From Russia with Love
Chapter 1: Her father, a Spetsnaz. Her mother, a housewife.
It was a sunny day of spring at the city of Tomoeda. 3 years had now passed since the last Clow card was captured and turned into a Sakura Card. Quite a lot of things changed in the last 3 years.
But…there are some other things that will just NEVER change.
For example: Sakura Kinomoto, age 15, the Mistress of the Sakura Cards, KEPT ON waking up late.
"Hoeeeeeeeee! I'm laaaaaaate!" she cried while bursting out of her bed and struggling to get dressed at 60 miles per hour. Kerberos, or Kero-chan for short, the Seal Beast, and Sakura's Guardian, popped his head out of the drawer which had been his "room" for nearly 6 years now.
"Still late? Sakura, you're now in High School. Aren't you ever going to change?" asked the yellow plush toy at her mistress and friend.
"I know! It's just that…that…old habits die hard!" Sakura replied after putting on her school shirt.
"Yeah, I can see that."
After getting dressed, Sakura grabbed her backpack and school hat, then, she ran downstairs at full speed.
"Ah, Sakura. You're awake" said her father, who was holding Sakura's lunch box in his right hand. "Good morning."
"So the monster's awake" said Touya, Sakura's older brother.
"Good morning dad! No time for you, onii-chan. Sorry, gotta go!" Sakura grabbed her lunch box and ran towards the front door.
She quickly put on her rollerblades, and skated at full speed to get to school in time.
While she skated down the street, she twirled around on her rollerblades to look at the sakura trees, smiling at the falling cherry blossoms.
After a few minutes, Sakura arrived at school, RIGHT at the bell ring. She slid open the classroom's door and stepped inside, sighing with relieve.
"Again, saved by the bell. Right, Sakura-chan?" Sakura's best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji asked her.
"Yeah. Good morning, Tomoyo-chan" she greeted and sat down next to her best friend.
She looked behind her, and the seat was empty. She sighed.
"You still miss him?" Tomoyo asked her, trying to sound mildly sad.
After all, she now had Sakura all to herself, just like the old times.
"Yeah, I do. I don't understand why he always had to return to Hong-Kong! And now I have barely talked to him on the phone or received a letter from him. If he really loved me he would stay here with me" Sakura replied with a sad tone.
Tomoyo was about to say something, but was cut-off by the teacher, who was entering the classroom.
"Good morning, class" said the teacher as he set his things on his desk and continued, "alright boys and girls, today I want all of you to meet a new exchange student."
The boys and girls in the classroom started the usual chatting about the new student. Sakura leaned closer to Tomoyo.
"I heard a little about it. It's a girl" she whispered.
"What about her name? Where does she come from?" Tomoyo asked with interest.
"Ah…I don't know where, and I heard that even her name was hard to say" Sakura explained. Tomoyo couldn't help but giggle.
The chatter among the students was cut-off when the classroom's door slid open, and a person came in: A girl with long, unique silver-blonde hair, pale skin and golden eyes walked in and stepped in front of the chalkboard. Her long hair left loose on her back, down to her waist.
"My! She's beautiful!" Sakura whispered in Tomoyo's ear. She just nodded while admiring that young beauty.
'Indeed…she's beautiful…' Tomoyo thought to herself, and blushed slightly. Almost everybody in the classroom was wide-eyed and nearly stunned with the sight of the new girl.
"Class, this is Deggt…" the teacher tried to say, "detggtay…"
The whole class laughed with the teacher's attempts to say the girl's name correctly.
"Sir, would let me introduce myself?" the girl asked politely with a soft and calming voice, with a remarked accent. (Pronouncing the "r" very strong)
"Ah, y-yes. Yes, please" the teacher said embarrassed, sitting on his desk. The new girl wrote her name flawlessly and neatly on the chalkboard. She then turned to face the class.
"Greetings. My name is Yuri Degtyarev. I come from Siberia, Russia. I'm 15 years old. Pleased to meet you all" the Russian girl bowed her head.
"Thank you for your introduction, miss Degtyarev" said the teacher, finally pronouncing the name right. "Please, have a sit…hmm…there, in the back."
The teacher pointed towards the seat behind Sakura, who smiled at Yuri and waved her hand. The Russian girl nodded and walked towards her seat. She set her things up on her desk, and paid attention to the teacher as he started the class.
