Hey minna-san! This is my first CCS fanfic (actually, my first fic ever) so plz give me any ideas/comments u hav! Please, please, PLEASE r+r!
Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own CCS. Actually, I've only seen the dub, and there's only about eight episodes of that. I tried to base this off of the Japanese version, and I probably have some mistakes, so please contact me so I can fix them. Some of the characters in here that u will see later on I did make up. Enjoy (and try not to barf too much! ^^;;;)
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~*Across the Distance*~
"Hanyaaan!" Sakura exclaimed, stretching contentedly. Her best friend Tomoyo smiled, relaxing in the warm lemon sunshine.
Spring was in the air. Leaves began to poke out of their buds as new grass peeked shyly through the moist soil. The sky was a clear sapphire, with a few wispy clouds floating lethargically.
The girls sat outside, relishing the fresh air. After being cooped up inside for winter's duration, everyone was ready for the great outdoors. Sakura had promptly strapped on her rollerblades and skated with Tomoyo to the park. They sat on the swings in a companionable silence, content to enjoy the good weather.
Sakura rocked forward lightly, setting her swing in motion. As she gently swung back and forth, Tomoyo sat primly, watching her friend soak in the sunlight. She's so kawaii… That thought was always on Tomoyo's mind.
"Hey Sakura-chan, have you talked to Li-kun lately?" Tomoyo asked suddenly. Sakura paused, swinging smoothly to a stop.
"Iie…" She looked down at the ground, smiling sadly. "At first we would call every single day and write thousands of letters, but now… It's like he's given up or something. He hasn't replied to my letters in a while now…" She started swinging again, this time without the happy silence of before. A tense mood seemed to settle over the girls.
Tomoyo sighed. Baka…why wouldn't Li-kun answer though? He loves her… I'm sure he misses her… Li-kun, why won't you tell her how you feel?
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Xiao Lang held the black bauble in his hand, dark as onyx. It gleamed dully in the light, shining with a mysterious subtle beauty. He focused his thoughts and reached towards it with his mind, willing his sword to appear.
The black sphere turned from a harmless bauble to a full-sized sword, its blade flashing silver. The hilt was intricately carved with symbols of power. It fit easily into his hands, its weight and balance just right.
Facing him, his third cousin, Qing Hua, held her own sword at a defensive position. Glaring at him, she challenged him with her eyes, a small smile on her face. Her sword, lighter and thinner than Xiao Lang's, much resembled a rapier. It was light and quick, much like Qing Hua herself.
Xiao Lang waited for her move. Qing Hua leapt in and slashed ferociously, but Xiao Lang merely batted the blow aside. As Qing Hua continued to leap forward and attack in quick, short stabs, Xiao Lang found himself being backed towards the wall. Zao le*. Once Qing Hua gets going, there's no stopping her. Xiao Lang lost more and more ground as Qing Hua attacked with a flurry of slashes. One of them managed to pierce his strong defense and draw a thin line of blood across his ribs. The cut burned horribly, and Xiao Lang struggled to ignore it. Qing Hua stepped back briefly, grinning. "Looks like I've got first blood."
(*Zao le-well…it's in Chinese and it's something you would say when you got in trouble… kind of like crud except it actually means something more like "I'm in trouble")
Xiao Lang smirked, his lips curling back to something akin to a snarl. "It's not over yet." When Qing Hua blinked and looked again, he was no longer there. Instead, a whirlwind of silver flashes presented themselves at her. Hastily she struggled to block, finding herself giving way under his barrage of aggressive slashes.
Desperately, she swiped at his head with the flat of her sword. Miraculously, it caught him on the side of the head, sending him reeling. While Xiao Lang staggered momentarily, Qing Hua returned to the offensive. Riposte parry parry parry slash slash slash duck dodge parry slash slash… she chanted silently to herself. Xiao Lang struggled frantically to keep up with her blows. Once or twice he faltered, and again she drew blood. Finally, exhausted and soaked with perspiration, Xiao Lang missed a hard blow as Qing Hua struck out with the hilt of her sword. He tried to leap back to avoid the blow, but she caught him in the nose.
