Black Roses

Genre: Angst/ Romance/ Tragedy

Rating: T

Chapter 1: Stay Away from Them

Summary: Sakura and Eriol have shifted again, this time from Vietnam to a small town in their home country, Japan. And al though Sakura is not the happiest about it, Eriol doesn't seem to complain. But what if they stumble upon two people who were least likely to become their friends? What secrets will they find out about each other as they move along their lines of friendship just for the sake of their love for each other? Will Syaoran and Sakura ever be able to confide in anyone?

Don't worry Syaoran and Tomoyo and cousins so no fear, no Syaoran and Tomoyo pairing in the story but there will be unconditional love between them so don't make it seem too awkward if they get freakishly close to each other.

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"Daidouji, are you alright…?" A young boy whispered.

The girl sitting on the bed lay still, her eyes looking into oblivion. It was the first time that the amber-eyes boy felt pity for anybody but himself. He had been so consumed in envy and hatred to ever notice the gifts he actually had around her.

The eyes of the young girl had lost their glint, instead were just blank grey blobs in her head. No tears were shed. No fears were revealed. That night, both sat on that single bed, the boy looking worriedly at the girl while the girl hugged her legs and looked to the wall. She would occasionally limp a bit but then gain her staunch position. Finally, after her body was starting to give in, she curled up into a ball and fell in the boy's embrace.

"D-Daidouji…" The boy whispered in surprise.

But she didn't reply. He could feel her hot tears and her dry breath on his shirt. He could feel her heart pace slowly, very slowly. He could hear her let out little hiccups. He could feel the cold of her skin penetrate his.

He felt a rush of guilt swipe through him as he put his hand on her shoulder to caress her. He had finally understood what he lived for. He finally knew what his reason was. He finally found a person he would dedicate his life to protect.

He found that person, laying in his arms, slowly crying herself to sleep. He looked down to her troubled face and felt even more guilt.

She had once told him of what he meant to her. But if only he wasn't so naïve as to let the most important things to him slip away. He wouldn't make the same mistakes again. He vowed then to never make mistakes like those again. He would act more mature. He would go through pain and hardship for the satisfaction of seeing a smile on her face. He would live for the sake of her happiness. He would live for the sake of her.

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"And here is where our chapter about 'Extraction of Metals' ends…" The teacher exclaimed, slamming the book close.

The eerie silence in the class and the slight noise of yawns turned into loud roars and laughter. Every one was rejoicing the end of another boring and inconceivably distasteful chapter of our 'beloved' chemistry.

"You are all dismissed…" The sighed as he took off his glasses and cleaned them.

Everybody, now in groups, were holding their books in their hands and rushed out of the tiny door. Some were squeezing out while others were pushing and nudging their way out. There were only two students who were at the back of the class who had been comfortably seated in their seats. The boy was slumped in his chair and the hood over his head was blocking most of his face. It was forming an odd shadow on his face, making it hard to determine his face.

He was wearing a grey and black hoody and tattered loose jeans underneath. His hands were on the book, them being fair and simple.

The girl sitting next to him was sitting straight up in her chair, wearing an odd cap sort of thing on her head which was rearing a shadow on her eyes. Her face was pale and her hands were half hidden in the long sleeved lose shirt she was wearing. It was the usual black and red combination. Underneath, she wore simple blue lose jeans and red sneakers.

Both sat quietly on their seats, not bothering to mingle with the great stampede which had formed around the homeroom door.

"Tomoyo, let's go…" The boy whispered to the girl, still slumped in his chair.

"Hai…" She replied, a little smile forming on her face.

They both got up at the same moment and walked to the door. They didn't look up, didn't say any farewells to the teacher in the class, just held their books. The girl walked quietly and obediently behind the boy. Her hair were peering out of her cap in a very high and tight bun.

They both exited the classroom without anyone noticing them except for the teacher. The teacher, Tereda Sensei, reached his hand out in hope to stop those two and have a little chat, but then chose to let it go, knowing nothing much will come out of the talk.

"It's a free period, might as well go to the library… do you want to take some art stuff with you Tomoyo?" The boy asked, looking at the girl from the side of his eye.

The girl nodded and walked towards her locker. The boy followed her to his own locker, next to hers, and opened it with a bang. The girl standing next to him on the opposite side yelped in surprise as he opened it.

"I-I didn't see you there…" The girl said, holding her chest and trying to regain herself.

