Last Chance For Destiny

Hello readers! ^.^ This is the authoress Anthy speaking. I'm co-creating this fanfic with my friend Emu-chan (don't worry, she's an amazing writer so you can expect quality from her!). Just to let you know, while this fanfic starts out sadly, it evolves into a fluffy ficcie later. Mmm, I believe that's all I need to say, please, enjoy, and for the Goddess' sake leave us /u! Especially me, I'm a comment /i!

Disclaimer: We do not know Card Captor Sakura, sadly enough! So please, don't sue us poor fangirls!

Chapter One: Ring of Memories

"You're wrong, Syaoran! It doesn't have to be this way! We could write one another letters, talk to each other online, call each other every once in awhile, we could ..." pleaded Sakura desperately, tightening her grip on her boyfriend's shirt. He only cast his eyes away from her tear-stained face, eyes so filled with sadness that they betrayed the blank look frozen into his face.

"Is that the kind of relationship you want, Sakura?" Syaoran said coldly, and Sakura stared up at him in disbelief, tears blurring her vision. Feeling trapped and helpless, she said nothing for a moment.

"I want to be with you," she quietly said at last, her voice becoming overwhelmed by emotion, "That's all I need."

"You need more than a voice and words to keep a relationship alive," said Syaoran, still adverting his eyes, "You need more than that to be happy."

"That's not true! You only need love, and trust. I'm happy just to be with you, even if you're ten thousand miles away from me!" Sakura cried out desperately, tears now streaming down her cheeks. Syaoran only sighed in grief.

"This isn't just for a little while, Sakura," he said seriously, trying to block the emotion that was threatening to flood his voice, "I have to stay in Hong Kong for years, at least..."

"I told you, I don't care! I love you, and you love me, can't that be enough?" Sakura pleaded, trying to lock her eyes with his. He finally looked at her straight on, and Sakura's heart winced at the lack of emotion- any emotion, be it love or sadness- in his eyes.

"No," Syaoran said coldly, "It can't be."

At that, Sakura lost all control, and began to sob, her tears staining Syaoran's shirt as she cried out, bit by bit, the hope she'd been clinging onto for weeks.

She felt Syaoran's hand on the back of her head, stroking her soft hair gently yet firmly, holding her close to him. "I want you to be happy," he began quietly, suddenly gentle. "You can't be happy if I'm not near you. Trust me, Sakura, it's ... it's better this way. It's for the best."

"No!" Sakura choked, Syaoran's hand still calmly comforting her, "I'll love you forever, and I'll never be able to be truly happy without you!"

"Forever?" Syaoran whispered as Sakura sobbed into him, "... no. You'll see, soon ... eventually ...you'll forget your love for me, and you'll love someone else, someone nearer to you. You'll forget all about this."

Sakura cried out, a cross between a sob and a scream, her heart tightening as it shattered. "Is that what you'll do, Syaoran? Will you forget your love for me? Is it that easily for you? Why doesn't this kill you as much as it's killing me inside? Tell me, tell me why you're really doing this!"

Syaoran said nothing, only pressed her more firmly to him, and hearing this Sakura sobbed louder until her knees gave way and she sunk to the ground, Syaoran kneeling to fall with her. She never heard his whisper ...

"For you, Sakura, for you," Syaoran whispered, breathing in the scent of salt and vanilla, of her tears and her soft hair. "And no, I will never ... forget my love for you."

"Why, Syaoran, why?" she cried out desperately, her heart breaking when she was answered with silence. "Why this? Why?"

(Two Years Later)

"Why?" Sakura whispered, tears beginning to fill her full, sad eyes. She shifted the ring she held between fingers, feeling the cool silver metal grow warm at her touch, the pink sapphire catching the light as if to shine with the hope of times past. "Why, Syaoran..."

Sakura's roommate and best friend heard her quiet voice, far too sad not to be heard, and turned to her with concern. "Sakura, are you alright?"

Sakura, startled, looking up at her and smiled sadly. "Yes, I'm fine, Tomoyo-chan."

"You're not fine!" Tomoyo exclaimed, frowning. "You're crying! What's wrong?"

"It's just ... just ... ahh, it's..." Sakura began, sorrow flooding her voice and tears falling down her cheeks. "It's..."

"That's the ring Syaoran gave you, ne?" Tomoyo said sadly, frowning when she saw the ring that Sakura held between her fingers. Sakura nodded slowly.

"It was supposed to be a promise ring, to promise that we'd always love each other, kind of like an engagement ring only not really and..." Sakura began but trailed off when her tears began to overcome her. Tomoyo, about to cry herself, walked over to her friend and knelt down in front of her suitcase, taking the crying girl into her arms.

"After all this time, Sakura?" Tomoyo began sadly as Sakura cried into her shoulder. "We haven't even heard a word from Syaoran in years..."

"He just ... left ..." Sakura said, beginning to sob. Tomoyo sighed, holding her closer, the rich scent of Tomoyo's long, dark hair overwhelming Sakura's senses.

"I know, I know," said Tomoyo sadly, "But it was for the best, Sakura."

i"Trust me, Sakura, it's ... it's better this way. It's for the best."/i

Sakura winced.

"You would have only been hurt, to be with someone who could so easily abandon you," Tomoyo continued. Sakura's crying began to ease, but her heart still ached just as deeply.

"Something was wrong about it, Tomoyo," Sakura said sadly, breathing in the scent of her friend's warm skin, "Some part of it was false, a lie, I just know it ... I know that he ... loved me..."

"Shh," said Tomoyo gently, pulling Sakura into a warm embrace. Sakura hugged her back, though still frowning at her thought. Had it all been true, or was there something she didn't know? She had a gnawing feeling that ...

Tomoyo sighed, hugging Sakura closer until she finally pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiling sadly. Tomoyo frowned.

"It's all in the past, Sakura," she said, "You shouldn't do this to yourself."

Sakura nodded sadly, her thoughts elsewhere, dwelling on the failed destiny that was her past with Syaoran. She had truly loved him, and being with him had always felt ... right. She had always felt fulfilled with him, satisfied in a way that made her feel so complete it often scared her, though it brought her much happiness. She had truly been in love, and she wished only at that moment to know for sure that Syaoran had not truly loved her back, because that, though painful, would explain everything. After all, how could he still love her after all this time? They hadn't even spoken in ages.

Sakura began again to unpack her suitcase, looking around her college dorm room with a small, sad smile. Tomoyo was hanging up her adorably-designed dresses in the closet. Her life was good without Syaoran, and she knew that seeing him again would only cause her pain.

"I needn't worry about that, though," thought Sakura, "Syaoran is off in Hong Kong somewhere, probably passionately kissing some other nice girl..." and with that final thought, she sighed sadly. Still, even if that were true, her life was still happy.

"It's funny how sometimes things just don't work out," thought Sakura as she pulled out a pile of neatly folded shirts from her suitcase. She shook her head sadly. "And here I thought it was destiny..."