Konnichiwa Minna-san! I had an idea for another series fic, so I
decided to at least give the thought a try.
Let me know if you like it, and I'll continue. If you don't like it, let me know that too, so I can quit while
I'm ahead. Anyway, Sakura and Syaoran
are about sixteen in this fic. The plot
will develop as you go along. However,
this is just a prologue to test my idea.
You need to let me know if I should continue or not, so please review if
the time can be spared! Arigato
Minna-san! ~Manda-chan
Alone in the Woods: Prologue
It was a bright and sunny July
afternoon in the town of Tomeda. Now
that school had been out for quite some time, children were scattered amongst
the streets and the park, busily playing childish games with one another. The sun shone down like the merciless
burning ball of heat it was, scorching the peoples' skin. But there was some relief to be found in the
gentle breeze that rolled by. The more
logical types sat underneath the comforting shade of the tall trees, reading
books or sketching while also shielding themselves from the unforgiving
heat.
Wouldn't everyone
be out enjoying what the summer had to give today?
No, not everyone.
Sakura Kinomoto, chosen Mistress of the Clow Cards, was in her room,
leaning her back against the glass that separated her from summer
paradise. Her expression was
melancholy, as though the sun wasn't shining at all.
"I can't believe she bailed out
on me!" Sakura wailed, sliding down to sit on the white ledge of the
windowsill, "And to make things worse, it was just to spend time with
Eriol-kun."
Sakura
fought back the sudden wave of anger welling up inside of her and recalled the
conversation she had with Tomoyo just moments ago.~
*Flashback*
"Just two more days,
Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura burst excitedly into the receiver.
"Two more days until
what?" Tomoyo asked, seeming to be confused.
"Until we go camping together, remember? Just me and you, out in the woods for two
weeks! It's going to be so much
fun!"
"Oh my! Gomen, Sakura-chan! I forgot!" Tomoyo apologized.
"That's okay, Tomoyo-chan, we
still have another day to get everything ready." Sakura assured.
"Demo, Sakura-chan...I can't
go." Tomoyo said softly, regret present in her voice.
"Nani?"
"I'm going to spend the week at
Eriol's place in England." she explained, biting her lower lip, "I
forgot that I had already promised to go camping with you, gomen."
"So...you're not
coming..." Sakura realized, "because you're going to
England."
"Gomen,
Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo apologized, "The flight arrangements have
already been made, there's nothing I can do to change it now."
"It's alright..." Sakura
spoke sadly, "I'll just see if I can find someone else then."
"Gomen again, Sakura-chan. I'll come with you next time. Be sure to call me when you find someone to
take my place, alright?"
"Sure
thing, Tomoyo-chan. Ja."
"Ja ne, Sakura-chan, good
luck."
*Click*
*End Flashback*
After the phone call, Sakura had
called up her other friends, Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko, but with no luck. They were either out of town or busy.
Now
Sakura felt alone. She wasn't too keen
on the idea of going camping by herself, but it certainly beat hanging around
the empty house. Her Otousan was off on
a business trip about some newfound artifacts in India, and her Ni-chan was
gone with Yukito somewhere for the summer.
All that left, was her and the vacant house.
She picked
up her pink cell phone and sighed, trying to rack her brain for someone she
knew that might be free to go camping with her. But all her mind drew was a blank. Everyone she knew was busy, Tomoyo had made other plans,
and...wait a minute, what was Syaoran up to?
She almost slapped herself in the head.
'How could I forget about Syaoran?'
She opened the cell phone and just stared at it. What was she thinking? She and Syaoran were sort of friends, but
they didn't really know each other that well.
Then again, this would be a good opportunity to get to know him
better. But would this be a
mistake? Would he blow her off like
Tomoyo did? Was he even home? Only one way to find out.
Taking a deep breath, she punched in
the telephone code of Syaoran's number.
After the seventh ring, she was about to hang up. 'He must not be home.' she thought sadly, a
pit forming inside her.
But
just then, someone on the other line picked up.
"Moshi Moshi, this is Li Syaoran
speaking."
Sakura
felt her heartbeat increase rapidly as she replied, "Hello? Syaoran?"
Syaoran almost dropped the phone. "Sakura!?" He quickly regained his composure and
lowered the volume of his voice.
"What is it? Is there a
problem?"
Sakura bit
her lip and gazed nervously at her polished wooden floor. "I-It's not really a problem." she
stammered.
"Something
I can help with?" he asked hopefully.
"Uh...maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Are
you...Are you busy in the next two weeks?" she questioned, crossing her
fingers as she waited patiently for his answer.
"No. Any
particular reason?"
"Wouldyouliketogocampingwithmeinthewoods?"
she blurted at a mile-a-minute.
Syaoran
was confused. "I'm sorry, I didn't
catch that. Could you repeat
it?"
Sakura took a
deep breath, trying to calm her heartbeat down so she could speak more
clearly. "I was planning on going
camping with Tomoyo for two weeks, but she forgot and made plans with Eriol-kun
in England. After she had canceled, I
called some of the other girls, but they were busy too." Sakura explained,
"Since Toya and Otousan are out, I didn't have anyone left to go
with." She took another long
breath before continuing. "So, I'm
asking if you would like to go camping with me in the woods for a couple
weeks."
"..."
"If you're not busy, that
is." she amended.
She
leaned the phone against her head and shoulder, crossing both fingers and
holding her breath.
Syaoran
would definitely think this over. It
was no secret that he liked Sakura (at least, to everyone BUT Sakura
anyway). Besides, she didn't seem to
have anyone else to go with, and he certainly didn't want her to go on her
own. The more he thought about it, the
more logical and opportune it became.
'Maybe over the
course of two weeks I could finally tell her what I've been meaning to since
fourth grade.' he thought, 'And it will give me an excellent chance to get to
know her a lot better too.'
He
could just imagine walking through the woods with his cherry blossom, talking
and laughing away, ALONE out in the wilderness. No Meilin, No Toya, No Hiiragizawa, No Daidouji with the annoying
video camera... This was tempting to the Chinese youth, VERY tempting.
Sakura was practically turning blue
from the lack of oxygen. She had been
holding her breath for awhile now, the other end of the connection still
silent. If she had to wait any longer,
her eyes might pop out.
"Sounds
like fun."
Sakura
let out her breath and slid to the cool wooden floor, a cheerful grin spreading
across her face. "Really, you'll
come?" she asked, amazed.
"Hai,
I need to get out of this stuffy apartment."
"ARIGATO SYAORAN-KUN!!!" Sakura burst, unable
to hide her relief and excitement, "This is going to be such a
blast!"
.......To Be Continued???????
That's my prologue. Please tell me what you think if
you'd be kind enough to review. I'd
like to know if you think I should continue the story or not. It's all up to you. ^^ Arigato for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
~Manda-chan