Chapter 1

- A ray of light in a new world-

Sakura sighed as she watches the sceneries flash by their car window. This is her first time to transfer school in a different country. She is already accustomed to transferring places because her father's job requires it, but this is her first time to move out of Japan.

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" Fujitaka, her father, asked.

"Umm-ano… I'm okay, Dad." She answered with a smile. Her father shifted in his seat and resumed his talk with his son, Touya. Sakura looked outside the window once again. She is half-excited and half nervous knowing that she will meet new kids in their new neighborhood and new school. This is gonna be hard. She thought bitterly.

Their car entered a small subdivision at the edge of the town. The houses varied from two-storey houses to huge complicated-looking ones. They stopped in front of a large green gate. Only the green roof of the house is visible from outside. Over the large wall around the house, she can see the top of a tree.

"I'll be walking around!" She told her brother before she went out of the car. Her brother started the engine once more and drove the car in.

Sakura walked down the street and amused herself by the different styles of houses she is seeing. Everything is very different. It is also a bit warmer in their new neighborhood. There are no Sakura trees either. She thought sadly.

Is that a playground? She wondered upon seeing a tall wire fence at the corner of the street. She ran towards it and peeked.

"HOEEE!" She tumbled back in surprise when a huge black dog barked at her and leapt towards her. Luckily, the wire fence is tall and sturdy enough to keep the big Rottweiler in. She swallowed hard as the dog kept on throwing its own body against the fence. The sound of the shaking wire made her knees weak.

The dog lunged at the fence once again. Sakura forced herself to stand and to run away. Her sneakers slapped against the hot pavement as she sped down the street. She didn't stop until she can no longer hear the frightening racket that the big dog is making.

She stopped at a waiting shed and slumped on the stone bench. She felt her phone vibrating inside her pocket.

"Hello…" she put the phone adjacent to her ears then stopped by a big post by the road.

"Sakura-chan," she heard her brother's voice on the line, "where are you? Dad was done preparing lunch for us."

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute…" she said and looked back to where she came from. She gasped. She walked too far and she doesn't know where she is now. The houses looked big and very different and she's far lost from her new home.

Where could she be?

Okay, don't panic Sakura. This is a small subdivision. You haven't gone that far. You'll find your way back.

She looked around. This is the problem with Sakura. She easily loses her way even in small places. Once when she was in Kindergarten, she got lost in the mall. Her father and brother looked for her for the whole day and found her crying near the ice cream cart. It turned out that she followed the ice cream cart around the mall from the food court where they were eating. Another problem is that she also easily gets scared.

She saw a bicycle parked in front of a big house. Fortune plants lined the front yard and a guy of her age was sitting on a bench by the gate is reading a book. His bluish hair is visible on top of the book he is reading. As if on cue, he closed his book and looked outside. He saw Sakura staring at him. He smiled at her and his sapphire eyes sparkled behind his glasses.

"Hi!" he pushed the gate open and stepped out. Sakura murmured hello in reply. The boy held out his hand and spoke once more, "Hiiragizawa Eriol"

"Kinomoto Sakura" she replied as she takes his hand for a shake.

"I guess you are new here. This is the first time I saw you around here Ms. Kinomoto." Eriol said, his sapphire eyes stared at her emerald ones. Sakura blushed and nodded shyly. "Let me accompany you on your way home. That way, I can show you around as well." Eriol blushed as if he knew he's being 'too fast'. "I- I mean… It is rare to have a Japanese friend around here… Most are Chinese or, of course, the people who really lives here."

Sakura nodded and said in a soft voice, "Actually, I am lost." I better not tell him I got scared and ran away from a huge black dog. That's way embarrassing. She thought.

"Oh. Don't worry, this subdivision is small and we can find your house soon. Why not hop behind my bike and let us bike around. Maybe you can tell which one is your house and I can drop you there…" he smiled. Sakura nodded.

SAKURA's POV

I hopped on his bike and he pedaled away from their house with me clinging to his shoulders. I was really glad that I met Eriol on my first day here and thank God he is so nice. It is really hard to make friends and speaking and learning strange languages in just a year.

"UH- Ms. Ki-"

"Please call me Sakura."

"Ok. Sakura, are you going to study here?" he asked.

"Y-Yes. I can't remember the name of the school though. Dad said it is ran by-" I stopped because our house came into view. "Eriol! That's it! That's our house!" I jumped on the road and ran towards our gate. I pushed the gate open and waved at Eriol who also waved back at me. He swiveled around and sped back- I guess towards their house.

"Thank you!" I managed to call after him.

ERIOL's POV

She's very nice and very beautiful. I'm so happy that I got a new friend. I smiled to myself as I parked once more in front of our house. Maybe I can visit her there whenever we're out of school.

"Eriol!"

I looked back. "Hey! Syaoran! Wow, I am sorry- I forgot-"

"Yeah, you forgot about our project." He raised his eyebrow and walked towards me. "I called and your mom said that you're gone with your bike. I thought you were going over our house but you didn't. Where on earth did you go?"

I smiled at him and scratched my head. I mean, how am I gonna tell him I gave a girl a ride home?

"Dating, eh?" he chuckled and patted me on the back, "who's the UNlucky girl, eh?"

"Hey, shut your mouth!" I snapped at him. We looked at each other and laughed hysterically as we entered our house. This is what I hate and love with my best friend, whenever he finds out that I have an encounter with a girl, he always finds a way to make fun of me and treat it as a joke? The bad thing is, I cannot ask an advice or confide with him specially when I like a girl. But, at least he doesn't get jealous… Right?