Disclaimer:

Shes Bad Writer: Of course, I own Cardcaptor Sakura and Clamp looks up to me…

Arandom Guy: sarcasm… Not a very good disclaimer, considering you own squat.

Shes Bad Writer: I so own something. Look! My own grain of rice!

Arandom Guy: …good job.

Star – Gazers

"Who are you?"

It is nighttime in Tokyo, Japan. The air rustles through the cracks in between the dense buildings. A girl and boy are hanging off the top of the Tokyo Tower, both on the two alternate sides.

The girl is dressed in white, with a long cloak completely covering her down to her calf. She wears a white cap, with a pink sort of outlining on the edge of the hat. She wears white cloth boots, which at close glance; you can tell that they were handmade. It is dark out, though her expression is very distinguishable.

The moon swells and shines brighter. The green in the girl's eyes darken. Her uneven hair sways and moves with the wind. Her hair is kept short, because the need for free moment was very important. One of the girl's arms is used to hold onto the tower, along with her feet which are slid in the grooves. The other is holding a short pink staff ending in a ring with a yellow star in the center of the round ring. Two small wings are attached to the sides of the ring.

Besides the girl, on the other side of the tower, is a tallish boy with dark hair and serious amber eyes. He is dressed in a familiar set of emerald green robes, though the style of them is more Chinese than Japanese. A closer look at a boy, and you will find that he is Chinese, rather than the obvious Japanese style that is accustomed to Japan. His uniform is made of a very light silk, which is flexible and very easy to move around in. Like the girl, one arm is holding onto the tower while the other is holding onto something. The something is a long and prideful sword.

Across from the pair on a high terrace is another person, with long and very wavy hair. The wind picks up the right moment to weave through it. Her eyes are dark and shadowed, and her features are blurred and undistinguishable, unlike the two on the tower. This girl also has a staff, which glimmers eerily once in the moonlight. It is longer than the girl, because it reaches from about level with the ground to maybe two feet about her head. The staff ends in an oddly designed crescent.

The girl and boy on the tower look across at the person on the terrace. They tense and clench the tower tighter. A rather high Japanese voice, belonging to the female on the tower, begins to speak. "Who are you?" She says again.

The sound that is issued…

RRRRRRING!

"Sakura! Get up! Don't forget, you have home economics today! You're making pastries, remember?"

Kinomoto Sakura lifted herself off of bed and rubbed her eyes. Was it morning already? It seemed like she had just fallen asleep a few minutes ago. Nevertheless, the clock read 6:30 am. The ringing continued, and Sakura realized that she hadn't turned her alarm clock yet, and then quickly snapped the alarm off. She rubbed her eyes, and yawned.

"Good morning, Kero-chan," Sakura smiled.

"Get up! You're going to be late," Kero, the small winged bear-like figure that had waken Sakura up paused and fluttered over to her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just that I'm a little tired. I did have to wake up earlier today, remember? We have Home Economics, like you just said, and I have board duty today," Sakura hoisted herself off of bed and slowly changed her clothes.

"Need help?" Kero asked.

Sakura looked over to her desk and something caught her eye. "Oh!" She exclaimed. Suddenly her heart leapt and Sakura felt a sense of longing. It was a goodbye present from Li Syaoran, the most important person to Sakura. She had received it from him after he had left with Li Meiling, his cousin, back to Hong Kong, China, where they both lived. Sakura missed them terribly, as Tomoeda, Japan and Hong Kong, China are hardly close. The present was a handwritten note written from Syaoran, and a lovely hair ornament. Sakura could picture Syaoran's slightly Chinese-accented Japanese ringing in her ears.

I'll come visit you with every opportunity I get. It's not like we're not going to be able to see each other again, right? Write letters to me, and I'll respond to each one. I hope you do well in school, and I hope you are well. Don't get into too much trouble, and be careful.

Love,

Syaoran

Sakura's heart quickened yet again when she read the last part. "Love, Syaoran." They were wonderful words. Sakura picked up the hair ornament and studied it. It was a piece of white jade, with intricate designs and patterns on it.

"Sakura! Are you alright? You spaced out a bit," Kero faced her worriedly. "Hm? What's what?"

"It's something… It's something Syaoran-kun sent me," Sakura said distractedly.

"That brat again? I thought he was back in Hong Kong," Kero said.

"He is. But he gave me this, remember? When he left three months ago? It's very pretty. I'm going to wear it today," Sakura put in the hair ornament and then smiled.

"At least he's got some sort of taste," Kero almost-commented. He was going to say something more, but seeing the look on her face made him stop.

Sakura nodded, and then looked at the clock and shrieked. "I'm going to be late!" She yanked her backpack off of her chair and shrugged into her jacket. Sakura ran downstairs and ran a fast "Ohayo!" and then sat down at her place at the table.

"Where's Dad?" Sakura asked, noticing the absence at the table.

