Sen no Kotoba (1000 Words)
Summary: A chance wind allowed Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran to meet and become best friends. As children they were inseparable. But as they grow older, nature takes her course and blossoms the two children. It is then when they see the feelings that were always there.
Disclaimer: Sen no Kotoba belongs to Kazushige-san (it's an FFX-2 song) and CCS belongs to CLAMP.
Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter
It was an unusually sunny day. Unusual because it contrasted the mood of one family. The Kinomoto family was burying a loving wife and mother. Nadeshiko, the woman in question, had failing health all of her life and it was only a matter of time until she couldn't take it. However, she had some joy in the form of her children: Touya, ten-year-old soccer superstar and a prepubescent heartthrob and Sakura, three-year-old cutie and the apple of her father's eye.
As the Kinomoto family laid Nadeshiko to rest, Fujitaka had his emotions guarded (he had promised her deathbed that he would always live his life happy), Touya was bawling. However, Sakura did not cry. She did not understand the concept of life and death and so, she did not cry. She did know, however, that her mother loved her but she couldn't be with her anymore.
The family, along with Sonomi and Tomoyo, were all dressed in black. Both Sakura and Tomoyo had sunhats on their heads.
As they laid the coffin in the grave, Fujitaka went to a portable stereo and pressed play. A beautiful tune started to come out as he explained the reason for the music.
"When Nadeshiko and I danced for the first time at the local club, this was the first song that we danced to, Sen no Kotoba."
As Kazushige Nojima's voice overlapped the grim scene, a chance wind blew and took Sakura's hat with it. It was a special hat that her mother bought her before she passed away and to Sakura, it was most precious. So she gave the hat chase.
"Wait! Please!" the three year old cried in her cute little voice. However, the wind seemed not to obey her. Surprise, surprise! The sunhat sailed softly across sepulchers and continued until it stopped where another family was laying their father to rest. Sakura picked up the hat. After placing the hat on her head, she surveyed the place where she was. Obviously, she was lost. There was a woman with five children around a coffin in the same fashion as she and her family.
Li Yelan, who for one moment was not mourning the lost of her husband, noticed the little girl. Most likely, she was lost. She smoothed out her black dress and walked towards Sakura. "Little girl, why are you here?" she asked.
The little girl looked at the older woman with her big, green eyes. "Well, I was here in this centemaly" Sakura rambled in her cute child's voice "and the wind blew my hat that okaa-san got me because she passed away and we are paying spects to her and …" Thus she continued, not knowing what she was saying, mispronouncing difficult words. In that, Yelan had to smile. Even with her mother gone, she seems not to lose her cheer.
There was another gust of wind and Sakura's hat came off her head again. This time, it didn't go far. It landed in front of a young boy with messy, brown hair. He was dressed in green and black. The boy picked up the hat and returned it to her. "Hello, my name is Syaoran." The young kid mumbled, looking at the ground even while he returned the hat.
As opposed to the chatty Sakura, Syaoran was a complete introvert. "Well," Sakura gabbed on, "my name is Sakura and I live in Tomoeda and I like my cat Kero-chan and I…" and so she continued chatting away at the boy. Syaoran was dumbstruck. He had never seen a girl talk so much (that included his sisters). All he could do is imitate a fish and enter a head-nodding routine.
Yelan observed her son. He was a completely shy person. Perhaps it would be best to pair him up with someone like her. Sakura might be able to open him up and he might finally have a friend outside of the family. But first things first. She had to find where Sakura's father was.
Yelan stooped to the little girl's level. "Sakura-chan, where is your otou-san?" In response, the three-year-old put a chubby finger to her chin as if in deep thought. "I don't know!" the emerald-eyed girl spoke haltingly. Tears began to well in her eyes. "Papa, papa!" she cried.
As if to answer her, Touya's voice called out to her. "Sakura, Sakura, where are you?" her brother called out to her, worriedly. The tearful girl turned around and ran to her brother and embraced him. "Onii-chan, I was so lost." She cried into his shirt while Touya rubbed her back in a comforting manner.
Yelan, happy to see Sakura reunited with her brother, took the opportunity to walk over to Touya. "Excuse me young man," she spoke in such a way that Touya was compelled to look her in the eyes "but are you related to Sakura-chan?"
In the face of such a presence, Touya could only nod. "Well," she continued "I would like to speak to your father." It sounded like a request, but from the look in her eyes, Touya instinctually knew that the woman was not going to be denied. He led Yelan to his father, holding Sakura by the hand.
They could see Fujitaka from the distance and waving at them. Sakura ran to her father. "Otou-san!" she cried. Yelan walked towards the widower and extended her hand. "You must be Sakura-chan's father. My name is Li Yelan." The Chinese woman introduced herself. "It seems that Sakura's hat blew away and she chased it. It fell in the vicinity of my family laying to rest my husband."
Sakura's father smiled and walked to his daughter. "Well, it seems you got the hat back." To this, the emerald-eyed girl nodded her head sleepily. It seems that she exerted most of her energy chasing the hat; her eyes looked droopy. "And it seems that the effort wiped you out. When we get back home, you can take a nap."
Yelan kept silent as she observed the family dynamics of the Kinomoto family. They were bubbling with energy and happiness, even though they were hurt by the death of the woman, Nadeshiko. Perhaps it would be advantageous to introduce Syaoran to them. He was already four and only spoke a few sentences a day. After taking him to the best psychologist in Hong Kong, only to be given no answer as to what his problem was. It was beyond introverted. It was more anti-social. Sakura had to be the answer. She would force him to open up, hopefully.
The dignified woman walked towards Fujitaka. "I have a proposition for you." She said to the man. "I have a son around her age. I think that it will be a good idea to have them be friends, especially since they have gone through similar circumstances."
Sakura's father nodded immediately. "I think that is a good idea. It would be a good thing to have Sakura relate to someone." He took a paper that was, for this author's purposes, conveniently in his pocket and wrote down his information. Handing it to Yelan, she pocketed the paper and bowed low.
"I hope this is the start of a good friendship." Yelan mentioned as an afterthought and returned to her funeral party (as in a group of people.)
Kinomoto Fujitaka lifted his little girl in his arms. Sakura looked at her father with her cute, green eyes. "Is Syaoran going to be my friend?" she asked in her cute voice.
"Of course, my little cherry blossom" he smiled.
With that, the family continued mourning the loss of a great woman.
Author's Notes: Please excuse this chapter. I know it wasn't action-packed but I have to set the foundation somewhere. And trust me, it will get better.
When you do review, if I am missing some character detail, please tell me. Also, if you know a place where there are some good subs of CCS, tell me as I haven't seen it in such a long time. Don't be afraid to constructively criticize me. I won't bite.