[I don't own these characters. CLAMP does.]
A Day In the Cards, By John Fiala
[Version 1.1, with slight changes for readability and to make
the plot a little more clear.]
Once.
I can be selfish once, surely.
I deserve it.
And it's not like they'll *know*. I'm not going to hurt anyone.
Not really.
--
Sakura woke up on a beautiful Saturday morning. Birds were
singing outside, the sun was shining, and Kero-chan was playing Final
Fantasy Something with the headphones on. Blinking blearily, she looked
around to see what had dragged her out of slumber and saw that Tomoyo
was missing.
After a few minutes her friend returned. "Good morning, Sakura-
chan!" Tomoyo said, and gave her a kiss before starting to get dressed.
"I'm sorry if I woke you."
Sakura yawned, and decided to get up. It's not like she could get
upset at Tomoyo when she was smiling. "Oh, it's okay. I've got some
chores I need to get started on, anyway. Want to get together for
lunch?"
Tomoyo nodded, and gave Kero-chan a pat on the head, which he
ducked, complaining that she'd mess up his score. "Sure. By then I
should be done with Mother's design group." One more kiss, and she
slipped out the door. They knew Touya or Yukito wouldn't say anything
about Tomoyo staying so much, but they were still unsure about Sakura's
father. So it was best to be discreet.
--
The morning went by slowly. In theory, a dishwasher meant that
you didn't *have* to wash the dishes, but the reality of it was that the
dishwasher was getting old, and a quick scrub at the dishes to remove
anything stuck on was necessary. Putting the last dish in the rack,
Sakura filled it with detergent and started it up, stretching. Bending
over the sink made her back hurt, but she thought she could get Tomoyo
to give her a backrub after lunch.
After that, it was time to move the laundry along: the whites into
the dryer, and then a load of tshirts and shorts for the washer.
Next, while those were busy going along, it was time to vaccuum.
--
Vacuuming over, and the wash again moved along, Sakura looked at
the clock and realized there was just enough time to run to the corner
market and get some eggs, rice, and other staples they'd been running
low on. Letting Kero-chan know where she was going, she took off for
the market.
Along the way she felt creepy. The back of her neck prickled as
if someone was watching her, but when she looked behind her she didn't
see anyone. Still, she picked up her step and felt relieved to slip
into the store.
The way back she felt the same way, and she ended up running the
rest of the way. Reaching the front door, she looked around and saw a
shadowy figure disappear around the corner. Not an adult, though - a
teenager like herself. A secret admirer? That would be cool, although
she was already taken.
--
Finally the clothes were done, and she met up with Tomoyo for
lunch. The presence had disappeared, and Tomoyo had had a picnic basket
packed for them. They took off for the local park, and they found their
favorite hidden spot where they could eat, snuggle, feed each other and
kiss without fear of being discovered. Sakura had shaped it with the
Wood card, and it was very private.
Sakura couldn't remember exactly when she and Tomoyo had become a
couple. They'd always been close as friends, but once she started
tracking down the Clow cards with Tomoyo's help they grew even closer.
Once Touya and Yukito had become a couple and she had had to give up on
the bishonen youth, she'd sort of fallen into Tomoyo's love and stayed
there. Boys at school tried to ask her on dates, but she turned them
down beyond a token few to prevent any nasty rumors from starting.
Sakura was happily noshing on some pocky Tomoyo had brought for
dessert, when she felt the girl stiffen next to her. Turning, she saw a
Chinese boy approaching them. She was going to greet him when she
realized that he was the person following her before. "Hey! Why are
you following me?"
The boy blinked. "Sakura. There's something missing.
Something's wrong."
Tomoyo stood up. "Shut up. She's not yours anymore. Why can't
you just leave us alone?"
Sakura looked at her friend with surprise. Tomoyo was normally
the most even tempered of people, but for some reason this boy had made
her furious! That was another strike against him. "Yeah! Go away!"
"But Sakura," the boy hesitated, "Don't you remember? Can't you?"
She concentrated. He did seem familiar, but it was probably a
passing resemblance to some idol singer.
Suddenly, she saw a memory of the boy wielding a sword, fighting
beside her for the lightning card. And then another memory of them
together, fighting first as rivals, and then as friends. And then, a
kiss. Memories that seemed real, but which she had never had before.
And with the memories, a name.
"Sayoran?"
He turned and gave her a brief smile that warmed her all the way
through.
And then a shot rang out, and the smile dimmed, and he slammed
into the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Sakura screamed as Tomoyo lowered the gun in her hand and ran over to the boy.
"C'mon, c'mon, where were you today? Where are you staying? Ah!"
Tomoyo held up a pen, and read off the side. "The Tokyo Hilton South."
She smiled. "Good enough."
Sakura stood shakily. "Tomoyo? What are you DOING? You SHOT
him!" Dimly, she realized that she'd gone into shock.
Tomoyo smiled, her grin a little wider than normal, as if she was
trying too hard to convince herself that she was happy. "Don't worry,
Sakura. He's only mostly dead." She giggled. "I keep trying to keep
him away, but he won't, so I've got to kill him, see?"
Sakura went for her cards.
Tomoyo saw her move, and pulled out a card of her own. "AGAIN!"