Things went on normally until lunch time, when Yuri took out her lunch box when all the other students were leaving the classroom. Sakura, who was at the door with the rest of her friends, turned to Yuri.
"Hey, Degtyarev-san!" the Russian girl looked around when she heard that. She turned to Sakura, confused.
"Excuse me?" she asked, blinking. Sakura walked up to her.
"Sorry, that's a term which we call people here in Japan" the emerald-eyed girl explained.
"I see. Well, what can I do for you?" Yuri asked politely, raising a fine eyebrow.
"Well, I and my friends were wandering if you wanted to have lunch with us, so you can tell us about yourself!" Sakura said, cheerful as always.
"I see…Yes, sure. I'd like that" Yuri agreed, giving the brunette before her a faint smile. She got up from her seat and followed Sakura and her friends outside.
While sitting on a blanket on the grass and eating, the group asked Yuri questions about her.
"So, do you really come from Russia? How is it?" asked Naoko, a girl with short hair and large round glasses.
"Yes I do, I come from Siberia, Northern Russia. We're in spring there too. And it should be really, really cold" Yuri explained.
"Cold? Really?" said Chiharu, a brown-haired girl, with her hair arranged in 2 pigtails.
"Yes, usually the temperatures tend to remain below 0 degrees for most of the year" Yuri explained. The rest of the group was amazed.
"Below 0 degrees! That's amazing!" Sakura exclaimed.
"What about your family?" asked Rika, a girl with shoulder-length brown hair.
"Well, my father is in the Russian Army. He's a Spetsnaz."
"Spe-what?" everyone else asked in unison. Yuri looked confused for a moment, and giggled, a most pleasant sound to the ears.
"Spetsnaz. They're the best of the best of the Russian Army. They're commandos. The pride of the Motherland!" and by saying that, Yuri suddenly stood up with her hand on her heart, and pride on her face. After that, she sat down again.
"Wow…you really are proud of your country" said Sakura, a little uneasy.
"Of course! I consider myself a patriot!" Yuri said with a determined look on her face.
"Did you know that to be recruited as a Spetsnaz you have to defeat ten knife-wielding attackers while blindfolded and doing a traditional Cossack dance at the same time?" interrupted a boy with very short dark hair, with tightly-closed eyes, a dumb smile on his face, with his index finger raised.
"Excuse me?" said Yuri with a sweat drop on her head, blinking twice. Sakura took a horrified expression at the boy's story.
"Oh my God! That's terrible!" she exclaimed. But then, Chiharu stood up, grabbed the boy by his shirt's neck, and dragged him away from the other girls.
"You're NEVER gonna change, are you?!" Chiharu yelled at him. And right after that, she started shaking him. Furiously.
Yuri's golden eyes blinked twice in confusion, sweat-dropping.
"Ah…What was that?" she asked. Tomoyo, who was sitting next to her explained.
"Don't worry. That happens very often. His name is Yamasaki-kun. He and Chiharu-chan are dating. Yamasaki-kun is always telling lies. So…whatever he says, don't believe him."
"Yes, I hear you" Yuri replied, nodding.
"W-What? I-It was a lie?" Sakura asked with her eyes as dots. Tomoyo nodded and she laughed uneasily scratching the back of her head.
"Ne, and what about your mother?" Sakura asked.
"Oh? Well, she's a housewife. She takes care of me. My father is actually in a war exercise in Russia. He'll be back by the end of the week."
"I see. Wow, you must be very proud of your father, then" said Sakura, smiling.
"Of course I am! He has been in combat several times, you know? He has fought in Afghanistan, Bosnia and the Caucasus. He even has his own Squad" Yuri explained with evident pride in her soft voice.
"That's amazing, Yuri-chan!" said Tomoyo and after she saw the confused look on Yuri's face, she giggled.
"Yuri…chan?" the Russian girl asked, saying it again in a low voice.
"That's another term to call people. That is like a friendly one" Sakura explained.
"I see…I…" Yuri looked at the raven-haired girl next to her in the eye. "I think I…like how that sounds" Yuri smiled. 'Coming from you' she added mentally.
"Your last name is hard to pronounce, but your first name is very easy, and very pretty" said Rika, smiling. Yuri giggled.
"That's right, and you are very pretty too" said Tomoyo. This time, Yuri blushed heavily and looked away, mildly embarrassed.
