Disclaimer: I neither own Cardcaptor Sakura, or Wind Singer. But if I had my way, I would have dumped both into my duffel bag and ran away a long, long time ago. -Laughs evilly-

A/N: This fanfic probably resulted from too much Chinese music and lack of internet. -sweatdrops-

Tomoeda
an epic tale (really.)

In the middle of the field, an old tree branch splintered, swinging to one side haphazardly. A small child of no more than six sucked in a shaky breath, stubby fingers unconsciously tightening their hold on the hard wood.

"Hoee...please don't break…"

The girl's emerald eyes widened in fear as the branch sagged even further under her weight. Chubby hands instinctively reached for the tree's trunk, and she clung to it with all her might as the branch finally lost its battle against gravity and plummeted to the ground below with a crash. Heaving with shock, the child hung to the top of the tree by her bare hands for a few moments.

Her eyes flicked desperately from side to side, futilely trying to find an escape from her precarious position. After a few seconds, previously hopeful spirits sank a notch when she realized there was none. Oh, no…

"!"

Suddenly, one of her hands slipped, and for almost a minute, the girl grappled for balance before finally summoning the strength to dig her fingernails into a patch of bark and holding on, securing herself. Drops of sweat clung to her eyebrows, and she was breathing heavily from the exertion. With herself three feet above the ground and nowhere to go but down, what was she going to do?

Eyes brimming over with tears, she called for the only person she knew.

"Yuki-chan…?" Sniffing, she wiped her tears on her sleeve. "Yuki-chan…! Help…"

The patch of bark she was holding on to soon betrayed her. The girl was left hanging onto the tree trunk with only one hand, dangerously close to falling—but determined, she tried to pull herself up. Unfortunately, her remaining hand lost its grip as well and she found herself plummeting like the tree branch before her towards the ground below.

"Aaaahhh!" She cried, trying to grab on to something as the air rushed past her, screeching against her ears. Her body was only two feet from the ground now, and she closed her eyes, fearing the worst. But only a few seconds later, she felt herself land into a pair of warm arms.

Opening one eye, the young girl smiled shakily at her savior.

"A-arigatou, Yuki-chan!"

Yukito smiled back, and ran a hand through his white locks. He looked quite relieved as well.

"Sakura...you could have gotten hurt. Didn't your mother tell you not to sit on rotten tree branches?"

"She did…but I thought it would be fun," Sakura muttered grumpily, directing her gaze to the ground. "I didn't know that the stupid branch was going to break all on its own!"

Yukito laughed, shrugging. "Your reason defeats me." And suddenly, for no cause at all, the pair exploded into laughter. There wasn't any conversation for awhile after that, but when they had laughed their fill, the two children lapsed into a comfortable quiet.

Suddenly, young Sakura's face took on an expression of seriousness. Putting a small, dirt streaked hand on Yukito's shoulder, she tilted her head slightly. The older boy looked towards her as well, raising his eyebrows in question.

"Hmm…?"

"Yuki-chan, you're my very best friend!" Sakura exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. Surprised, Yukito froze for a few seconds. After he had recovered though, his face melted into his a warm, trademark smile and he returned the embrace, sighing.

"You're my best friend too, along with Touya. It's too bad that he's too busy to play today." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You're only six years old, Sakura! Soon you'll go to school, and make many more friends. I won't be your best friend for long."

The emerald eyed girl shook her head obstinately, looking mortified at the prospect. "Never! Never ever! We'll be together. Always." Yukito frowned and opened his mouth to reply, but he decided against and closed it again.

Silence.

"…Yuki, will you marry me when I grow up?"

The young boy looked mildly surprised, but he covered it up with a chuckle. "Where did you get that idea?" Sakura glared. "Just answer me!"

Yukito sighed, not wanted to say no as he didn't want to hurt her feelings. "Maybe..." Then, eyes widening, he tugged Sakura's shirt. "I almost forgot! I've got a test at school today! I'd better get you home."

Sakura nodded, letting him lead her back into the house. Along the way, she didn't speak a river like she usually did, but seemed to be thinking about something.

Her youthful face hardened slightly with naïve determination.

We'll all be together always, won't we? Yuki-chan, Touya nii-san…no matter what.


Ten years later, the two friends sat down at the very same tree. Sakura had matured into a bubbly teenager of sixteen, with short auburn hair that seemed to glow golden in the sunshine. Accompanied with her heart-shaped face and a dazzling pair of emerald eyes, she was the kind of person who made heads turn for a second glance.

Yukito as well, had grown into a man of nineteen years, and possessed a soft, caring pair of golden eyes. His personality hadn't changed a bit, and he was still as soft-spoken and kind as he was ten years ago. The mop of white hair upon his head was slightly messy, yet was tame enough to be considered neat. He was a full five inches taller than Sakura, much to the annoyance of said person.

Sakura closed her eyes and relaxed against the old wood, content just to smell the fresh breeze. The air was always cool and refreshing in the morning and she always made a point to come to the field at the crack of dawn, with or without company. Touya and Yukito agreed to join her most of the time, but lately their meetings together had lapsed.

