All standard disclaimers apply
What Makes Me Me?
Sakura groaned as the alarm clock rang. Why? Why did the morning come? Would it have been too much for it to stay yesterday forever? At least then she wouldn't have to face Them.
Sighing, the auburn-haired teenager got out of bed. On the way to the closet she looked at herself in her full-length mirror. Staring back at her was a reject, an outcast, plain and simple.
Her hair was knotted from tossing and turning all night, though it hardly ever did what she wanted, always going frizzy after it was washed. Acne dotted her face. Dark bags were under her eyes from lack of sleep. Where full breasts should have been (she was after all fifteen), was a relatively flat chest. She didn't have a skinny mid-section like the rest of the girls at her school; she was what they liked to call 'chunky'.
Oh well. Best to get dressed. The sooner the day started, the sooner it ended. Pulling on her sailor-style school uniform, Sakura headed off to the local high school, or as she liked to call it, the torture house.
For as long as she could remember, Sakura had never fit in with anyone else. For one, she was less than perfect in appearance, something the girls at school found hilarious for some reason. She was also smarter than everyone else (her teacher's called her the next Einstein), choosing to write most of the time instead of going boy-watching (or stalking as she like to call it). Sakura loved anime and mangas, something the population of the school thought was childish.
Sakura hadn't really minded being alone, in fact, she kind of enjoyed wallowing in her thoughts, but that was before the teasing began. One day, it seemed that the class clued in on how fun it would be to torment her. She couldn't exactly remember the reason, but she thought it had something to do with her bringing the newest 'Bishoujo Sailor Moon' manga to school.
Since then, her life had been a living hell. The teasing had moved from her class to the entire school, making Sakura the favorite subject for everyone to make fun of. She pretended that it didn't bother her, but inside, she was dying, and that's the truth.
As she approached the school, Sakura ignored the stares, giggles and whispers flying around her, concentrating instead on getting on with the day. She would save her tears for later, when she could sob into the privacy of her pillow. Until then, she'd just have to hold it all inside.
"Hey freak! Glad to see you decided to show your face! Everyone, let the fun begin!" came the mocking voice of Rika Sasaki.
Not them! Anyone but them! Sakura prayed silently. Rika Sasaki and her two best friends, Chiharu Mihara and Naoko Yanagisawa were Sakura's biggest enemies. It was the highlight of their day to make fun of Sakura. They were all the perfect popular preppies. All of them were on the cheerleading squad, and Chiharu had a boyfriend on the football team. They were what every girl dreamed of being.
"So freak, what manga did you bring today?" taunted Rika. "Sailor Moon? Fushigi Yuugi? Ayashi no Ceres? Hmmm? Speak up!"
Just ignore them. They don't deserve your time, thought Sakura. Thinking these thoughts, she tried to brush past them. Unlucky for her, they weren't finished with her yet.
"Where do you think you're going bitch?" demanded Chiharu. "Don't you want to play with us?" She grabbed Sakura's bag, opened it and pulled out Sakura's recently acquired Escaflowne manga. A flit of panic passed through the auburn-haired girl's eyes. That manga had cost 6000 yen! "Oh! So this is this week's manga! Escaflowne eh? Well, say good-bye to your precious little book!" With that Chiharu grabbed a bunch of pages and ripped them out, before letting the entire thing fall to the ground. "See you in class!" she chirped. They all laughed and walked away.
Holding in the tears that threatened to fall, Sakura kneeled down and picked up all the ripped pages, smoothed them out and put them into her bag. She decided to try and fix it when she got home, for trying at school was like walking right into another episode like the one she just encountered.
"Are you okay?" asked a voice from above. Looking up, Sakura saw that it was Tomoyo Daidouji. She was another popular girl in school, but unlike the others, she was remotely nice to her, the key word being 'remotely'. She never spoke against her friends, and still laughed when a prank was pulled on Sakura, but she was the only one to ever ask if she was okay afterwards.
"I'm fine," said Sakura briskly. "Why don't you go hang out with your friends. You wouldn't want you to get infected by me now would you?" she said sarcastically, a tint a bitterness in her voice.
