HELLO PEEPS!
Sorry for leaving my other two stories incomplete as I am getting a writer's block *sigh*
This idea wouldn't just leave so I had to type it down. Hope you like it *kitty eyes*
Inspired a tiny bit from Erich Segal's "Love Story", the fanfic is AU and slightly OOC but not very. Rating it a T coz I am paranoid...hehe.
Flames are unwelcome but I love constructive criticism...I get better that way.
Do review! :)
The Kazehime's Song
He was rich. She was poor.
He loved business. She loved literature.
He preferred night clubs. She liked the riverside cafes.
He loved punk rock. She loved western classical.
But they fell in love.
This is their story.
Prologue:
He held her in his arms, unwilling to let go. Too many things had to be sacrificed, too many people had opposed. But his dream finally came true. She was here, in his arms, crying. But the very fact that she was here made his heart jump with joy.
The past was over and done with. They would move forward now and live full lives with no regrets. Enough tears had been shed till date; only tears symbolizing happiness would rain from her emerald eyes, nothing else.
His crisp white shirt was wet with her salty tears as she cried her heart out, clinging to the chocolate-haired boy tightly like a lifeline. He patted her brown head with one hand, the other secure around her waist.
Though he hated the sound of her crying, he allowed her to do so; after all, the emotions pent up all this time needed to be released.
"P…P…P…Pl..l..e..ase, S..S..Sy..a..o.. ," she sniffled.
"It's okay, my dear little cherry blossom." He replied in a soothing voice, rubbing his hand over her back in a soothing motion.
"I will never ever leave you. Never again."
Chapter 1: Goodbye Tomoeda Hello Tokyo
Sakura Kinomoto shut the slim novel she was reading with a happy sigh, her cheeks an adorable pink as she visualized the story. Erich Segal's Love Story was her favourite and she had read it for perhaps a million times. Though personally she didn't like the way it ended, she still remained dopey-eyed about their feelings. As she slipped it into the gigantic handbag (which Tomoyo had literally forced upon her), she heard the P.A. system of the train read out the announcement.
"Tokyo station expected in five minutes. Platform is on the right side."
"It's gonna be great, huh?" she said happily, bouncing on her seat.
"You got that right, Sakura." Eriol grinned.
Sakura was accepted into the Contemporary Literature division of Tokyo University whereas Eriol was in the Advanced Business Course. Tomoyo, on the other hand, was going to the fashion capital Milan to study fashion designing and assist some renowned names in the field. Sakura could still remember the day when she had received the acceptance letter and the way she had squeezed the life out of her by hugging her tight.
The only sad fact was she would be away from Eriol for over three years—though she would meet him in summer. But she was glad that her best friend and her boyfriend were in the same university, and the flats they had rented were adjacent to each other.
"Keep an eye on him for me, will you?" Tomoyo had said in a conspiratorial whisper earning a look of mock outrage from the dark-eyed boy and a giggle from Sakura.
Tokyo station was a busy and bustling one, a far cry from the quiet and peaceful Tomoeda though the latter was just a three-hour journey away. It almost seemed to be another world.
"A new life is about to begin," Eriol remarked as the duo stood on the platform after unloading their suitcases.
Sakura nodded in agreement.
"You are right, Eriol."
The flat was…cute.
It was a studio and practically furnished—the main door opened up into a giant room which had a LED up on one wall and a comfy sofa facing it. Straight on ahead facing the door was a glass-panelled partition which led to the balcony. Adjacent to the sofa was study table of heavy cherry-coloured rosewood with a chest of drawers. On the left side on the main door was the kitchen fitted with an oven, gas stove, fridge and a microwave. Behind the sofa was a partition wall which led to the sleeping area. She slowly walked over there to squeal in delight; a large bed with downy mattress and covers looked inviting. A lamp stood on the bedside table, fit for a spot of night-reading. The wall on the balcony-side was glass-panelled with heavy curtains—she realized that the view would be heavenly. A large built-in wardrobe looked smart with a cherry wood varnish. The walls were done in pale pink and white which made the entire flat obtain a cheerful aura.
