Hello boys and girls, I'd like to tell a story.
It's been many a year since I wrote a CCS fic. It wasn't because I stopped liking it. On the contrary, I was working on a multi-chapter fic called Sen no Kotoba. Sadly, I lost the draft I wrote for the fic and now it lies abandoned. At a later time, I may come back to it. But for now, I've been hit with inspiration for SakuSyao Week. So forgive me if I'm a bit rusty. I hope you'll enjoy.
(Cardcaptor Sakura is the property of CLAMP. I own nothing but my writing which isn't worth that much)
Sakura: The cherry blossom represents kindness and gentleness in Japanese. In Chinese, it represents feminine beauty.
The first thing Syaoran Li noticed when he first came to Japan were the numerous cherry blossoms that populated the country. Its soft pink petals wafting softly in the breeze left a notable impression on the Hong Kong native. It made him think about his mom and how whenever he was sick, she would softly caress his cheek, telling him that everything was going to be alright. Even its fragrance was one that gently tickles one's nose to alert its presence before disappearing. Every time a rush of cherry blossom petals danced in front of him, Syaoran was immediately drawn to it.
So perhaps it's not surprising that the girl who had the same name as that of the pink petals would have the same captivating and gentle nature.
Of course, when he had first saw Sakura, the brown-eyed boy didn't think much of her. At the time, he wasn't too happy that she was selected as the Card Captor by Kerberos. (It didn't help that the guardian was completely different than how he had imagined the Selector to be.) She was totally inexperienced, having only a handful of the Clow Cards under her ownership. And her magic was weak, leaving her unable to do many of the things he learned from his mother, especially sensing magic.
Still, there was something about her that drew Syaoran in. The first thing was her smile. Despite his initially cold attitude towards her, Sakura never responded in kind. And while they were both competing for Yukito's attention, Sakura never demeaned herself or denigrated him. Every day, she smiled, as if she was grateful for the opportunity to experience this day with others. Sakura, instead of seeing him as a rival, came to him whenever she need help in the magical world. And try as he might to resist, he found that she was breaking down his walls without even trying.
Soon after, Syaoran found that something had changed in his interaction with Sakura. Well, that's not actually true. Sakura was the same kind and gentle girl that she had always been. But he found himself staring at her a bit too long. His palms began to sweat in her presence. His head began to feel light. His heart began to beat faster. He couldn't understand it for the life of him. Even Yukito didn't make him feel this way. At this point in his life, he didn't know what changed.
And with these new changes came something else, something darker. It all started when a boy named Eriol Hiiragizawa transferred to Tomoeda. All of a sudden, Sakura's attention turned towards this boy instead of Syaoran. It made him feel angry at how easily this transfer student could talk to the girl who made him feel funny. And the worst part of it? Four-eyes was almost certainly aware of the effect he had on Syaoran. It didn't help that weird things happened to Sakura not long after a conversation with that English boy. Syaoran didn't like Eriol at all.
It all culminated on that day. Syaoran and Sakura were in a mall when they were trapped in an elevator. It was the first time the two of them were alone for that long. For the entire day, the brown-haired boy couldn't ignore the girl whose face and smile were invading his thoughts. And now, with the two of them stuck in that elevator, it fell on him to comfort her. As the elevator started to move again, he thought that they were in the clear. But Sakura started to fall backwards and the elevator opened up from the back, causing her to fall. Syaoran tried to grab her but it was too late. She fell through. In a bout of hysterics, he called out her name, her given name, for the first time. Thankfully, she was able to transform the Float Card. This made him breath out a sigh of relief. Later that day, Sakura called him and said that she was happy that he called her by her first name. Then she asked permission to do the same. The boy, too stunned by this new familiarity, said that he didn't mind.
Soon after, it hit Syaoran. The reason why he was so drawn to Sakura's kind and gentle nature. He was in love with her. After the initial shock of this revelation, he found that it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. It made absolute sense that he would fall for her. Of course, he would never act on it. Sakura was in love with Yukito. He also knew that his staying in Tomoeda would be temporary. He didn't have the right to burden her with his feelings. So he kept it to himself.
One of the worst days of his life was when he saw Sakura crying. It happened after she had confessed her feelings to Yukito. Just hearing that she had confessed shocked Syaoran. But after hearing of her rejection, he watched her cry. Her tears were like tiny pinpricks in his heart. The brown-eyed boy did not like it at all. So he gave Sakura his handkerchief. As Sakura wondered aloud if she would find someone who she liked just as much as Yukito, Syaoran put comforting arms on her shoulders. A part of Syaoran wanted to tell her that he liked her. But he knew this wasn't the time. It wouldn't be fair to take advantage of this situation, especially when she was hurting. Instead, he told her the truth, that someday she would find that person.
As he walked home that day, dancing cherry blossom wafted through the breeze. Images of the girl that captured Syaoran's heart flashed in front of his eyes: Sakura's kindness that broke through his obstinacy, Sakura's determination which lit a fire inside of him to do his best, Sakura's smile which simultaneously sent shivers down his spine and warmed his heart. For a while, Syaoran thought this was just a crush, that inevitably it would fade or at least lessen in intensity, just like with Yukito. But at this moment, he knew the truth. Syaoran had fallen for Sakura. It would not fade. It would not lessen in intensity. He was truly and irrevocably lost in this feeling. And that was okay.
Syaoran did not want to burden Sakura with his feelings, especially not right now when she was dealing with her own problems. Someday, he might tell her the truth. Someday, he might admit that seeing her face brightens his day, that seeing her smile makes his heart skip a beat, that hearing his name on her lips makes him ridiculously happy. Someday…
And that's the end of that chapter.
Liked it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.
Until tomorrow,
A. Angel