Kinomoto Touya looked at his little sister and shrugged. "He's on a business trip. The students in his college are working on their first dig or something. What makes you so late this morning?"

Sakura grew red and her hand instinctively reached for the ornament in her hair. "N-nothing. I overslept, is all."

"Not occasionally…" Touya said.

"Oh Nee Chan-uh…!" Sakura looked at her brother angrily, and saw him set a plate of pancakes at her seat. Her face turned from an angry red to a normal shade. "What are you doing for work tonight?"

"You saw the whiteboard already? I would have thought you were so keen on getting here that it took you thirty minutes to come down the stairs, kaijuu," Touya smirked at his sister.

At this, Sakura bit her lip, trying to restrain the anger welling up in her chest. "I saw the whiteboard," was what Sakura managed to say.

"If you're wondering, I have a job as a receptionist tonight at college. Yuki is coming too."

"Yukito-san too? Tell him I said hi," Sakura smiled.

"Yeah, okay. If you don't eat now, you're going to be late," Touya said.

"What about you?" Sakura said.

"Because this kaijuu is so slow, I'd go first and be the only one on time…"

Sakura glared at her older brother and looked at the pancakes on her plate. She let out a strained "Itadakimasu," and then shoved bits of buttermilk pancakes in her mouth. After she was finished with that, Sakura changed into her rollerblades and disembarked.

Remembering the day, October 11, Sakura remembered it was her friend Yanagisawa Naoko's birthday. For a moment she panicked, afraid that she had forgotten to put Naoko's birthday gift into her backpack, then relaxed when she remembered double-checking the night before.

Sakura made it to school soon after that. While going in, she spotted Daidouji Tomoyo, Sakura's best friend. "Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura rollerbladed toward Tomoyo and smiled.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo smiled and then her face grew tense, serious, and disappointed.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Ano… It's just that, I don't have any more opportunity to make you any more costumes! And since Li-Kun isn't here anymore…" Tomoyo emphasized the name, and added a dramatic pause for effect. "I can't even make shots of the two of you together anymore!"

Sakura found this very odd. But what was she to expect? Tomoyo was after all, a very weird person. But there was one thing Sakura knew for sure: bring the subject off of Syaoran. "Oh! Tomoyo-chan, what did you get Naoko-chan for her birthday?"

"I made her a batch of cookies in the shape of books. Chiharu-chan bought her a new eyeglasses case! It's really pretty. And Rika-chan got Naoko-chan a type of portfolio. I'm pretty sure it's the kind where you enter in information or something like that. It's the kind your dad has for entering weather, but it's less expensive, I think Rika-chan bought that sort of gift for Naoko-chan so she can keep track of what she has read," Tomoyo ended with a curt nod of her head. Tomoyo was a very pretty girl, though you could not compare her to Sakura because both girls were very different. Tomoyo had very long and beautiful raven-black hair, amethyst colored eyes, and very pale skin.

"Sugoi!" Sakura exclaimed. "What great presents!"

"Oh! Sakura-chan, what did you get Naoko-chan?"

"I bought her two new books. They're long, so I think it will take her long enough to finish them. They're about magic." Sakura realized the topic was getting dangerously close to talking about Syaoran again, so her voice trailed off.

Sakura and Tomoyo put their books away in their lockers and then the bell rang. "We're going to be late! Run, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo exclaimed.

"Right! Let's go!" Sakura and Tomoyo picked up the speed to their Home Room.

"Ohayo-gozaimasu everyone!"

"Ohayho-gozaimasu sensei!"

Mr. Terada took role call. Sakura looked at the empty behind her and the empty seat behind Tomoyo's desk and sighed. First the desk behind her was always occupied by Syaoran. It was behind Tomoyo's that Meiling and then Eriol occupied in.

The bell rang for first period, so Sakura and Tomoyo took their birthday presents for Naoko and walked together to the Home Economics classroom.

"You all remember your tasks; we went over all of the instructions yesterday!"

The class smiled, as they were ready to work.

Sakura and Tomoyo took their booth and craned their heads around for a familiar group of three heads. "Look! They're over there!" Sakura and Tomoyo kept their purchases and handmade presents behind their backs and waved.

"Ohayo Sakura-Chan, Tomoyo-chan!" Chiharu and Rika welcomed them.

Naoko looked at the pair and waved; she was behind a small wall of brightly colored paper. "Happy birthday, Naoko-chan!" Tomoyo and Sakura said in chorus. Both of them held out their presents and smiled. "These are from us!"

The girl lifted her large spectacles further up her nose. "Domo arigatou! Thank you very much. These look really good, Tomoyo-chan. And those look very interesting. What great presents. Thank you!"

Sakura and Tomoyo exchanged glances and returned to their booths. "So you stir that way…" Sakura looked at the recipe book and stirred counterclockwise. "So that's how it's supposed to look!"

"Alright class, you should all be ready to put your pastries into baking. Get to lunch and eat; they should be ready when you're finished. Clean up!"

"Hai!"