Tomoyo had insisted on redoing the flat as memento for the duo—and Sakura wasn't complaining. Nobody knew what she liked better than that amethyst-eyed girl.
Sakura opened up her suitcases and began arranging her things—the clothes in the wardrobe, the biscuit-tins in the kitchen, chocolate and the lemonade her father made for her in the fridge, the books in a shelf above the study, a couple of novels in the drawer of her bedside table. She plugged in her cellphone to charge and then decided to have a bath.
The door to the bath was next to the wardrobe and as she peeked in, she was awed yet again.
Cherry pink tiles adorned the bathroom and the bath was a giant white one. She immediately turned on the taps to fill it. The medicine cabinet behind the mirror at the wash-basin was stocked up with a box of her favourite vanilla-and-strawberry bath salts, her favourite strawberry shampoo and conditioner and soap. She unpacked the soap and placed it on the soap case next to the bath. Despite its size, it took a little time to fill and soon, Sakura gave out a sigh of pleasure as the calming, restoring fragrance of the bath salts enveloped her.
After an hour, she reluctantly stepped out—partly because the water was cooling down and partly because her stomach was growling with hunger. She blow-dried her hair, put on yellow tank and light blue shorts and then flicked through the messages in her cellphone.
Call me up later to tell me all about Tokyo and what you have done till now.
—Father
Hey you little monster…annihilated the capital already? Missing your demonic hunger.
—Touya
How did you like the décor?
—Tomoyo
Going campus…need to register for some extra courses. Let's have dinner at the riverside café which we saw while coming.
—Eriol
She typed in a hasty yes to Eriol before calling up her father. Fujitaka Kinomoto was a history professor at Tomoeda University. A quiet, easy-going and gentle man, he loved his daughter very much. Unlike his son, he preferred give her the freedom she needed and wanted her to go out on dates. Though Sakura had dated a couple of boys in high school, it never turned out to be serious so she mostly hung out with Eriol and Tomoyo, her babyhood pals. She always knew the duo would end up with each other, each filling up the other and she was glad to see them happy. But she always felt a tiny bit sad—she also wanted someone who would complete and complement her.
"Hello dad!"
"Hello dear Sakura!" her father exclaimed from the other side. "How's Tokyo treating you?"
"Haven't seen much though, but I miss home already," she sighed.
Her father chuckled.
"You start your college tomorrow and after a week or so, when you have a posse of friends, you will soon forget your old father here."
"Dad!"
"Ok sweetheart. Your brother wants you to call him up…guess he misses you already. But remember Sakura—it's a big city so there are bound to be scores of different people. Mingle with them but don't get friendly right off the bat—it's not Tomoeda where everyone knew everyone."
"Alright dad, will keep that in mind. Call you later then…"
"Take care and see you soon, little Sakura."
Touya picked up the phone on the second ring itself.
"Hey monster. Heard that an apocalypse is set to hit Tokyo and burn it to the ground?"
"And I heard that the people in Tomoeda are unhappy coz there's no one to save them from an apocalypse that's gonna hit them soon?"
She could hear her brother give a grudging laugh on the other side.
"One hour in the capital and you get a smart mouth."
"Not a smart mouth brother—just that the influence that made you smart is not by your side."
Touya chuckled.
"So just remember monster, if any boy gets close or attempts to get close to you, he is freaking dead."
Sakura sighed.
"Touya, I am an adult, you know. I have the right to date."
She could picture Touya shrugging nonchalantly—he took the protective big bro thing a little too seriously.
"Yeah whatever. Just take care, okay."
"Ok. See ya later."
After a lunch of grilled cheese and ham sandwich washed down with the lemonade, she took out the university schedule from her handbag. Tomorrow and the day after were mostly devoted to the orientation seminar and the "senior-junior" interaction along with the club sign-ups. Attached to the prospectus was a list of clubs along with one-line descriptions about what they were all about. Uninterested at the moment, she tossed the booklet aside and sprawled over the sofa, flicking lazily through the TV in an attempt to find interesting. Finding nothing, she switched it off and soon fell asleep.