"P-Please…I'm not…I'm not that pretty" the Russian girl replied, humbly. "I don't even have a boyfriend…" The girls looked confused with that news.
"Really? Wow, I'm surprised Yuri-chan. A girl like you could easily have a boyfriend" Tomoyo said. Yuri looked down, and spoke with a little hint of sadness in her voice.
"Well…I'm not…too interested in my love life. I pretty much leave it a side. I don't really care about it."
"Oh, that's a shame" said Sakura.
"Well, I think that will be enough about me. Tell me about you girs" Yuri said to change the subject. Then, her friends started to talk about themselves, the things to do in the city and stuff like that, while Yuri told them about her hometown in Siberia.
When class was over, Yuri was walking home from school, when Sakura and Tomoyo ran to catch up with her.
"Hey Yuri-chan! Your house is this way?" Sakura asked. The Russian girl nodded.
"Yes, I live pretty near" she replied.
"Hey, Tomoyo-chan and I always go home this way. Mind if we walk with you?"
"Oh, of course not. I'd like some company" Yuri said smiling softly.
On their way home, Yuri walked besides Tomoyo and Sakura, who where walking while holding hands.
"Sakura, Tomoyo…san?" she called their attention. They looked back at her with curiosity. "Do you mind if I ask you something?" she said, a little uneasy. The girls looked curious.
"No, what is it?" Tomoyo asked.
"Ah…well…a-are you girls…In love with each other?"
Yuri swallowed, nervous of what her friends would say. They stopped. Tomoyo smiled and Sakura giggled.
"Of course not!'' said the brunette cheerfully, "we're only best friends. Why do you ask that?"
"Ah, oh good…" Yuri sighed, relieved for her friends' reaction. "Well, it's just for the way you both talk to each other and you know…for how close you look. Sorry for the dumb question."
"Well, I'm not surprised" said Tomoyo calmly. "Many people have asked that before. We've been best friends for years now, when we met in Elementary School."
"Ah! I see" Yuri nodded, brushing a few of her silver-blonde locks behind her ear.
"Why were you so nervous of asking that anyway?" Sakura asked, tilting her head.
"Well…because in my country…love relationships between…ah, people of the same gender are a little…" Yuri's voice trailed off.
"Odd? Unusual?" Tomoyo asked. Yuri nodded.
"I-I don't have anything against it! I really don't" she hurried to say. "It's just that…for example, in Russia, walking while holding hands with someone is…well, practically saying that you love that person."
"It's okay, Yuri-chan.'' said Sakura, smiling. "Here in Japan, that is well seen these days. And to your question before, I have a boyfriend."
"Really? And where is he?" Yuri asked curiously. Sakura's face looked a little depressed.
"Sakura's boyfriend is actually in Hong-Kong, China. He's been coming and going for the past 3 years, but now Sakura has only received his letters and phone calls" Tomoyo informed.
"I see…" Yuri looked down for a moment, before looking back up at her companions. "Girls, you know why I don't really care about my love life?" Yuri asked, softly. Sakura and Tomoyo looked at each other and then back at Yuri.
"No, not really" said Tomoyo.
"Well, usually, I hear of people…who are hurt by people they love and things like that. And…I…I don't want to go through something like that."
The girls thought about the Russian girl's words for a moment.
They both knew quite well what Yuri was talking about. Sakura started to think about her words.
She had been with Shaoran for 3 years now. But their relationship was not as strong as it was at the beginning. They had had a few troubles with the fact of, for one, Shaoran going and coming from Hong-Kong.
But everyday, Sakura was always expectant of anything that came from her boyfriend. A letter, a phone call, anything…and even though he expressed quite a lot of love whenever he communicated with Sakura, the green-eyed girl was beginning to believe that Shaoran had, by now, found someone else…
On the other hand, Tomoyo…
"I disagree, Yuri-chan" said the dark-haired girl, breaking Sakura's thoughts. Everyone looked at her.
"I believe that love is something way too precious to be left aside. I think that love is the only way to find happiness. You know, Yuri-chan?" Tomoyo looked at her, and the Russian girl stared into Tomoyo's stormy blue eyes.
"I agree that sometimes, love can bring pain or suffering. But…in my case, there's someone I love. I would do anything for that person, even knowing that my love is unrequited. But I believe, and always have…that if the person I love is happy, then…I am happy."
Tomoyo smiled, and Yuri felt blood coming up to her face, clearly showing a light blush on her pale face.