The boy didn't reply, didn't even bother looking at her. He just turned to the hallway and started walking. Tomoyo, closing her locker politely, clenched onto her art material and ran to follow the boy to the library.

Some of the people in the hallway would stare at them, some mock them, some hooted while others just gossiped about anything which came to their mind. But the boy and the girl didn't care.

They entered the isolated library quietly and took their usual positions.

"Oh well… might as well take up a good book while I'm at it…' The boy said, holding out a diary on World War 2.

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"HIRAGIZAWA ERIOL! How dare you steel my pillow… you know I get all sentimental about my pillow!!" Sakura screamed on the top of her lungs.

"Sakura, quiet down. Eriol, give Sakura back her pillow…" Said Fujitaka from below.

"Eriol, please give it back!" Sakura whined, jumping up and down on her knees.

"But dear cousin Sakura, when you will give me back my art book, I will give you back your beloved fluffy, soothing, comfy, absolutely feathery, dreamy and oh so cuddly something of a pillow back…" Eriol replied, evilly glinting eyes, and a smirk on his face while he rubbed the white pillow on his face and then hugged it, cuddling his whole self in the pillow's bliss.

"Eriol…" Sakura whined, now pretending to cry.

"You two should stop fighting all the time, you know. You guess should know better living under one roof. And besides, this is not the best time to fight anyways… you two should get unpacked and make yourselves feel more comfortable…" Fujitaka scolded from below, holding a wooden spoon in his hand while pointing at them.

"I WAS unpacking when this… this 'thing' infiltrated my room and stole my pillow!" Sakura scowled, pointing harshly at Eriol.

"And was it not this 'thing's' room where you snuck in last night and stole that art pad…?" Eriol mocked back.

"Okay you two, Sakura you bring Eriol's art pad from inside and you two exchange…" Said a female voice from down below.

"Hai…" Sakura whined some more as she saw Eriol grin at her.

The lady standing next to the stairs was Eriol's mother, Lira, better known as Eriol's mom.

She was like a mother to Sakura now, both cousins always staying together under Eriol's mother's loving care. Fujitaka had decided to have this joint family thing because both the parents were single and had the same jobs so it was best because Eriol needed a father and Sakura needed a mother figure. Although neither tried o replace the actual parents of the children, they tried their best to make things better, just not make the children feel left out in things.

After what seemed like an argument which ended World War three, the kids got consumed into their own cardboard boxes, unpacking and setting their rooms. Soon enough, they were on the dining table, all the family, excluding Sakura's older brother, and munching on their food.

"So are you two ready for school tomorrow?" Lira asked.

Both of them nodded slightly, unsure of where the whole topic was leading to.

"Where is Touya?" Fujitaka asked Sakura.

"Nii-san thought that he would eat out tonight, wanting to see the city, or what's left of it anyway…" Sakura groaned.

"Sakura, get over it. You know we have to move a lot so there is no need in complaining… no finish your dinner…" Fujitaka said, trying to be as polite as he could be.

Sakura turned to look at Eriol and Eriol looked back at her. They both talked to each other in eye language.

'I am so gonna hate school here…' Sakura eyed.

'I wont hate it… I'm glad we shifted and so you don't need to make a fuss of it…' Eriol replied, grinning.

'We shift every year Eriol, it's not like I have a choice. I have really given up making a fuss…' Sakura thought back, narrowing her eyes.

'Besides, no one can hate us…' Eriol said, giving his proud smirk.

'Yeah with all those girls…' Sakura rolled her eyes.

And all of this conversation was happening in eye language. Boy, were they professionals at it now.

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"Class, before we start with the new chapter, Organic Chemistry, I would like to introduce to you all our newest students…" The teachers explained, looking bright and pointing towards the blue haired boy and the auburn haired girl.

They both stepped in and without the teacher even telling them to explain themselves, they started,

"Hello, my name is Kinomoto Sakura. I have just shifted here from Vietnam. Nice to meet you all…" Sakura said beaming monotonously.

"And I am Hiragizawa Eriol, Sakura's cousin. I live with her so I shifted from Vietnam too…" Eriol followed Sakura.

"I see, so you have experience with new classes…" The teacher asked.

"Very…" Eriol replied.

"This is our 11th school…" Sakura said.