When she woke, it was almost sunset, the fiery sun painting the sky with a profusion of oranges and reds with streaks of pink. It looked beautiful.
She stepped out into the balcony, the wind whipping through her short auburn hair—courtesy to the fact the flat was on the seventeenth floor. She watched the sunset until the indigo took over the fiery colours, enveloping the city into the folds of comfortable darkness. She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to have dinner with Eriol so she quickly stepped in, making her way to her 'den', as she nicknamed the sleeping area, and donned a pair of jeans and a red casual t-shirt and flip-flops. She checked her purse for money, took her cellphone and locked her flat before knocking Eriol's door.
The midnight-haired boy opened her door, rubbing a towel over his wet hair.
"Come in Sakura," he said, stepping aside to let her in.
Eriol's room was done in pale indigo and dark blue, painted in a streak-like fashion. The pillars and beams were white and so was the upholstery. The furniture was more or less the same but the colours bordered on blue.
"Tomoyo really knows her stuff, what say?" Sakura said as she sat on the sofa.
"Yep she does," replied Eriol proudly.
He stepped into the sleeping area and emerged a couple of minutes later clad in beige shorts and a loose black t-shirt and flip-flops.
"So let's go, Sakura."
The café was heavenly. A quiet piano played in the background as the river breeze kept the atmosphere cool and lent it a sense of serenity.
"Seems like a different world," Eriol remarked as they waited for the order to be served.
"So different from Tomoeda," Sakura sighed as she observed the fellow patrons.
"I miss the quiet."
As they dug in through the dinner (Chicken casserole, rice and fried veggie balls), she couldn't prevent her mind wander to her home where she was sure her father and Touya were eating dinner now.
Maybe she would have fun, but now at this moment, she felt lonely.
She was glad Eriol was here with her…at least she would have someone to talk to.
After dinner, they walked on the promenade thinking what Tomoyo would be doing in Milan.
"Probably scaring off other students with her brilliant but wacky ideas," he laughed.
"She has the full potential to do that," Sakura agreed, grinning.
She was late…
Oh yes she was late…very very late.
She jogged around the flat with a toast in her mouth and trying to pull up socks on her feet. After ten minutes of madness, she dashed out of the building and hailed a taxi—though the campus was just a fifteen minute walk, she was already running five minutes late. She attempted to smooth down her white silk shirt with lightly frilled collar and deep red skirt and blazer—Tomoyo's creation. A sleek black messenger bag hung across her torso which had her name embroidered in stylised font with a cherry pink colour. It was nice to have a fashion-obsessed friend—at least Sakura didn't have to shop for her college clothes. Most of her clothes were designed by Tomoyo herself and she took a great pride in wearing them…the normal casual ones, that is.
She leapt off the taxi after paying the fare, dashing down to the large building. A helpful floor map at the door gave her directions to the auditorium where the orientation was taking place. She ran up the stairs, two at a time and almost collided with someone who was coming down. She would have fallen down the flight of stairs if not for the helpful arm which shot out to steady her. She looked up to the owner of the arm and let out an involuntary gasp.
He was tall and athletically built—lean but strong. He had messy chocolate haired which tumbled down on his forehead, beautiful amber eyes as clear as glass, a slightly upturned nose and a cheery face which was presently contracted in worry. He was clad in a deep green shirt open at the collar and black dress pants and loafers.
"Hey, you okay?" he said, worry evident in his voice as he attempted to steady her.
"Yeah, I am fine though a little winded." She replied, unable to remove her gaze from his eyes.
He blinked, ending the spell and making Sakura jump slightly and blush.
"Glad to hear it. Don't dash up the steps unless you want to pay a trip to the hospital."
Sakura shuddered; she hated hospitals.
"Sorry," she said. "But thank you um…"
"Syaoran Li. A first year in the Advanced Business Course."
"Thank you, Li. I am Sakura Kinomoto, a first year in Contemporary Literature."
NEXT TIME
Chapter 2: Class and Coffee
Eriol and Syaoran meet up and so do Meiling and Sakura...do they hit off proper or are they in rough waters?
Stay Tuned!
REVIEW!