Crimson droplets immediately began trickling down his front. As he held his nose in surprise, he failed to pay attention to Qing Hua. She leapt forward again, her sword flickering in his face, and it was only by pulling back at the last second that he avoided losing an eye. Qing Hua slashed forward at his legs in her renowned Crescent Moon attack, then, using the backhand of the same stroke, brought her sword up to slash at his chest. When Xiao Lang blocked, the two combatants pushed fiercely at the other, trying to push them back.
As the two circled, their swords still locked, Xiao Lang suddenly gave his wrist a peculiar twist. In an instant, Qing Hua's sword was flying across the courtyard, burying itself partly in the dirt. Qing Hua was about to run for it, but she found about three feet of cold steel pointing at her throat. Xiao Lang smiled faintly, holding the point of his sword below her chin, his eyes glittering with intensity. Qing Hua straightened, then bowed to him, signifying her defeat. When she stood again, she grinned, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Wow, Xiao Biao Di**…you've improved greatly since I last battled you." Syaoran stepped back, lowering his sword. He stared at her briefly, before turning away. "Thanks…I guess…"
(**Xiao Biao Di-Qing Hua, by the way, is Xiao Lang's older cousin. She would call him Biao Di, or "younger male cousin." Adding a "Xiao" before that really means "little younger male cousin," but it can also be an affectionate term)
Qing Hua noticed the unhappy look flash across his face. "What's wrong, Xiao Biao Di?" Xiao Lang just sighed and shook his head. "Nothing…" He stalked off, oblivious to his spectators.
Qing Hua sighed. She walked to the corner of the courtyard, where she carefully pulled her sword out of the ground. Wiping it clean of the dirt, she sheathed it and headed towards her room to treat her cuts. As she walked past their audience, she could hear murmurs of admiration throughout the crowd. "Those two…" "Strong…" "What a fast reaction he had!" "Did you see…?" She watched Xiao Lang's retreating back. Even from behind, he seemed cold and aloof.
Something happened to him in that Tomoeda place… He hasn't been the same since he came back…
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Sakura and Tomoyo headed for home. A cool spring breeze blew around them, its airy touch feeling similar to cool fingers. Almost like Windy…Sakura thought to herself as the brisk wind played with her bangs.
Tomoyo watched her friend lean into the wind with pleasure, laughing quietly as the breeze caressed her hair. With her eyes closed, Sakura looked truly at piece.
Suddenly, the moment was broken when Sakura managed to run head-on into another pedestrian. She stumbled back and flailed her arms desperately, but to no avail. She sat down hard. "Hoooeeeee!" she wailed.
A hand reached down for her. She looked up at the unfortunate person that she had run into. She found herself gazing into warm, gray eyes that shone with amusement. She took the proffered hand and managed to stand again.
Her rescuer (and impediment) was a comely youth of about her age. His hair was sandy brown, and the corner of his mouth quirked with a smile he struggled to hide. "Daijobu ka?" he asked, concerned. Sakura blushed. "Daijobu…arigato. Gomen ne, I wasn't watching where I was going…" "Oh that's quite all right. I'm sorry I walked right into you…"
Tomoyo watched, amused, as Sakura apologized profusely to the stranger. "Oh, by the way, what's your name?" the boy asked. Sakura blushed again. "Atashi wa Kinomoto Sakura…you?" "I'm Ethan Ambrose…I'm a new transfer student from America. My Japanese isn't that good, but my parents insisted on bringing me here 'as an opportunity to study other cultures…'"
Sakura laughed. "Well then, I'd be happy to help you 'study other cultures.' And your Japanese is really quite good, almost flawless." She smiled again. "Well, nice to meet you, Ambrose-san. Here's my phone number, give me a call if you need any help! I hope to see you in school!" She found a small candy wrapper in her pocket and a pen, with which she wrote her number and handed to him. Ethan smiled. Sakura flushed again, for he looked very handsome when he smiled. Straight white teeth…sparkling gray eyes… She shook her head to erase those thoughts. Waving goodbye, she and Tomoyo set off again, while Ethan headed the other way.
