Cardcaptors Fanfic: You Belong In My Heart
Chapter 1: Eli and Li Return
A/N: Okay, I know I have like a million other fics started but I just have to get another on going. So whatever. A few important things for this fic.
One: It takes place when Sakura and everyone is now 14. So, yeah they aged a bit.
Two: O.C.s have been added. Please don't hurt me, there is a rhyme and reason for what I do.
Three: You may want to watch out for little things that may give clues later one. I won't say and more, but it's really important or you may end up lost.
And Four: Don't worry if you think I made a mistake. I didn't. I know what I'm doing. Okay? So just relax. It will seem like I made a lot of mistakes but I haven't. I have my reasons. Got it? Okay, good.
NOW! Let's get going!!
***
Tick...Tick...Tick...
"I'm getting up now..."
Tick...Tick...Tick...
"Any second now..."
Tick...Tick...Tick...
"I'm getting up..."
RIIINNNGGG!!!!!!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! TORI!!"
Sakura walked downstairs with a dark cloud hovering over her head. She took one look at her brother and he began laughing uncontrollably. Sakura just mumbled as she began to fix breakfast.
"Aw, C'mon Squirt, it was just a little birthday joke! Everyone gets it when they turn 14. I did, remember?"
It clicked. Sakura turned 14 today. Her party was tonight. And everyone she had sent invitations to was coming...except.
"Sakura? Sakura? SAKURA!"
"Huh? What?" Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts by Tori's yell.
"You're wasting the milk."
She looked down. And sure enough, the floor around her feet was covered in milk. She quickly stopped pouring and began to mop up the spilt milk.
"What were you daydreaming about anyway? You're not still thinking about any last minute things are you?"
"Huh? No." replied Sakura sadly. She didn't want to admit to her brother that she was still waiting for a reply. She had already agreed with herself that the invitation had been lost in the mail...although, what if? She couldn't help thinking that the only one left had stopped caring.
She finished her breakfast and traipsed back upstairs to her room. She knew she had to go to school, it was Friday after all, but, she didn't feel well at the moment.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in." She moaned sadly.
"Hey honey. Are you alright? Tori said you looked sick." Her father said as he came in. "Wow, he was right. You're really pale. Do you want to stay home for the day to get better?"
"Yeah, okay. You'll call the school?"
"Okay. You get some rest."
After her father left, Sakura changed into her pyjamas and crawled under her covers. She was just dozing off again when she heard a knock on her door again. She got up and opened the door and saw Tori.
"Hey squirt, can I come in for a minute? I have to go to school soon."
"Yeah, come in. I'm just going to bed soon anyway."
Tori sat for a while before speaking. For the longest time he just stared at the sleeping Kero while shifting uneasily.
"Tori?" Said Sakura softly. Tori seemed to jump.
"Oh, Um, I was wondering, Sakura, are you still waiting for a reply? I mean, anyone who would be mailing you?"
"Why do you ask Tori?"
"Well, you know I get the mail everyday, and, I didn't see a reply from..." He was cut off by his sister.
"Oh, everything's okay! I mean, replies and all, Well, I really should get to sleep now so could you leave so I can get my rest?"
"Sakura?"
"Everything's alright Tori, Really. I should get some sleep now. Okay?"
"Alright." Tori sighed as he got up to leave. "There is still the phone though, Sakura." He said as he closed the door behind him.
Sakura just realized that he was right. She hadn't even thought of calling. She only thought about mail. She would call when she woke up, then she would ask right away.
"Why'd you lie to Tori, Sakura?" Said Kero sleepily as he woke up beside her.
"I didn't think he needed to worry too. Now, I'm going to sleep, but then I'm going to call..." She said as she crawled under the covers and went back to bed.
***
Sakura awoke later on and she looked blearily around her room and her eyes rested on the Clow Book on her desk. She got up and stared at it. She opened the cover that hadn't been opened in four years. She flipped over the top card and stared at it. The Hope card. She smiled. But, what was the Clow Book doing out? She usually kept it in her desk drawer.
Suddenly she heard soft footsteps in the hall. She couldn't have slept that long. Tori couldn't be home yet, could he? She looked at the clock, 12:36pm, No, that could only mean...
Sakura grabbed her star key and cards quickly. She summoned the staff and waited for her door to open. Soon, she heard the doorknob turning and she grabbed the freeze card from the stack. The door slowly opened...
