An Eternal Bond

Summary: Four strangers, brought together by one game. Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo and Eriol… 4 very different people, living 4 very different lives, though all sharing one similar desire… to escape reality. Watch, as these 4 learn the true meaning of companionship, friendship and love… through a virtual reality game!

Chapter 1: Prologue- The silver ticket

XOXO

Sakura Kinomoto was walking across the street, when a gathering crowd caught her eye. Everyone seemed to be huddled, tightly together, around a sign post.

Curiosity getting the better of her, and jumping at any chance to postpone going to the place which she hated most, she walked towards the group.

Unable to see over the sea of heads, she jumped up and down, trying to get glimpses of what everyone was staring at. Apparently it was an ad of some sort. It read:

Have you ever wanted to battle evil monsters and save the world?

Have you ever wanted to possess magical powers?

Have you ever wanted to escape into a whole new world? A whole new… reality?

Well, now's your chance! You may be one of the four lucky winners who will be one of the first, EVER, to test out our new virtual reality game! Where you can feel, smell, touch, see and even taste your wildest dream… your ultimate fantasy. Where you can become a hero… without ever having to get a single scratch on yourself.

Four special silver tickets, that will give you this once in a lifetime opportunity, have been put in four completely random 'The search for Tsubasa' video game cases, around the globe. If you happen to come across one of these special silver tickets then contact us now at 777-555-3 or 777-555-4, and we will give you the chance to experience something, you'll never forget!

Sakura shook her head. This is what they were all interested in? It sounded extremely fake to her, just some advertising tactic to get people to buy more video games.

Although, sometimes Sakura wished she could escape to another world, leave this one, where she was not needed nor wanted.

She sighed, before reluctantly heading back towards the place she dreaded most…

… school.

XOXO

Tomoyo Daidouji, was casually resting against the wall, blowing on her nails and tapping her stiletto heels, trying to fit in with the rest of the girls around her, her so-called 'friends'.

"Oh my god." Stephanie, a blonde who was part of Tomoyo's clique, exclaimed, as she pointed at one of the passing student's shoes. "Look at that girl's shoes! They are exactly like mine! Oh that bitch is going to get it! Trying to act like me just so she could be cool! We'll get her at lunch and show her wrong, right girls?"

Everyone part of Tomoyo's clique, quickly nodded, not wanting to anger Stephanie, the queen bee.

"In fact..." Stephanie said slowly, glancing at her watch while a huge smirk grew on her face "Why don't we just teach this slut a lesson, right now."

Exact smirks grew on everyone else's faces, though some of them were obviously fake… like the one Tomoyo was wearing.

"Hey bitch! …Yeah you!" Stephanie called out to the girl, who was apparently 'copying' Stephanie's style. "Who the hell do you think you are?" She spat out at the poor, cowering girl.

"Ummh… I-I'm s-s-sorry?" She stammered, utterly terrified yet at the same time confused to what she had done.

"You aren't yet…" Stephanie replied, roughly pushing the girl backwards until she was cornered in a wall. "…but you will be."

Stephanie and the rest of the gang swooped down on the defenseless girl as a predator would on its chosen prey.

Guilt flashed through Tomoyo's amethyst eyes as she could only stand by, helplessly watching as her friends beat down ruthlessly on an innocent girl. 'I hate my life.' Tomoyo thought hopelessly.

But Tomoyo was in one of those gangs where you were either with them, or against them.

And trust me when I say, nobody wanted to be against them.

XOXO

Syaoran Li cursed and quickened his pace as he saw his 'fan club' stalk after him. After rounding the block he could still see them following behind him. Realizing that they were not about to give up, he turned around and faced them, giving them his iciest glare.

"Will you please just fucking leave me alone!" He bellowed angrily at them, hoping it was enough to scare them away… no such luck. Instead they just giggled and whispered things like, "Oh he's so cute when he's angry!" and "Awww! Look, he's blushing because he's embarrassed! He's so shy. That's a great quality to have in a guy."

'I'm not blushing because I'm embarrassed… I'm red because I'm furious!' He thought, enraged.

"Look," He said, as calmly as possible through gritted teeth. "I'm not interested. In ANY one of you. And I NEVER will be! In fact, I don't think I'll ever be interested in another girl again! Not that I'm saying I'm gay, but purely because I just think that girls are just a bunch of annoying, giggling, good-for-nothing whores, who claim they love you until the next hotter, richer guy comes by, and they leave you!"

