Disclaimer: I do not own Card captor Sakura or any of its characters and places. It's all Clamp's. I just own the story I made up.
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Blinded By Petals
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A story by Suohfei and Egyptia
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It was the first day of school at the Seiju High School of Tomoeda, and the first day in a Japanese school system for Li Syaoran. Like all new students he was nervous as hell; but unlike the others, his policy was not to show weakness, —in other words, feelings—thus making him seem at ease when it wasn't the case at all.
While walking in the corridors—in a seemingly casual manner while he was in fact anxiously searching for his homeroom— he reached for his sunglasses from his bag and put them on, hiding his amber eyes, to the sadness of many girls who had already laid eyes on him.
Suddenly, an auburn tornado came rushing at him and collided into him, making him fall while it collapsed on his chest. By the sudden movement, his head had jerked backwards and sent his sunglasses flying to the ground, breaking them into pieces.
The hurricane moaned in pain and rubbed her head, her emerald eyes spotting right away his amber ones. It had seemed that, for a moment, time had stopped while the two stared in each others eyes, until the girl stood up and apologized profusely for her clumsiness.
Without paying attention to her, he picked up the shards of his sunglasses and rolled his eyes before walking away.
While any ordinary girl would have given up on getting him to say something to her, this one followed him all day long.
At first, begging him for forgiveness, and then later on pointing out random sites of the school as if she was giving him a tour. To make matters worse, she was in all of his classes, and constantly waved at him with cheerful grin. The only way he could find to escape from her was to hide in the washroom, even if at first she had not noticed it was only for boys.
At the end of the day, as he was leaving the school grounds, he appreciated the silence that had been taken away from him the whole day by the "tornado girl".
At least, until he heard the sound of shoes tip-tapping closer and closer to him; without even looking, he already knew it was her. She jumped in front of him, making him stop dead in his tracks. She casually started explaining how her locker had jammed once again, as if it had a mind of its own. Feeling his temper rising, he all of a sudden exploded and began to yell at her; telling her he forgave her for breaking his glasses and that he just wanted her to leave him alone. She seemed a little taken aback; she stared at the ground, her bangs covering her eyes.
For a moment, Syaoran was sure he'd made her cry. He started walking away as if it were nothing. When the girl took hold of his sleeve and showing him the brightest smile he had ever seen as she said:
"I'm glad you forgave me, now we can be friends! My name's Kinomoto Sakura."
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It had been a year since that day, and spring had returned at last. The trees were in full blossom, especially the cherry blossoms. Syaoran was walking by them as he went to school.
It had been about three weeks since they had returned to school and Sakura still hadn't left his side. Even during the vacation she had come to visit him almost every day with a picnic or plans for a trip somewhere, while he would have preferred to just stay in bed the whole day.
Now that he thought about it, some sort of balance had formed in between the two: since she still hadn't given up on being his friend, she "socialized" with him by asking him questions which he occasionally answered to shut her up. Actually, she had learned quiet a lot about him in the past year...
Although he knew everything about her since she hadn't waited for him to even ask the questions to answer.
Lately, he had noticed her more frequent silent stares, strangely directed at him; he had asked about it once, but she had avoided the remark by looking up at the sky and asking if it was going to rain, despite the fact that it was a bright and sunny day.
And this morning was just like that day back then, with a refreshing breeze, keeping the air just at the right temperature.
Swiftly, a gust of wind blew towards him, carrying fallen petals from the cherry blossoms to his eyes, blinding him for an instant.
As he peaked through the light pink curtain, he caught a glimpse of a young girl, just about his age. Her shoulder-long hair flowing in the wind, created some kind of auburn aura around her head.
Entranced by the vision, he mindlessly took a few steps in her direction; he unconsciously smiled at her playfulness as she attempted to catch a few flowers falling from the trees, the rays from the rising sun gave her a certain glow making her even more angelic if possible.
She gracefully turned around revealing a pair of sparkling emerald eyes… emerald eyes which he knew too well.
Sakura waved at him happily as she rushed to his side—while he backed away quickly.
To his dismay, his perfect dream had just vanished, replaced with…Sakura, some kind of annoying little-perky-bunnies-and-happiness-all-over-the-place nightmare. He sighed as they both walked to school together; still a little too disappointed to listen to her one-sided speech about daydreams.
At lunch, they sat at their usual spot at a picnic table in the courtyard; Syaoran couldn't help but wonder if it really was her. He tried to look at her from the same point of view he had had that morning or if he had been blinded by the petals and the rising sun up to the point of not recognizing that it was Sakura.
"Looks like you're the one staring now huh!" She pointed out giggling to herself. She jokingly flipped her hair as she batted her eyelashes in a mocking seductive way as all of Syaoran's girlfriends had. "Do I look pretty? Am I slutty enough for you now? Or maybe I need to show a little more cleavage and wear a lot more make-up?"
The amber-eyed boy discreetly flushed and looked away but the pressure he was in made him unexpectedly snap.
"You think that's bad? At least I've got more than one friend!"
"Syaoran, those aren't real friends." Sakura softly pointed out slightly shocked by his sudden outburst.
