Disclaimer: We don't own CCS. Clamp Does. But penguins will rule the world one day with their cute, fat bodies.

Summary: Abruptly and tragically orphaned, Sakura is shunned by her peers due to her introversion. A lonely boy befriends her, breaking her silent shell. Before she can thank him, he has already left. Will Sakura ever get her chance?

Prologue

"Do I have to go to sleep now?" Sakura whined. She was exactly five years, two months, and one day old. That was old enough to sleep later than eight o' clock.

Nadeshiko chuckled and stroked her only daughter's hair. "Maybe when you turn six you can stay up until eight thirty," she compromised.

Fujitaka passed the doorway of Sakura's bedroom, dragging a reluctant Touya by the sleeve of his pajamas. He was lecturing his oldest about playing pranks at school, "I don't care if it was a dare, and I don't care if it's your last year of middle school; you were supposed to write an essay on Japanese geography. Not turn in pictures of it."

"She assigned a two thousand word essay. A picture's worth a thousand words, isn't it? Two pictures, two thousand words," grumbled Touya.

"I thought it was funny," whispered Sakura softly to her mother as she snuggled with her beloved teddy bear. It was her first toy, given to her by her family, when she was born. When she was old enough to speak, she named it Kero because she always thought frog croaks were silly sounding. A piece of ribbon was strung about the bear's neck with a solitary, silver heart charm, engraved were the words "Forever love – Mommy, Daddy, and Touya."

"Time to sleep now, ne Sakura?" Nadeshiko kissed her on the forehead and stood up. "But you promise you'll take me to the zoo tomorrow?" reminded Sakura. Nadeshiko smiled and nodded her head and backed out of her daughter's bedroom as Sakura was drifting off to her own zoo paradise.

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Sakura sat up straight in her bed. Something had woken her up. Someone was downstairs. 'Daddy?' she wondered. She glanced blearily at her Hello Kitty clock. Almost 2:15 AM. Glass breaking. Hushed whispering. Feet shuffling. She saw her father turn on the upstairs lights and run downstairs. A gunshot immediately rang out.

A tremor of fear passed through Sakura as she heard her mother scream and run downstairs as well. Touya ran into his little sister's bedroom. "I've called 911. Everything will be okay," he said hurriedly and was about to dash out when he saw Sakura's terrified eyes. He walked over and gave her a tight hug. "Everything will be okay. Just stay here." He tucked her in again with Kero and left, closing the door.

She could hear more screams, shouts, glass breaking and then silence. She shivered, tears welling up in her eyes. Then the piercing shriek of the ambulance and police cars broke the deathly silence downstairs. She jumped out of bed, still holding Kero, and hurried downstairs.

When the medics and police officers entered the house, they were met with the sight of two dead bodies and a screaming and sobbing five year old.

Sakura couldn't remember what happened after the medics found her. A woman took her to the police station. They were talking about her and her family. Phrases floated around that had no meaning to her. Intruders caught. All relatives deceased. Parents left no will. Can't find the brother. Orphan.

Sakura merely stood there in the confusion of paper, people and legalities, desperately holding on to Kero. After all, he was the only family she had left now.

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