Her brother had out doing odd-jobs today, and she had only managed to get Yukito to come alone by begging him for almost half-an-hour.

They're practically joined at the hip! She thought, chuckling softly.

"Sakura...?"

She turned around swiftly and faced Yukito, who greeted her with a kindly smile. The teenager suddenly felt a barrage of warmth flood to her cheeks and blushing hotly, she lowered her gaze. It didn't help that she had a hopeless crush on him... She fingered the sleeve of her dress, feeling the rough cotton distractedly.

"Remember the last time we used to play here? You almost fell from the tree, and I had to catch you!" Her friend chuckled. His laughter only made Sakura blush harder.

"Anyway, you brought me here to tell me something, right? So…what is it?"

Oh! She had almost forgotten.

Sakura lifted her head, fiddling with her fingers nervously. "Well..." A pink flush settled on her cheeks. "Yuki-chan...I mean Yukito…" She bit her lip. The real thing was real harder than just rehearsing in front of a mirror.

"Since the time we were friends...I've...really, really...liked..." Sakura trailed off, and her eyes met Yukito's expectant gaze. She could do it! Sakura's face hardened into a mask of determination.

"I really...like...yo--"

BRING!

Sakura jumped three feet up into the air, hitting her head against the tree. "Owww…"

Stupid...school bell…

Sweatdropping, she quickly gathered her bearings and apologized.

"If I add another tardy to the existing batch I'm afraid I'll be in my sensei's bad books forever! …Gomen Nasai, Yuki-chan! See you later today!" And with that, the auburn haired teenager started sprinting across towards the main road. She stopped a couple of times, waved, smiled, and then continued on her way, still sweatdropping profusely.

Yukito was left behind. He had already quit school earlier that year—his family had come upon hard times, and they were far too poor to handle the countless expenses incurred daily, much less his education. Looking at his hands, the young man sighed.

"Maybe she'll tell me what she wanted to say tomorrow."

Her bare feet pattering on the muddy ground, Sakura ran towards the building which the authorities had designated the city school. A cart carrying apples blocked her path, its heavy wooden wheels making deep tracks in the mud. She waited impatiently for the truck to go on it way, then started into a sprint again.

Another bell rang, and the emerald-eyed teenager winced noticeably. That meant there was less than five minutes left; she had to rush this time.

It was a good thing she was among the fastest of the village children—she'd constantly won games like tag and race when she was young. Sakura always had a love for running, but she doubted she could make a living out of it. After her village had been taken over by Magistrate Silver, everything had become technical, and your rank in your village depended on how knowledgeable and useful you were. These "ranks" were very clear cut, with everyone in the village wearing distinctive colors signifying their position in society.

Sakura, Touya and the rest of her family were in one of the higher than average ranks, and they all wore cotton clothes dyed blue. Yukito and his family were poor, thus landing them in one of the average ranks, grey. Despite their difference in rank, the field was a safe haven to them and they spent most of their time there in secret.

Sakura frowned, her mind drifting off as her feet carried her swiftly down the street.

She found the system terribly unfair; and she had already been punished countless times for speaking her opinion. She rebelled against it in every way she could, finding the smallest loopholes in the system and defying the teacher's every word. A small way of rebelling, but it was rebelling all the same. It was the only way she could show her dissatisfaction.

"Hey, blue scum! Watch your step!" Sakura skidded to a stop, just in time to let some green clothed citizens pass through. She hid her disgust barely, avoiding their gaze.

"I'm terribly sorry." That you exist, she silently added. "I didn't mean to block your way." Then, she sidestepped them and continued running. She -loathed- green citizens—well, she started loathing them from the time one of them insulted Yukito in public. They were pathetic snobby brats who didn't give a damn about other people's feelings. She had to admit that they were rather smart as well; you had to score well above an average of 1 during the tests or contribute A LOT to the society to get upgraded to that rank. But that didn't mean that she respected them.

Sakura stopped running when she reached the gates of the school, joining the floods of other children who were also making their way into the building.

Along the winding corridors, Sakura's legs led the way. Left, down, right, two doors to the left...

And there it was...her classroom. The hell-hole of doom. And first up was math period. Sakura took out her notebook silently, placing it on her desk. The teacher came in soon enough, starting his lesson. His voice was low, monotone, drumming…and very, very boring. In her opinion, trying to even keep awake was torturous—each word was like a needle, stabbing itself into her brain. In other words, it gave her a hefty headache and she'd rather be knocked out and drugged rather than listen to why mathematical equations were mathematical equations.

But since she was in danger of getting suspended, Sakura paid attention. Tried to. Futilely.

…She'd copy the notes from Tomoyo later.

To be continued

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I shall stop here. Sorry, I have no idea how the story should continue! My plot bunny gave birth to another plot bunny, and that plot bunny gave birth to another one, and so on and so forth...-sweatdrops- So, now, I have to choose between the bunnies or blend them together in my juice-maker to make a plot-bunny smoothie. Might take a while. Syaoran's coming later, don't worry.

-is poked by muses- Okay, okay! What I'd really like to know right now is whether you liked this chapter. Please leave a review, I'd really appreciate it. –smiles- Please state your opinion and give constructive criticism where necessary. Arigatou! )