There was a horrible flash of light.
A Day In the Cards, By John Fiala
[Version 1.1, with slight changes for readability and to make
the plot a little more clear.]
Once.
I can be selfish once, surely.
I deserve it.
And it's not like they'll *know*. I'm not going to hurt anyone.
Not really.
--
Sakura woke up on a beautiful Saturday morning. Birds were
singing outside, the sun was shining, and Kero-chan was playing Final
Fantasy Something with the headphones on. Blinking blearily, she looked
around to see what had dragged her out of slumber and saw that Tomoyo
was missing.
After a few minutes her friend returned. "Good morning, Sakura-
chan!" Tomoyo said, and gave her a kiss before starting to get dressed.
"I'm sorry if I woke you."
Sakura yawned, and decided to get up. It's not like she could get
upset at Tomoyo when she was smiling. "Oh, it's okay. I've got some
chores I need to get started on, anyway. Want to get together for
lunch?"
Tomoyo nodded, and gave Kero-chan a pat on the head, which he
ducked, complaining that she'd mess up his score. "Sure. By then I
should be done with Mother's design group." One more kiss, and she
slipped out the door. They knew Touya or Yukito wouldn't say anything
about Tomoyo staying so much, but they were still unsure about Sakura's
father. So it was best to be discreet.
--
The morning went by slowly. In theory, a dishwasher meant that
you didn't *have* to wash the dishes, but the reality of it was that the
dishwasher was getting old, and a quick scrub at the dishes to remove
anything stuck on was necessary. Putting the last dish in the rack,
Sakura filled it with detergent and started it up, stretching. Bending
over the sink made her back hurt, but she thought she could get Tomoyo
to give her a backrub after lunch.
After that, it was time to move the laundry along: the whites into
the dryer, and then a load of tshirts and shorts for the washer.
Next, while those were busy going along, it was time to vaccuum.
--
Vacuuming over, and the wash again moved along, Sakura looked at
the clock and realized there was just enough time to run to the corner
market and get some eggs, rice, and other staples they'd been running
low on. Letting Kero-chan know where she was going, she took off for
the market.
Along the way she felt creepy. The back of her neck prickled as
if someone was watching her, but when she looked behind her she didn't
see anyone. Still, she picked up her step and felt relieved to slip
into the store.
The way back she felt the same way, and she ended up running the
rest of the way. Reaching the front door, she looked around and saw a
shadowy figure disappear around the corner. Not an adult, though - a
teenager like herself. A secret admirer? That would be cool, although
she was already taken.
--
Finally the clothes were done, and she met up with Tomoyo for
lunch. The presence had disappeared, and Tomoyo had had a picnic basket
packed for them. They took off for the local park, and they found their
favorite hidden spot where they could eat, snuggle, feed each other and
kiss without fear of being discovered. Sakura had shaped it with the
Wood card, and it was very private.
Sakura couldn't remember exactly when she and Tomoyo had become a
couple. They'd always been close as friends, but once she started
tracking down the Clow cards with Tomoyo's help they grew even closer.
Once Touya and Yukito had become a couple and she had had to give up on
the bishonen youth, she'd sort of fallen into Tomoyo's love and stayed
there. Boys at school tried to ask her on dates, but she turned them
down beyond a token few to prevent any nasty rumors from starting.
Sakura was happily noshing on some pocky Tomoyo had brought for
dessert, when she felt the girl stiffen next to her. Turning, she saw a
Chinese boy approaching them. She was going to greet him when she
realized that he was the person following her before. "Hey! Why are
you following me?"
The boy blinked. "Sakura. There's something missing.
Something's wrong."
Tomoyo stood up. "Shut up. She's not yours anymore. Why can't
you just leave us alone?"
Sakura looked at her friend with surprise. Tomoyo was normally
the most even tempered of people, but for some reason this boy had made
her furious! That was another strike against him. "Yeah! Go away!"
"But Sakura," the boy hesitated, "Don't you remember? Can't you?"
She concentrated. He did seem familiar, but it was probably a
passing resemblance to some idol singer.
Suddenly, she saw a memory of the boy wielding a sword, fighting
beside her for the lightning card. And then another memory of them
together, fighting first as rivals, and then as friends. And then, a
kiss. Memories that seemed real, but which she had never had before.
And with the memories, a name.
"Sayoran?"
He turned and gave her a brief smile that warmed her all the way
through.
And then a shot rang out, and the smile dimmed, and he slammed
into the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Sakura screamed as Tomoyo lowered the gun in her hand and ran over to the boy.
"C'mon, c'mon, where were you today? Where are you staying? Ah!"
Tomoyo held up a pen, and read off the side. "The Tokyo Hilton South."
She smiled. "Good enough."
Sakura stood shakily. "Tomoyo? What are you DOING? You SHOT
him!" Dimly, she realized that she'd gone into shock.
Tomoyo smiled, her grin a little wider than normal, as if she was
trying too hard to convince herself that she was happy. "Don't worry,
Sakura. He's only mostly dead." She giggled. "I keep trying to keep
him away, but he won't, so I've got to kill him, see?"
Sakura went for her cards.
Tomoyo saw her move, and pulled out a card of her own. "AGAIN!"
There was a horrible flash of light.