But all the girls continued chattering away like they hadn't even heard him. Syaoran sighed in frustration.

'I hate the whole women population! And nothing will ever change my mind!'

XOXO

Eriol Hiirigizawa was staring down at a picture in a photo album, unshed tears in his eyes. It was a picture of him and his parents, ten years ago. But he remembered it like yesterday. He and his parents had gone to the park, for a picnic.

He flipped to the next page. It was another picture of him and his parents. They had gone to France on a holiday. They were on top the Eiffel tower, smiling and waving. He smiled bitterly at the memory.

He kept on flipping the pages. Each one of them, held a different memory… so many memories.

He laughed at the picture and memory of when Suppi, his dog, had pooped in his mothers expensive designer shoes. His mother had been horrified. Eriol's laughter echoed through the walls of his empty mansion and only then did he realize it was hollow.

His home…

His laughter…

His heart.

XOXO

Sakura dragged her feet as she walked down the corridors of her school.

A boy bumped into her, causing her to stumble back, yet the boy didn't seem to notice and just walked on by.

Sakura ignored that fact and began to walk again when yet another person bumped into her. This time it was a girl who bumped into her and she did notice Sakura.

"Oh sorr---! No wait, never mind, it's just the geek." The girl sneered as she continued on walking.

'It has always been this way. My whole life, I've lived in Japan and nothing has changed. I'm invisible in everyone's eyes and if people do notice me, it's only as a geek. I hate my life.' Sakura thought, miserably.

Sakura cast her head down, bangs over he eyes as she stared down at the floor. 'I'm like the dirt under my shoe.'

"That's not enough to cover up your hideous face, so don't even bother trying, nerd." Someone muttered as he passed.

Sakura knew that the random student was right. She really was ugly. Sakura had short auburn hair, that was shoulder length, and roughly cut. She had radiant emerald eyes, that nobody had ever seen as they were always hidden beneath her thick, chunky glasses. She had a bushy unibrow, and only wore clothes that were over-sized and out-dated, as she could only afford to wear her older cousin's hand-me-downs. She wasn't fat, but she wasn't exactly stick-skinny either.

Sakura was lost in a wave of self-pity as she continued walking to her locker. She was starting to unlock the combination of her locker, when Rika, a new student who transferred to Tomoeda the day before, walked up to Sakura.

Sakura brightened up. 'Rika-chan seems nice enough. She may be my first real friend!'

"Hey Sakura-san!" Rika said cheerfully.

"Hey Rika-san." Sakura replied back, smiling.

"Ummh… I want to thank you… for showing me around school yesterday." Rika said kindly. "Here." She said handing something to Sakura. It was a wrapped present. "I hope you like it." She added.

Sakura's smile widened as she took the present. "Thanks Rika-san, but you really didn't have to."

"It's okay, and you're welcome." Rika said smiling.

Sakura held the unopened present. "Hey, Rika-san, I heard that there's this new store opening today, and I was wondering if you'd like to go there with me after school."

Rika's smile faltered, she cast her eyes downward and nervously shuffled her feet.

Sakura's smile also fell as she watched Rika's reaction.

"Ummh… I'm n-not sure… I don't really think I can… I mean, its not that I don't like you… but…" Rika trailed off.

"…But you don't want to be seen hanging around with a geek like me." Sakura finished for her.

"No!" Rika quickly exclaimed, trying to spare Sakura's feelings. "No… it's just that… well, you see…" She stopped stammering, before finally admitting "…Yeah. Kind of. I'm so sorry, Sakura-san."

Sakura forced a smile. "It's okay. Really. No big deal right." She said, trying her best to sound okay with it.

"I'm really sorry. It's just that I'm new here and all, and I really want to make a good first impression." Rika said.

"And you can't do that, if you're seen hanging out with me." Sakura added bitterly.

"That's not what I said." Rika said slowly.

"But it's what you meant." Sakura snapped.

Silence was her response. "I'm sorry." Rika apologized again, softly, before quickly walking away.

Sakura tried to hold back her tears. She was used to being taunted, ridiculed and bullied, but she wasn't used to having a knife stab you in the back… by someone you thought to be your friend.