That was for Syaoran, he stood up in rage, not even seeing the plates topple over the table or the drinks spill, as he let out all his anger.
"Do you know how annoying you are? Sometimes I wonder if you're just too stupid to notice! But you're probably so full of yourself that you don't even bother to consider that some people actually appreciate calm and silence! Why don't you go play with your friends, oh I remember, you don't have any! Maybe for once you should listen to me and just leave me alone!"
Breathing deeply, Syaoran watched the girl. She stared at her knees, her bangs covering her eyes from his view. Like Syaoran before she stood up, but kept quiet. For a second, the boy swore he saw a tear fall, but Sakura had turned her face away from him too quickly for him to be sure.
"I'm going to the washroom." She said with an obviously fake smile and quietly walked away, with more speed the further she went until she was almost running.
Syaoran stared at her fading figure, too frustrated to feel any regret.
He didn't see Sakura the rest of the day.
The next day he didn't see her either. He was told by the class president that she was stuck in bed with a fever. At first he had been glad by the news, that he would have the whole day to himself, but something in his smile faltered, making it somehow fake. As he walked in the corridors, the only sound was the echo of his own footsteps; the usual sound of her shoes tip-tapping on the ground wasn't there.
'Just like the good-old days.' He thought.
He cherished the silence he hadn't had for so long, without her peppy little voice there next to him talking about nonsense. But this stillness he had for so long valued wasn't as calming as it had been before. Now it had some kind of weight, a pressure on his shoulders. Maybe it was guilt, after all, he hadn't been too kind to her the previous day, and now she was sick. Knowing Sakura, it was unusual for her to be sad or depressed or even to be ill.
He shook his head with frustration. 'Don't start thinking about Sakura, just cherish this silence, you won't get any once she gets better.' He told himself shaking out the ideas he had made, looking to find another subject not including Sakura.
But it was no use, as he passed by the picnic table he remembered their argument from the previous day. As he sat under the tree in the center of the courtyard he remembered the time Sakura had found a nest on the ground and he had had to return it the branches because she couldn't, causing his uniform to rip. In class he turned around almost expecting to see her there smiling at him. Once he had been walking in the hallway and had almost turned to tell her something, forgetting she wasn't there that day. He had been so used to her presence that her absence was too different for him.
Later that day, he mysteriously found himself in front of the door to Sakura's house, ready to ring the doorbell. Had he walked there on his own? Building up his courage he pressed the button, hoping dearly that her older brother wasn't going to answer the door. Unfortunately, he did.
"What do you want?" He said.
Syaoran took a step back, as if ready to flee.
"I came to…uh… bring Sakura her homework." He answered hesitantly.
Ready to turn down his request, Touya gave him a menacing glare. Before he could, Fujitaka, Sakura and Touya's father, came up behind him and gave Syaoran one of his usual kind smile.
"Oh, hello Syaoran. What brings you here?"
Syaoran didn't know him very well but he could still notice the worry Sakura's father felt.
"I came to bring Sakura her homework." He repeated 'And maybe see her.' He silently added, although punishing himself right away for thinking such things.
"Sakura's sleeping at the moment. You'll be able to see her tomorrow, I'm sure she'll be much better by then." Fujitaka said with a small but untrue smile.
Syaoran gave them her homework and left soon after. On his way back to his house, he passed by the same row of trees, his heart tightened as he thought of Sakura and how he must have hurt her feelings when he had had told her unkind things, things that weren't even true. He knew he had to apologize, he wanted to. He told himself he'd do it the next day.
That night, he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, his mind constantly wandering to thoughts of Sakura, smiling at him, calling his name. Finally, he sat up, clutching his racing heart.
"What's happening to me…?"
The second day of Sakura's absence passed. Syaoran had an even harder time tolerating the awkward silence. He tried to fill the void by talking to himself, but the look he got from the passing students shut him up soon enough. The emptiness he felt was increasing by the minute.
For the three following days, he went to see her everyday, but was turned down every time with the news that she was sleepy and not well enough to see anyone. It was harder and harder for him to find excuses to see her since it was the weekend and he didn't have any homework to bring; he had brought some of her items back which she had lent him, he had even found a lost handbag and had gone to ask if it was hers—which is wasn't of course.
In the meantime, he had nothing to do.
His schoolwork was long done and to past the time he had had to take an afternoon activity on cooking, so far he had made noodles since he knew it was Sakura's favorite food and banana bread. It wasn't particularly interesting but it helped pass the time he usually spent with Sakura. Once he had even wondered if she didn't want to see him and was telling her father not to let him in. Either way he couldn't see her, and that made him feel terrible.
On Monday afternoon, right after school as usual, he went to try to see Sakura. However, this time there was no answer when he rang the doorbell. There was no car, and the lights were out too. An old lady, probably the Kinomoto's next door neighbor, came up to him after a while.
"It's no use waiting for them to come back." She said. "The young girl's fever seems to have gotten worse so they brought her to the hospital. Poor girl, I hope she gets better soon."
After giving her many thanks, Syaoran set off to the hospital the lady had mentioned.