"FREEZE!" Yelled Sakura when the door was swung fully open. She gasped and suddenly removed to the spell. There stood Yue. She apologized and quickly offered him a seat on her bed.
"What were you doing Sakura? Why did you have the freeze card out? Were you practicing?" Asked Yue quickly.
"No. I." Said Sakura, a little embarrassed that she had thought he was a burglar. "I thought, someone broke in and, well." She blushed. Then she remembered that she said she would call.
"Kero Beros said I should come. He called Julian. What is it that you are worried about Sakura?"
"Right now I want to know why my Clow Book was out."
"I took them out of the drawer, they wanted to come out." Relied Yue quietly. "I am sorry, but I just wanted to help them. Can you see when they knew they were going to be used that they were happy?"
"Yes, I should take better care of them. From now on I'll practice with them and use them when I can. Is that okay?" She had directed her question at the cards. They all flew around her head and landed in her hand again.
"Now, perhaps, you should call?" Urged Yue with a smile.
"Yes." Said Sakura as she dialled the number on the phone.
Riiinnnngggg.....
Riiinnnngggg.....
Riiinnnngggg.....
"Hello?"
"Hi, Li?"
"S-Sakura?"
"Yeah, it's me. We haven't talked in a while."
"I-I know. I've been busy."
"Did you get my invitation? You know, to my birthday?"
"Yes."
"The party is today you know. Why didn't you reply?"
"I'm not going."
"What? Why? Eli's coming. In fact, he's moving back here."
"Because, I can't, I have better things to do."
"Li? You, you can't be serious, right?"
"I am. Goodbye."
*Click*
Sakura's eyes filled with tears as she put the phone down. She knew her voice sounded choked on the phone. She knew it sounded like she was going to cry. She fought the tears and much as she could. But as she bit her lip Yue spoke.
"Sakura? Are you, okay?"
She broke. She ran over to Yue and buried her face in his chest and cried harder than she had ever cried in her life. As Yue ran his hand up and down her back, Kero transformed to comfort her too.
After about ten minutes of straight sobbing, Sakura finally calmed down. Yue gave her one last hug and pulled her away from him.
"What happened Sakura? What's wrong?" He said in his softest and most comforting voice.
Sakura swallowed. "He, He's not coming."
"Oh, come now, you can't have gotten all worked up over that." Replied Kero Beros, also in a comforting voice.
Sakura swallowed again. "He said he couldn't, because he has better things to do. He didn't even say Happy Birthday." She bit her lip again
"Would you like me to call Tori? I'm sure they'd let him out of his classes. I'm only here because Julian has a few hours free time today."
Sakura nodded. It was all she could do to keep herself from crying again.
Ten minutes later, Tori was home and Sakura was explaining the conversation in full over a cup of tea. It was now 1:06pm and Sakura was feeling worse than ever She was holding The Hope card in her hand and she was staring at it. She wondered what it would do. She hadn't shown it to anyone yet, she had wanted to show it to Li first. Now it didn't matter. She had explained how she had gotten it to Yue, Tori, and Kero Beros. They had all agreed that she must have extremely strong powers if she could create a Star Card like that.
Sakura didn't care. She had waited for so long to hear from Li and when she did, all he did was tell her that he had better things to do. The party started in five hours. At six o clock she would have to put on a brave face for everyone. She was just glad Madison was coming at five to help Sakura with the last minute things and to begin filming. She could tell her then.
***
It was five o clock and Sakura's dad finished helping. He had said that he was going out and would leave the party for the duration of it. That meant Spinner and Kero could enjoy themselves without having to hide. Sakura explained to her dad that Li wasn't coming. (Tori and Julian had been invited so it was no problem for them to be there.) The family party was on Sunday.
When Madison arrived, Yue took her aside and warned her not to mention Li at all and told her why. Madison agreed because it seemed that Sakura was fine for now and didn't need any reminders about what had happened earlier.
At six, everyone arrived on time. It was planned out so that the girls from school didn't find out about the guardians they would be there for two hours, then the real party would start with everyone who knew about the magic. So at seven o clock, Sakura's school friends (Except those that knew, of course) left, thinking that the party was over and that everyone else was leaving soon. Then Spinner, Kero, and Yue, all came out to enjoy themselves. The party was going until midnight and Mr. Kinomoto had promised not to be home until 12:30, just for a little extra time. (he had gone to spend time with some friends.)