She quickly wiped away her oncoming tears. She looked down at the present she'd received. She thought of just throwing it away but decided against that. Rika had gone to the trouble of getting it for her, at least Rika had some resemblance of a heart, unlike the rest of the monsters in her school.

Sakura opened the present, gently as not to rip the wrapping paper. It was some sort of video game. It read:

The search for Tsubasa

'Now, why do people just assume, that because I'm a geek, I play video games.' Sakura thought, frustrated. 'The search for Tsubasa… that sounds familiar… oh yeah! I saw it on that ad today! I wonder what it's about…?'

The casing had a picture of eight feathers on it.

Slowly she opened the case. She gasped, her breath caught in her throat, as she saw what was inside.

Inside, flashed a single silver ticket.

XOXO

Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg

"You guys go first, I'll catch up in a minute!" Tomoyo called out to her friends.

She quickly strolled to her locker to get out a few books, when she saw Howard Ying, the school geek, who also happened to be known to have a major crush on Tomoyo, approached her.

"Hi Daidouji-san." He said, wiping his nose with his sleeve as he said it.

Tomoyo looked around, to see if any of her friends were watching. She, a popular kid, should never be seen talking to Howard, a geek. Seeing none, she kindly replied to him "Hey Ying-san."

"Ummh… I wanted to- to g-give you something." He stammered nervously, blushing from embarrassment. He looked down at his feet as he handed to Tomoyo a neatly wrapped present.

"Oh… thanks so much Ying… but you know, it's not my birthday or anything."

"I know." He said. "I just wanted to give you something special. Open it."

Tomoyo hesitated, but seeing the pleading look on Howard's face, she reluctantly opened it.

"… A-a video game!" She exclaimed, trying to sound excited. "…Great! Thanks so much for…for this."

"You're welcome. 'The search for Tsubasa' is supposedly the greatest video game invented so far! I've heard that it's very cool and exciting!" Howard said eagerly.

'Using the term 'cool' and 'exciting' loosely of course.' Tomoyo thought, before feeling a pang of guilt. 'He was just doing something nice for me. I should try to at least do the same.'

She did her best to look happy as she looked over the case. "…Yeah. I think I've heard that too. This is just what I wanted. Thanks so much!"

Howard broke into a smile. He had never felt so happy. To be even talking to this… this goddess in front of him was a miracle to him. And she really did look like a goddess. With her long and curly black tresses and her alluring amethyst eyes. With her pale and flawless completion and her perfect figure… she looked like an angel.

By accident, Tomoyo dropped the video game. It cracked open and a CD rolled out. Along with it, there was a slip of silver paper.

The silver ticket.

As Tomoyo dropped to her knees to pick up the spilled contents, Howard stood there frozen, his eyes not leaving the silver ticket.

Tomoyo noticed his sudden paralyzed figure and waved her hand in front of his face. He didn't even blink.

"Hello? Earth to Howard. Are you okay?" She asked, staring at his motionless face.

Finally, snapping out of his shock he gasped out "The silver ticket…"

"The what-now?" Tomoyo asked, confused.

"That's… that's the- the silver ticket." Howard said breathless, still in awe.

"Okay… what about this silver ticket thingy?" Tomoyo asked, glancing at the ticket in her hands.

"I can't believe it! You've got the silver ticket! There are only four in the entire world! I never even dreamed of seeing it, let alone being the very person who bought it in its case!"

Tomoyo glanced at the silver ticket. It didn't really look that special. "Do you want it?" She offered Howard, seeing as it was so special to him.

"No. If anyone in this world, deserves a silver ticket it is you… my angel." He said, still in a daze.

'My angel?' Tomoyo wondered. "Okay. Thanks. What does this ticket thingy do, anyways?"

"This ticket… this ticket gives you a chance to test out the new virtual reality game! It's only the most advanced game and technology in history!" He replied in a 'duh!' sort of tone. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Many people would literally, kill, for this experience."

"Oh." Was all Tomoyo could some up with. "Thanks." She said once again.

Suddenly, Stephanie stuck her head out from one of the classroom doors. "Tomoyo! You're going to be late! What are you---" She suddenly noticed Tomoyo was standing, talking to Howard, the school's biggest geek. "---What are you doing talking to a GEEK?" She shrieked out.

