spiky, and stab her through the chest.

She has this great WTF? look on her face, though.

OH NO IT IS THE END OF SAKURA OH MY GOD---

And then Nadeshiko pulls a Sailor Pluto. TIME STOP FOR THE WIN!

So Nadeshiko stops time and tells Syaoran, "I have stopped time." Way to go, writers. "But the moment that time starts again, Sakura will be dead." Right now we can see a silhouette of a frozen Sakura with, like, a gajillion pointy things sticking out of her chest. Um, isn't she kind of dead already? (Sakura looks very much like Anthy with the thousand swords piercing her, for those of you who remember Utena.)

Anyway, Nadeshiko starts coughing up blood. "Only you and I... can see... the seal... Please... save..." Then she collapses and dies.

Syaoran stares at the scene in front of him in horror. He thinks of what happened on Sakura's seventh birthday again. This is all because I hesitated to take Sakura's hand... If I could just return to that time...

The chapter ends with FWR appearing out of nowhere (WTF?!) and proclaiming, "I shall fulfill your wish!" So now Syaoran is going to... go back seven years in time, apparently. Whatever.

Edited to add: For those of you keeping track at home, this is the third time that Sakura has been shishkabob'd over the course of the series, and the third time that she's "died." Gosh, CLAMP. I don't know what's worse: the fact that you've killed the heroine of your story three times over, or the fact that you were uncreative enough to accomplish this the exact same way every time. Next time that you kill Sakura (and I won't be surprised if there's a next time), could you please add a little more variety to the cause of death? Seriously. Whatever happened to poison, or strangulation, or dismemberment, or good old-fashioned decapitation? Sheesh.

Well, at least something happened in this chapter. I was afraid that we were in for another five or six chapters of vaguely ominous foreshadowing before the plot moved forward again.