(A/n let me just say this… I change schools every year. My dad's in the army so we cant stay at one place for more than one or two years. I am in 10th grade and its my 11th school and I had a double promotion in 8 so I skipped 9th… imagine… I don't even feel sad when I'm shifting anymore and somehow I have never complained either to my dad… it's not his fault he has a difficult job…)

"Well, have a seat… erm… where can you two sit down…" The Teacher thought for a moment.

The whole class was very cramped and stuffy.

"There, Kinomoto, you can sit next to Daidouji while Eriol can sit in front of you…" The teacher said, pointing towards he two isolated beings at the back.

Sakura looked at the condition of the boy and shuddered. She couldn't even make out his face. The Tomoyo girl seemed pretty but she had also hid her face in a hood.

'By the looks of it, they must be a couple…' Sakura thought as she sat down next to Tomoyo, followed by Eriol.

Sakura looked at her new neighbor and smiled. But she didn't get any response what so ever. Neither of them looked at her or Eriol. It was as if the new students were non-existent to them.

Eriol looked at the two and then back to Sakura and shrugged. As Sakura looked around, most of the guys in the class were staring at her while he girls were literally drooling over the sight of Eriol.

Eriol was the first guy Sakura had known who got unwanted yet adorable attention from the opposite sex even with the glasses. Actually, on Eriol, they made him seem more mysterious.

So the lesson started and Sakura and Eriol forgot about their two neighbors.

"Sensei, have you checked the test…?" A girl asked in a pettish voice.

Oh did Sakura loath that voice! It screamed pure 'teacher's pet'!

"Oh yes I have. I am sorry it took me so long… but you already knew the outcome of it all… only two got A on a perfect grade…" The teacher sighed.

The whole class groaned as they looked at their papers.

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"Sasaki, I put you in charge of Kinamoto. You have to give her your previous notes and help her in class." The teacher said before leaving the class.

"Hey, my name's Sasaki Rika. It's nice to meet you. We never had a student form Vietnam before…" The brown haired girl said.

Sakura and Eriol just smiled nervously.

The girl had shoulder length brown hair and a shy personality. She was a little shorter than Sakura and was fairly pretty.

After the whole introduction, the trio proceeded to the main lunch room after a quick trip to the lockers.

"Hi, I'm Chiharu and this is Naoko…!" Another brown haired girl exclaimed.

She had two childish two ponies made which somehow didn't make her look too childish at all. Next to her was Yamazaki Takashi, presumably her boy friend. Naoko was also a shoulder length brown dead straight hair with glasses girl. She seemed to be really intelligent by the looks of it.

The little bit of chitter chatter started when Eriol's gaze went on the girl with wavy raven hair pulling out into a neat high pony as her hood fell off. Her eyes were still being hindered by her heavy fringe which covered her forehead. She was wearing a plain black half sleeves shirt which had white imprint on it, 'Behind every dark cloud is an even darker cloud.' She had elbow length gloves which had no hand or fingers which were grey. Underneath, she was wearing baggy black cargo type pants with two chains hanging down from each side.

Next to him sat the boy, wearing exactly what he was wearing yesterday. Sakura looked at what Eriol was looking at and then got quiet.

"And that is how I found out how Octopus actually flies…" Yamazaki said, holding up a finger.

Sakura giggled as he made up stories. They seemed to get along with the cousins really well. All was going great when suddenly Sakura asked out of curiosity,

"Nee, Rika, who are those two?"

Rika looked at where Sakura was faintly pointing. She shuddered and then said, "Ask Naoko and Chiharu. Naoko can write a book about them while Chiharu can film a documentary…"

Sakura turned to Chiharu and Naoko who now had stars in their eyes.

"Okay now listen closely…" Chiharu said ever excitedly.

Eriol turned his attention to the girl and listened intently.

"They are Li Syaoran and Daidouji Tomoyo. Tomoyo had been studying here for seven years now and so has Li. Li was never really the social one. If you want your name clean, stay away from them. They are bad news Sakura, Eriol." Chiharu warned.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

Eriol narrowed his eyes, waiting for a reply.

"Tomoyo used to be an innocent, carefree and extremely caring girl. While Li, her cousin, had always been the quiet type. It was four years back that Tomoyo's mother died in some accident, still unclear as to what happened. Since then, she stopped being friends with us. She started hanging out with her cousin even when he had told her countless time before that he had hated her. But since the death of her mother and father, she was never really able to recover. And now Li is like her guardian or something.

He goes where ever she goes and protects her with his life. But he treats her just as bad if you ask me…" Naoko said.