Tomoyo quickly stuffed the video game in her bag, along with the silver ticket. "Stay away from me, snot-face!" She burst out to Howard who looked shocked from her sudden change in mood. "And quit bothering me. Do you actually think a GEEK like you would ever have a chance with ME!" Tomoyo spat at him, trying to ignore her guilt as she saw his face crumble, and the hurt in his eyes.

She then walked away, haughtily, and caught a whisper of his broken voice as he said softly "…My angel."

Tomoyo Daidouji may look like an angel… but she certainly wasn't one of them.

XOXO

Meanwhile, in the totally different country of Hong Kong, Syaoran was busy hiding from his stalkers… in the janitor's closet.

He opened the door a crack and peeked through. He could see them, looking for him.

'What a bunch of sluts, who obviously have nothing better to do, then chase after the richest guy in town. I hate my life.'

Not only was Syaoran rich, but he was blessed with good looks too. Syaoran had unruly, chestnut-brown hair that was long enough to fall onto his eyes, but not too long, that it looked girlie. He had a good physic, and was well tanned, as he spent a lot of his time outdoors, either playing football, since he was captain of the football team, or training (martial arts), because he was the heir to the Li-clan, the most powerful clan in China. But what was really, the most breath-taking feature about him, was his eyes. He had intense amber eyes, with flecks of golden in them. His eyes were so powerful and deep, as if he held many secret within them.

He sat down on a overturned bucket, waiting for his supporters to go away.

After what seemed like years, they seemed to finally give up and went to god-knows-where.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he went to his locker to get some books out. As usual, the dozens of love letters poured out as did the occasional present.

Also as usual, he dumped all the cards in the bin, without any hesitation… it felt almost like a routine. He eyed and weighed the present in his hand. It was a flat square, and felt reasonably light. Deciding it was nothing of value, he chucked it in the bin, without even opening it. He didn't give a shit about the person who gave it to him or if he had hurt her feelings.

He was about to walk away when the janitor called out to him. "I think you dropped something, mister." He said, holding out the present that Syaoran had carelessly discarded.

Syaoran shook his head. "No, I meant to put that in the trash." He said, tonelessly, as he turned to walk away.

The janitor looked confused. "But… you haven't even opened it." He said. "This poor… lady, I'm judging by the wrapping paper and the card, obviously cares about you and took some time and effort into buying or making this for you."

Syaoran tried to hold in his frustration as he turned to face the janitor. 'Mind your own business old man. I bet this girl doesn't know shit about me, and only got me this present cause she thinks that'll make me like her, then she'll break my heart, steal all my money and run off, without even saying goodbye.' But of course, he didn't say that out loud.

Instead he forced a smile. "You're right. I really should open it before throwing it away in the trash. I might've hurt some poor girl's feelings." He said, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

The janitor smiled back, oblivious to the fact that Syaoran was being sarcastic. "That's a good lad. Here." He said, handing the unopened present back to Syaoran. Syaoran reluctantly accepted it, waiting for the janitor to leave, so he could throw it back into the trash. 'Where it belongs…' Syaoran thought. However the janitor didn't leave, and instead waited patiently for Syaoran to open it.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" The janitor asked kindly.

Syaoran just stared blankly back.

Finally, when the janitor was clearly not about to leave, Syaoran sighed in defeat and tore off the wrapping paper.

It was a video game. The front cover read:

The search for Tsubasa

'Great. Just what I need. Another video game.' Was Syaoran's immediate thought.

"Ahhh. A video game. My son loves those." The janitor commented.

'Do I look like I care?' Syaoran thought rudely. Not knowing what else to say, he held out the video game. "Do you want it?" He offered.

"No." The janitor winked. "It's obvious you've got a secret admirer. You should keep it, to show your respect." With that, the janitor walked off.

You should keep it, to show your respect. The janitor's voice, echoed in his ears

Syaoran felt a pang of guilt, but immediately brushed the feeling off.

Turning the case, over in his hands, he looked at the front cover. Syaoran did play video games occasionally, I mean, he was a guy after all, but it wasn't exactly his favourite thing to do.

'I've never played this game before.' He observed.

He opened the case, to look at the CD, when a glint of silver caught his eye. He opened it wider, only to see…

A/N: Do I even need to bother, to tell you what it is?

One silver ticket.