Once they were out of sight, Tomoyo covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. As a few giggles escaped her, Sakura glared. "Nani?! He was nice!" Tomoyo waved her off, struggling to contain her laughter. Elbowing her friend meaningfully, she whispered slyly, "He was rather handsome, ne, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura blushed and pushed Tomoyo away. "Hmph. I was only trying to make him feel welcome." Tomoyo edged up again. "I don't think your phone number was necessary though…" She winked at Sakura. Sakura flushed bright red. Their laughter echoed down the street as they slowly headed for home.
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Xiao Lang sighed. Sitting at his desk, he slumped backwards in his chair. His whole body ached. After a long, hard day of training, the Elders had made him battle his older relatives, all of them stronger, faster, and more experienced than him. The sorcerers had thrashed him soundly, the warriors had beat him to a bloody pulp. The sorcerer warriors…he didn't need to think about that.
Great, he thought wryly. They sure know how to keep a guy's self-esteem down. Placing his throbbing head in his hands, he moaned softly. Too tired to even change out of his battle robes, he flopped down on his bed. As he closed his eyes, envisioning Sakura in his mind.
The way her smile was so contagious, the way her emerald eyes always glittered with happiness… Her silky soft auburn hair… God I miss her so much… He turned over onto his side.
As exhausted as he was, Xiao Lang couldn't sleep. He prayed silently that his inner demons would leave him alone that night, but he knew it wouldn't happen. Sighing, he realized that he ached for her. Physically ached. At first, it had just been a dull tugging at his heart, but it had spread through his entire body now. Why did he feel such agony? He wished he knew what he really felt… He felt confused and forlorn when it came to his feelings. He wished he could talk to someone, but Qing Hua was a Gifted One, meaning she would still be in meditation…
During the day, he could throw himself into his training and completely bury himself, but at night… At night he was constantly tormented with loneliness and pain. He would wake up several times, his nightmares giving him no peace. In a desperate attempt to sleep, he'd argue and debate with himself, eventually falling into a state of exhausted, dreamless sleep when his weary mind could take no more. Then he'd sleep for an hour or two maximum, before his nightmares dragged him back to hell.
Xiao Lang turned over again, prepared for the long cold night ahead.
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Qing Hua sat peacefully, her legs folded under her. Her hands calmly folded in her lap, she breathed deeply. I am a tranquil lake. Nothing can disturb my peaceful surface. She tried to clear all thoughts from her mind so she could leave it free to wander and ponder the workings of the universe. However, she could See one nagging little thought remaining in the corner of her mind, refusing to budge.
She tried again to wipe her mind clean. She envisioned a slate being cleared of chalk, but that one notion remained, jeering at her attempts from the shadows of her mind Sighing, she attempted to call it forth and address it, using her Sight to fully contemplate this queer occurrence. Realizing that thoughts this obstinate were usually extremely important, she dove fiercely into her mind, reaching within the dark recesses of her Self.
Instantly, a bright flash of green exploded in her Sight. When she could See again, the wave of raw emotion that slammed into her sent her reeling. Such loneliness, pain, agony, fear, suffering… She didn't know these as well. She didn't See such pure emotion often. The agony it caused her snapped her concentration. Frantically, she withdrew back into her Self.
Qing Hua's eyes snapped open. What was that?! Why…how did I do that? Panting heavily now, she stood unsteadily, leaning against the wall. Staggering to the door, she decided to try again tomorrow. She was tired, and she'd had enough for a day. She just couldn't shed the feeling that the green flash had been familiar…
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Well, whaddaya think? This is my first fic, so plz be a little lenient on me. ^^;;; Constructive criticism is welcome, but flames really won't help the story that much. If you have any ideas, plz email me so I can see how I want to do this story becuz I'm still working on it. Arigato gozaimasu!