"Tomoyo seems to have gone mute since her parents died… out of trauma I guess…" Rika added, "But those two don't think so…" she said, pointing to Naoko and Chiharu.

"No she isn't.! She might not talk to us but I've seen her move her mouth in the library…" Chiharu said.

"But did you even hear her voice??" Rika asked.

"No but we couldn't go close, or else Li could've found out we were spying on them…" Chiharu said, making a face.

"Those two had found them to be an interesting case. So they spied on them a whole month, in school, after school." Yamazaki said.

"But I find them actually very cute. When you hear them talking on their way back home, they sound like the perfect brother and sister. They joke around, tease each other, talk to each other. I know by the expression even though I have never heard what they talk to each other about." Naoko said in shame.

"But they only talk when they are alone. I've also heard that Li does drugs, smoking and alcohol…" Chiharu said.

"And has put Tomoyo on them too…" Naoko said sadly.

Sakura looked at the two in pity.

"What a shame to throw away their own future to addiction…" Sakura said, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Oh no, they ain't throwing away their futures. Who do you think got those two only A's in class?" Chiharu said, know-it-ally.

"Tomoyo had always been a bright student, and Syaoran had a sudden rise in grades ever since four years back. Somehow, the deaths of her parents changed those two in studies too… some suspected Li cheated her but it was proven wrong countless times, by taking his oral tests and other stuff… they both are like geniuses…" Naoko chimed.

"We have done some extensive research on those two and have come to the conclusion that it is best to stay away from them… anyone who bothers to talk to them either starts hating them or going mad…!" Rika said.

"You know, Li had always been very cute when we were all in smaller grades. He had brownish eyes which were always narrow in anger. But even then, he treated everyone with seclusion…!" Chiharu said.

"I had also heard that two or three girls had once got stuck with him in some science pair-ups and they literally went insane!" Naoko wobbled.

"What, is he like that SCARY?" Sakura exclaimed.

"No, they didn't go insane in fear, but they fell in love with him… they even claimed they saw him in their dreams… some even claim that his eyes are golden or something but I don't believe that! Who can have golden eyes?" Chiharu told Sakura.

"I don't know about that, Eriol has dark blue eyes… that's also a rare colour…" Sakura said, looking uneasily at Eriol.

Eriol, on the other hand, didn't even hear the comment. He had never been this distracted before. He kept on staring at the girl with raven hair as she quietly munched on her little sandwich.

There was so much mystery revolving her and it intrigued him to death. Curiosity would indeed have something to do with Eriol's death. He kept on trying to get a view of her shut eyes. He wanted to know what was hidden in them. More than that, he wanted to know why this particular girl didn't even bother looking at him, let alone falling for his smooth charms.

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She entered the class with her straight up back and confident figure. Her short auburn hair went in complete and perfect contrast to her emerald eyes which sparkled at every point. Her skin was filled with a certain glow of excitement and boldness. She was not that bad looking actually, better than all those other snobs in school.

The boy standing next to her had odd blue hair. His eyes were shining from behind the huge spectacles and they were azure. He had a slight wit and cleverness in his aura, like he was a sweeping charm. His height would be slightly taller than mine, if I wasn't wrong. And he had just as much confidence in him as the girl did.

Kinomoto Sakura and Hiragizawa Eriol came and sat next to Tomoyo. I looked at them from the side of my eyes, making sure not to establish any eye contact. I saw her smiling but I made sure she didn't know I was looking at her. I really did miss out on what she looked like when she smiled but didn't let that get to me.

I could see Tomoyo's head was bowed down and she was not letting the two new figures bother her like they were bothering me.

Vietnam, eh? Odd, after a whole different country, they wound up here in this pathetic and torturous town like Tomoeda. If I wasn't wrong, I didn't think this worthless town was even on the map of Japan.

I didn't think they would have a problem fitting in. They had the right attitude, the correct burst and their good looks to their aid. I saw them hanging out with Tomoyo's old friends. Those four disgusted me to no extent. All of them, literally abandoning my dear sis. If it wasn't for Tomoyo always sticking up for them, I would've have pounded each and every one of them, regardless of gender.

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Phew! That was an okay length chapter for a beginning. Can you imagine, I didn't make a prologue for my story. I guess I have changed the way I write my fanfictions.

Sneak Preview:

"Kinomoto, Hiragizawa, you will be paired up with Daidouji and Li. The camping trip begins now!"

That's all folks!