At 10:30 everyone (Madison, Meilin, Eli, Tori, Yue/Julian, Kero, Spinner, and Ruby) was sitting down for cake (they had cupcakes earlier). As they sat around and talked, the doorbell rang. Sakura looked around. She was sure everyone was here, what if someone had come back because they had forgotten something. There would be a lot of explaining if that was the case.
Sakura got up slowly and walked to the door. Her hand shaking she unlocked it and opened it slowly and standing there in the doorway, framed in moonlight, was Li. Sakura's eyes widened and her whole body began to shake. Soon, she couldn't see properly because everything was obscured by tears. She felt them trail down her face as she felt Li's cool hands pull her close to him and against his warm sweater.
She stood for a long time, crying silently and listening to Li's heart beating fast. Soon he whispered in her ear, "I'm so sorry."
"Sakura? Is everything alright?" Tori Yelled from the living room. "Do I need to call the police?"
Sakura cleared her throat and called back, "No, Everything is fine. I'll be right there."
She pulled calmly away from him and looked up into his face. He still looked the same, only a little older and he had grown taller. Sakura was no longer the same height as him. Li was about three inches taller.
As Li lifted his hand Sakura flinched and he drew back for a moment, then he wiped her tears away from her eyes. "Don't cry Sakura, You have every reason to be angry but, please, listen to my explanation."
"Sakura?" Came her brother's voice again.
"I-I'm fine, I'll be right there, just a second." replied Sakura.
"Okay."
"Sakura, I, I wanted to come, I really did, it's just. My mom told me not to go back and to forget you, But I can't Sakura, I just can't. After what we've been through together there was no way that I could forget you. So, I snuck away, I packed all my things and I left without saying anything. She was out at the time anyway. I'm back here now, for good. I'm not leaving you again. I'm living in the same place with the same help. He promised not to tell my mom. I promise you, I'm always going to be here, from now on. Okay?" Li explained quickly.
Sakura stared at him and blinked away her tears again. Then without thinking, she flung her arms around Li's neck and began crying again. "It's okay." She muttered quietly, "I forgive you."
"Sakura!" Came Tori's voice once more, only it was closer, so close, that Tori was right behind her.
Sakura spun around and saw her brother's shocked face. Tori walked up to Sakura, pushed her out of the way and stared down at Li. Tori was a head taller than Li and did he ever look angry. At first it looked like He was just going to walk away when he turned around, but whether out of anger or instinct no one would know why Tori did what he did next.
Tori spun around full speed and punched Li hard in the cheek which caused Li to fly back against the door slamming it shut. Li then slid down the door and just sat there. A bruise began to form on his cheek immediately. Everyone in the living room had gotten up and ran to the door. Tori didn't stop there.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" He hollered at the top of his lungs. "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST BLOW OFF MY SISTER LIKE THAT AND THEN SHOW UP AT THE DOOR ASKING FOR HER TO FORGIVE YOU LIKE IT'S NOTHING? DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET A LITTLE SNOTNOSED PUNK KID LIKE YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE TO MY FAMILY? TO MY SISTER? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD? Li just sat there, not moving.
"Tori..."
Tori's head spun around to look at Sakura. She was standing there with something in her eyes that Tori knew was his fault, and yet, he didn't want to admit it. Sakura was afraid, afraid of him. He immediately began to apologise. "Sakura, listen, please, don't be scared. Shit, come on Sakura, I, I was only protecting you! Please, forgive, if you can."
"Tori. I forgive you. I know why you did that. I just."
Suddenly everyone looked at Li who had slowly and unsteadily gotten to his feet. He looked at Tori and said in a voice that sounded as that if he could talk properly that it would have been sincere, "Thank you Tori." The he slipped into unconsciousness and fell to the floor where Sakura caught him.
Everyone else seemed uncertain of what to do. Soon Yue had everyone back in the living room and calmed down. No one was scared though everyone was very quiet and it seemed like that didn't know what to make of the situation.
Sakura had excused herself for a moment and told everyone to carry on without her for a moment. She had taken Li upstairs and laid him down on her bed. She then ran to go and get some cold wet cloths and an icepack. Sakura laid one cold cloth over Li's forehead and the other over his cheek and put the icepack over that. Then she pulled the blankets over him and returned downstairs.