XOXO

In yet another different country, Eriol wandered the streets of England. He had no idea where he was going, but he was too depressed to care. 'I hate my life.' He told himself once again. That same sentence seemed to echo from the minds of Sakura, Tomoyo and Syaoran.

Letting his feet lead the way instead of his mind, he walked to wherever his feet took him.

He finally looked up only to find himself in his favourite video game store.

'Might as well buy something while I'm here.' He thought.

Eriol loved video games. Because while he was playing them, he could, for one brief moment, forget about everything… forget about his responsibilities, forget about his parents tragic death, forget about reality… and be lost in a safer and much happier world.

He scanned the rows and rows of video games, his eyes looking for something that stood out.

Unable to find anything he was particularly interested in, he was about to walk out when…

"Hey Eriol." A voice called out.

Eriol turned around and realized it was Stanley, one of the people who worked at the shop. He knew Eriol, since Eriol was a regular.

"Why are you leaving? You didn't find anything you want to buy?" He asked.

Eriol shook his head. "Nah. Everything seems pretty dull today."

"Speaking of being dull, why do you look so dull and depressed today?"

Eriol shrugged. "I'm fine." He said half heartedly.

"Come on." Stanley said, dragging him back into the shop. "I'll find you something."

Eriol didn't even bother to protest.

"How about this one?" Stanley asked, holding out a video game that was titled:

The search for Tsubasa

"This game is definitely worth getting. Right now, it's supposed to be the hottest game out there."

Eriol didn't reply.

"Come on, man." Stanley persisted.

"Sure. Whatever." Eriol replied, not in the mood to argue.

"Thatta boy." Stanley said, grinning.

As Stanley started typing out numbers on the cashier, he casually told Eriol, "You know, word out on the street, is that there are meant to be these four silver tickets that'll get you into this 'virtual reality game'. And the tickets are meant to be hidden, in four of these 'The search for Tsubasa' cases. Maybe you'll get lucky."

"Mhhhm." Eriol replied, only half listening. "Thanks Stanley." He said as he paid the exact amount of cash for the game.

"Go on. Open it." Stanley encouraged.

"Why? I'm never going to get this silver ticket thing anyway. It's a one in a million chance."

"Just do it. You never know. What could it hurt?" Stanley persisted.

Eriol admitted defeat, and slowly opened the case.

Oh! And what a surprise! Out came one silver ticket.

Stanley's eyes almost popped out of his head. "No way." He whispered in disbelief.

Eriol was too much in shock, to react. "…I-is this the si-silver ticket that you were talk-talking about?" He stuttered, finding his voice again.

"Uh huh." Stanley said, still breathless. "One in a million, ay." He said, grinning broadly.

Eriol turned the ticket over. There was some writing on the back of it.

"Read it. Read it!" Stanley urged.

With a trembling voice, Eriol read the words on the back out loud. It was the same words written on all the tickets.

Congratulations lucky ticket finder! You are one of the four winners that will be competing in out new virtual reality game! It is brand new, and no other virtual reality game can even compare to it. It has new, never-seen-before special effects, and a new technology that will actually allow you to see, feel, smell, hear and taste whatever your character in the game is doing!

Please call 777-555-3 or 777-555-4 and we will give you a life changing experience!

A life changing experience indeed…

XOXO

This isn't a story about four heroes who save the world from disaster.

It isn't about four people who find their soul mates, fall in love, kiss and live happily ever after.

It isn't about four perfect people living four perfect lives.

It's about four individual people. Imperfect, with many flaws…

The way it should be.

It's about Sakura Kinomoto, a girl who is bullied because of her looks.

Syaoran Li, a boy who can't let go, and iced his heart instead.

Tomoyo Daidouji, a girl who pretends to be someone she's not.

And Eriol Hiirigizawa, a boy who is stuck in the past.

But because of what each of their pasts held, their futures were already determined. Their destinies were entwined.

Some call it fate, but some call it…

An eternal bond.

XOXO

Authors Note: I know that this first chappie was extremely boring, but its just an introduction to the characters… I'm trying to show people what each of their lives are like, and why they hate it so much. The characters are OOC, especially Tomoyo and Eriol, but they will be more like their original characters as the story progresses.

Please review! If no one reviews then I won't know if anyone likes this story and it'll probably be discontinued! So don't forget to REVIEW!

XOXO