He ran as fast as he could, propelled by his wish to see her again. Finally, he reached the imposing white building that was the hospital, he went in right away, and asked the nurse for news of Sakura's health. She had turned him down, telling him it wasn't authorized.
But then Touya miraculously (!) appeared and told him instead about Sakura's condition.
"No matter what Dad says, Sakura doesn't seem to be getting any better. The doctor mentioned something about her sickness being mental, so maybe you could do something. You're all she talks about anyway, and the fact that she doesn't talk much makes it all the more important since our mother died, she hasn't been able to truly attach herself to anyone."
The sudden revelation startled Syaoran. But as he thought about it, it was true Sakura only talked to him, when someone else came up to talk to them, he was always the one to answer while she stayed silent and smiled.
Touya, who had somehow changed personality because of Sakura's illness, brought Syaoran to her room.
The inside was illuminated by the glowing sun that peeked through the white curtains, a small bouquet of cherry blossoms laid on a table next to her bed. It was out-of-character to find her in a quiet room, even more that her body lay motionless. Her face was red because of her fever; her eyes were closed tight as if she was in pain. Touya closed the door behind him, leaving him time alone with Sakura.
Syaoran sat down next to her bed and contemplated her sleeping figure. He saw once again the angelic vision he had seen that morning, except this time, he knew it was Sakura, which made her all the more beautiful in his eyes.
Careful not to wake her, he bent over her and contemplated her sleeping face for a while. Ever so gently, he pushed away auburn strands of hair that obscured her face.
Even when there was no more, he continued to carress her brow, wondering how her skin could be so soft. Realizing what he was doing, he slowly backed away and closed his hands together, and stared at his feet.
"I'm sorry Sakura" he suddenly said, not knowing if she could hear him or not, he just wanted it out of his chest, "I know I was a jerk. You were right, those aren't real friends, I know now that you're the only one I've got. Without you I'd be all alone. When I came to Japan I didn't mind the loneliness, I even liked it. And when I met you, it turned my world upside down. I hated you for it at first, and until you got sick I thought I still did. But now I realize that without you by my side, I can't appreciate the joys of life. Without you the hallways are empty, my weekends are a nightmare of boredom, and everything I do seems to have no purpose. You've meant so much to me in the past year and I didn't even know it, until it's almost too late."
A warm hand took hold of his, startling him. He jerked up his head and saw Sakura in the same position as before, but he saw a tear make it's way down her closed eyes to disappear in her hair.
She slowly opened her emerald gems and turned her head to look at him straight in the eye. She gave him a trembling smile, but it was a smile nevertheless, and it warmed up the boy's heart.
"Syaoran," She began, her lower lip trembling a bit "I...I've loved you for so long, but... you never noticed."
Another tear fell.
Unexpectedly, Syaoran bent over her and carefully brushed his lips over hers in a sweet kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds, but stayed close enough to her so that she could feel the heat irradiating from his blushing face.
"Somehow" he whispered breathlessly "I don't now when or how, but I fell in love with you too."
And there he kissed her again.
On the same day, Sakura felt so much better she was allowed to go back to her house. She had returned to her normal state of happiness but even more than before, she became very sociable with everyone, and of course, with Syaoran although their relationship had taken another turn for the better.
Touya had probably been right about Syaoran being able to cure her after all, but that stayed in between the two of them.
The End
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A.N:
"show ron ron show show ron ron show show ron ron show show ron ron show show ron ron show show ron! AHHHHHH! I'TS The RON!>>> Hi! Today we have our bloody special guest called Showron! Later Marry Banilow will be coming to talk about his latest bloody album" Yeaaa! (are those vampires? So… bloody… I want to suck your blood! It's ALIVE I tell you!)
Suohfei: I'm sorry everyone, this is…uhmmm a stupid discussion in between me and my girlfriend… it was late…uh oh that sounded very bad…
Egyptia: Coconut?
Suohfei: Honestly(censored)...
Egyptia: ah no I'm not typing that -.- fine maybe we should break up! I'm not finishing this story with you! I was doing all the work anyway! Humph! walks away
Fans: noooooo! aggravated fans tie her to the keyboard
Egyptia: sniff I'll write I'll write…sniff
Suohfei: Maybe I should write a monthly?...
Egyptia: dunno where that came from…o.O
(Real
A.N: Hiya everyone! Please excuse us for this silly little
conversation... It WAS late (don't you dare get ideas lol)
We were in the middle of writing the oneshot when I suddenly told
Egyptia that Syaoran in English was Showron... And she went totally
berserk --' For the bloody... If you've read Harry Potter, you
must have noticed that Ron Weasley uses this expression quite often..
So of course, if he were to present a show he would say it...
The story was inspired by the song from Simple Plan: Welcome to my life... I'm sure you have no idea how it changed into THAT kind of oneshot but...oh well... It did. I think that's all for now...? Oh yeah... For my fanfic... If anyone was wondering about a preobable continuation, well, I'm working on the next chappie right now, but I'm just not satisfied with it, so I'm rewriting it... But it should come out soon. Thank you for having read this fic, we sure had a lot of fun writing it Ciao Ciao
This has been Suohfei (and Egyptia! Thank you for helping me with this! Lub ya! (mwah!))