"I-I see…" was everything that Yuri could say.
"Tomoyo-chan, you've been saying that for…I don't know, many years now?" said Sakura.
"What? For years?" Yuri exclaimed, wide-eyed in surprise.
"Yes I have. Because for that long I've been in love with that person. Since the day I met them" Tomoyo looked at Yuri's bewilderment.
"I've asked you SO many times who you love, Tomoyo-chan, and you'd never tell me!" said Sakura, playfully. Tomoyo giggled.
Yuri was a bit confused with this scene. ´Wait…is she…no, it can't be…' the silver-blonde haired girl thought.
Without realizing it, the girls had arrived at an intersection where Sakura took her way home. Yuri's house was in the same direction Tomoyo's, so they continued walking.
After a few moments of silence, Yuri broke the ice.
"So, even though I will probably get the same response…May I ask who are you in love with? A boy in our classroom, another school…?"
"Well, it IS someone in our classroom. I've known that person for a very long time now. I knew it was my Special Person since the day I met them."
´Wait, she didn't say "he"…could it be a…?' Yuri thought.
"And he doesn't love you back, right?" Yuri asked, hesitating a little.
"That's right. I know my Special Person loves me. But not the way I love them. We're very good friends though, so…as long as I can stay by that person's side, I have nothing to complain about."
"But it doesn't hurt you when you see your Special Person with someone else?"
"Well…you could say that. But as I said before, as long as that person is happy, then I'm happy for them." Said Tomoyo with a clear hint of sadness in her voice.
"Tomoyo…chan?" Yuri asked, cautiously.
"Yes, you can call me that if you want" the dark-haired girl replied with a smile.
"Right." Yuri nodded. "Well…you're not saying he. You realize that?"
"Yes. Yes I do. Why? Think I'm weird?" Tomoyo asked, looking down. Yuri blushed a little, immediately regretting her words.
"N-No! Of course not, Tomoyo-chan! It's perfectly Ok if you love someone…who isn't a man. I'm just…not used to it."
"I see…" Tomoyo looked back up and smiled gently, tilting her head to a side. "You know? You…are the only person who knows that."
"What? You mean…none of your friends know you love another girl?" Yuri asked in surprise, blushing slightly.
"Exactly. They haven't ever considered that. You're a very good listener" Yuri kept blushing, "Yuri-chan looks very cute when blushing!"
Yuri almost squealed and covered her blushing cheeks with her hands.
"A-Ah…t-t-thank yo-ou…" the silver-blonde haired girl said, blushing even more. Tomoyo giggled. She stopped walking.
"Well, this is my house" Tomoyo informed. Yuri's mouth dropped and her eyes widened with amazement.
"This is your house!?" she exclaimed by looking at Tomoyo's mansion, and then said a few words in Russian that Tomoyo interpreted as amazement words. She giggled.
"Yeah, my mother is the president of a toy company. So we have…quite…a lot of money." Tomoyo explained humbly.
"Amazing…wow…" was all that Yuri could say.
"If you want you can come over tomorrow."
"Well…yes. I…I'd like that. Thank you." Yuri said, while blushing slightly. Again.
The girls said goodbye to each other, and Yuri walked her way home.
The Russian girl could feel something strange inside of her when thinking about Tomoyo.
´She's beautiful, kind, loving…and so self-less, so…so noble.' thought Yuri. She then snapped out of it. "What am I thinking!?" she said out loud, "Why do I feel…like this?"
Yuri felt warmth inside of her whenever she thought about the pale, blue-eyed girl. A warm feeling that she had never felt before.
But she'd be lying if she said she didn't like it.
Besides from the warmth in her whole body, she felt something like butterflies fluttering playfully in her stomach.
By the time Yuri went to bed at night, she was quite confused.
What was this strange feeling?
To be continued…
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A/N: Heads-up, people! Officer on deck!
This is Major Mike Powell III with a story I suddenly read one day and thought "DAMN! This thing needed some maintenance!"
So, here I am, keeping this story alive and kickin'.
Don't expect much new stuff here. Just a few small changes here and there, some corrections and stuff like that. Get ready, those who've never read this thing before. You might choke on the FLUFF! Hoo-rrah!
'Read and Review, people! And if you read this thing before, read it again and review anyway! That's an order, marines!
Semper-Fi! Carry on!