When she returned everyone avoided the subject of Li altogether. Everyone finished cake and Sakura opened her gifts. At 11:30 Sakura went upstairs to check on Li and she found, to her surprise, that he was awake.
"Li!" She said with surprise as he sat up and the cloths and icepack fell from his face. She ran over and caught the icepack and sat down on the bed beside him. She put the icepack to his cheek again and held it there.
"Sakura." Said Li. He could finally talk better because he wasn't in much pain anymore and surprisingly, the bruise wasn't too bad.
"Shhh, Li, you came back."
"I told that I had to. I wasn't going to leave you here alone. I know you have Yue, Julian, Kero, Tori, and Madison, but I just couldn't leave you here. There was no way I was going to lose you." He said quickly.
"I know. I'm just happy that you did." She said as she hugged him again and he stroked her hair slowly.
***
The party was ending soon and Eli had suggested that they all spend the night at his house because it was so big and everyone had some catching up to do. So, Sakura called her father on his cell phone and asked him if it was alright. Reluctantly he agreed after hearing that the two older boys were going too. It was the same with Madison's mom. So they left soon after getting everything cleaned up and on the way they stopped at the necessary homes to pick things up.
Sakura had lagged behind at the back of the group with Li to make sure he was alright and so that she could be near him. Eventually Sakura grabbed his hand and held it for the rest of the way there. She didn't lace their fingers together, it was more of a way that really good friends would hold hands.
When they arrived they all went to the rooms that Eli had told them they could use to drop off their things. Then they all went to the drawing room to talk. Mostly, they discussed Eli's reasons for moving back.
"Well, I really came because something is going to happen that we all need to be together for. It's something big, so it's really good that we are here to talk about it. Something new is coming, I don't know I we can face it alone." Was his explanation.
Later on, they all went to their rooms slowly until only Sakura and Li were left in the room. They had been sitting far apart and now Li crossed the room and sat down beside Sakura. The bruise in Li's cheek was already fading, probably because of his strength.
Sakura rested her head on his shoulder in the dim firelight. Li smiled and pulled her closer to him with his arm, half embracing her in a hug.
"You haven't opened my gift yet Sakura." Said Li and he pulled out a tiny box, no bigger than his palm. The box was wrapped in black wrapping paper and had gold ribbon attached to it.
Sakura slowly pulled the ribbon off and unwrapped it carefully. She opened the tiny box with shaky fingers to reveal a small wooden carving of The Hope card. On the heart it said "hope," and on the back it said "Sakura, always remember hope."
"I made it for you when I first got the invitation. I knew that somehow it would make you happy." Explained Li.
Sakura pulled out The Hope card and showed Li. "I created it just after you left." She said smiling at the look of shock on his face.
Li smiled once again and hugged Sakura warmly. "Fate?" He asked curiously.
"No." Smiled Sakura, "I think it's more like Destiny."
- -TBC- -
A/N: Wow, what a long first Chapter. I feel proud!! Yay me!! Okay! So! Major R&R alright? And remember, this is only the first chapter. I know some places are a little choppy but I couldn't make then flow very much. I just knew that they had to be that way. So, yah. Okay!! Rate this like you would a movie I guess. You know, tell me how many stars you would give it out of 5 in your review, but remember to tell me what you think!! Well!! Hope to read your reviews soon! Thanks!!!
Chapter 1: Eli and Li Return
A/N: Okay, I know I have like a million other fics started but I just have to get another on going. So whatever. A few important things for this fic.
One: It takes place when Sakura and everyone is now 14. So, yeah they aged a bit.
Two: O.C.s have been added. Please don't hurt me, there is a rhyme and reason for what I do.
Three: You may want to watch out for little things that may give clues later one. I won't say and more, but it's really important or you may end up lost.
And Four: Don't worry if you think I made a mistake. I didn't. I know what I'm doing. Okay? So just relax. It will seem like I made a lot of mistakes but I haven't. I have my reasons. Got it? Okay, good.
NOW! Let's get going!!
***
Tick...Tick...Tick...
"I'm getting up now..."
Tick...Tick...Tick...
"Any second now..."
Tick...Tick...Tick...
"I'm getting up..."