Tomoyo was about to answer when the school bell rang. Ignoring the saddened look Tomoyo was sending her, she marched past the raven-haired beauty and into the school. However, the second she walked in, she figured out she would have been better off outside. As she walked down the hallway, people plowed into her, shoving her into lockers and things of that sort.
After getting her books from her locker, Sakura went to homeroom where she was hit with numerous paper wasps and spitballs. Only another six and a half hours left... she thought bitterly.
Well, it's official. Friday is the worst day of the week. Seeing as they won't be seeing her for forty-eight hours, the population of the school decided that they needed to torment Sakura twice as much as usual.
Sakura made her way to the bathroom to clean herself up. What better way to end the day than having to walk home in the rain? Answer: getting pushed into a mud puddle. What a nice day it had been.
Washing her face with the sweet smelling soap, Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. Could anyone be more pathetic? Tears started to flow down her cheeks. I don't even have any friends, and my dad is always away. At least I got home before him today. It gives me a chance to clean up.
Sakura's eyes drifted around the tiny bathroom she called her own. She gazed at all the little items until her eyes settled on a razor. She picked it up. Just think, with one of those little blades, she could end it all... end all the teasing, all the heartache, all of it. No more snobs treating you like trash, no more whispers as you walk down the hall, no more pranks, no more spitballs, no more hurting...
Slowly, Sakura took out one of the little blades and brought it to her wrist. She pressed it against the skin and...
"Sakura! I'm home!"
Startled, she dropped the razor and it fell down the drain. There goes my chance. "Hi dad! I'll be down in a second!" Sakura walked into her room and changed into dry (and clean) clothes. Walking down the stairs, she was greeted by the smiling face of her father, along with another man she had never seen before.
"Sakura, this is Mr. Ishoki. He is the head of the Japanese Secret Service and my long-time friend. Xiao-Jie, this is my daughter Sakura," introduced Sakura's father, Fujitaka.
"It is a great honor to meet you Sakura," smiled Xiao-Jie. "I have heard only wonderful things about you."
"You must not have talked to anyone from my school," muttered Sakura. Xiao-Jie overheard, but pretended not to notice.
"Xiao-Jie will be accompanying us for dinner tonight," said Fujitaka. "I hope you don't mind that we picked up take-out."
"Not at all," said Sakura. A few minutes later they were all seated around the Kinomoto's tiny dinning room table munching happily on the take-out.
"So Ishoki-san, what brings you to Tokyo?" wondered Sakura. "I mean, if you're in the Secret Service I don't think they'll let you take vacations unless it's something to do with work."
Xiao-Jie smiled at Fujitaka. "You did warn me, ne?" He turned to Sakura. "I have come to offer you the chance to work for me. Before you blow it off, hear me out. I have learned that you are quite the young genius, and it would be beneficial to my department to have you on our team. However, this would mean that you would be - to put it in laymen's terms - a spy and that you would have to undergo immense training. You would also have to leave behind your school and move to Osaka with me where our base is situated."
"Would I have to leave my father?" asked Sakura.
"For the moment, yes. You would no longer be living with him, but at the base instead, though you would still have visiting privileges."
Wow, thought Sakura. What are the chances of this happening to me? Should I take this opportunity? I think I'd be crazy not to. After all, there's nothing left for me here.
"Ishoki-san, I accept your offer."
"Did you hear?"
"What?"
"Sakura Kinomoto ran away!"
"I hear she killed herself!
"I heard that she was kidnapped, rapped, and dumped in a ditch!"
"Oh puh-lease, who would rape her?"
The rumors concerning Sakura spread like wild fire the next day. Everyone was talking about the sudden disappearance of the 'freak'. Most didn't really care what had happened, only that she was gone. Others felt a little guilty, and Tomoyo Daidouji was among them.
As she looked out the window of the class, she thought, Please be okay Sakura. I know I'm not the best person, but I hope nothing awful happened to you. Come back some day...
A/N: What can I say? I just got this thought today and decided to post it. Tell me what you think. Reminder: Number of reviews will determine the fate of this fic! Thanks for reading! Ja!