RIIINNNGGG!!!!!!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! TORI!!"
Sakura walked downstairs with a dark cloud hovering over her head. She took one look at her brother and he began laughing uncontrollably. Sakura just mumbled as she began to fix breakfast.
"Aw, C'mon Squirt, it was just a little birthday joke! Everyone gets it when they turn 14. I did, remember?"
It clicked. Sakura turned 14 today. Her party was tonight. And everyone she had sent invitations to was coming...except.
"Sakura? Sakura? SAKURA!"
"Huh? What?" Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts by Tori's yell.
"You're wasting the milk."
She looked down. And sure enough, the floor around her feet was covered in milk. She quickly stopped pouring and began to mop up the spilt milk.
"What were you daydreaming about anyway? You're not still thinking about any last minute things are you?"
"Huh? No." replied Sakura sadly. She didn't want to admit to her brother that she was still waiting for a reply. She had already agreed with herself that the invitation had been lost in the mail...although, what if? She couldn't help thinking that the only one left had stopped caring.
She finished her breakfast and traipsed back upstairs to her room. She knew she had to go to school, it was Friday after all, but, she didn't feel well at the moment.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in." She moaned sadly.
"Hey honey. Are you alright? Tori said you looked sick." Her father said as he came in. "Wow, he was right. You're really pale. Do you want to stay home for the day to get better?"
"Yeah, okay. You'll call the school?"
"Okay. You get some rest."
After her father left, Sakura changed into her pyjamas and crawled under her covers. She was just dozing off again when she heard a knock on her door again. She got up and opened the door and saw Tori.
"Hey squirt, can I come in for a minute? I have to go to school soon."
"Yeah, come in. I'm just going to bed soon anyway."
Tori sat for a while before speaking. For the longest time he just stared at the sleeping Kero while shifting uneasily.
"Tori?" Said Sakura softly. Tori seemed to jump.
"Oh, Um, I was wondering, Sakura, are you still waiting for a reply? I mean, anyone who would be mailing you?"
"Why do you ask Tori?"
"Well, you know I get the mail everyday, and, I didn't see a reply from..." He was cut off by his sister.
"Oh, everything's okay! I mean, replies and all, Well, I really should get to sleep now so could you leave so I can get my rest?"
"Sakura?"
"Everything's alright Tori, Really. I should get some sleep now. Okay?"
"Alright." Tori sighed as he got up to leave. "There is still the phone though, Sakura." He said as he closed the door behind him.
Sakura just realized that he was right. She hadn't even thought of calling. She only thought about mail. She would call when she woke up, then she would ask right away.
"Why'd you lie to Tori, Sakura?" Said Kero sleepily as he woke up beside her.
"I didn't think he needed to worry too. Now, I'm going to sleep, but then I'm going to call..." She said as she crawled under the covers and went back to bed.
***
Sakura awoke later on and she looked blearily around her room and her eyes rested on the Clow Book on her desk. She got up and stared at it. She opened the cover that hadn't been opened in four years. She flipped over the top card and stared at it. The Hope card. She smiled. But, what was the Clow Book doing out? She usually kept it in her desk drawer.
Suddenly she heard soft footsteps in the hall. She couldn't have slept that long. Tori couldn't be home yet, could he? She looked at the clock, 12:36pm, No, that could only mean...
Sakura grabbed her star key and cards quickly. She summoned the staff and waited for her door to open. Soon, she heard the doorknob turning and she grabbed the freeze card from the stack. The door slowly opened...
"FREEZE!" Yelled Sakura when the door was swung fully open. She gasped and suddenly removed to the spell. There stood Yue. She apologized and quickly offered him a seat on her bed.
"What were you doing Sakura? Why did you have the freeze card out? Were you practicing?" Asked Yue quickly.
"No. I." Said Sakura, a little embarrassed that she had thought he was a burglar. "I thought, someone broke in and, well." She blushed. Then she remembered that she said she would call.
"Kero Beros said I should come. He called Julian. What is it that you are worried about Sakura?"
"Right now I want to know why my Clow Book was out."
"I took them out of the drawer, they wanted to come out." Relied Yue quietly. "I am sorry, but I just wanted to help them. Can you see when they knew they were going to be used that they were happy?"
"Yes, I should take better care of them. From now on I'll practice with them and use them when I can. Is that okay?" She had directed her question at the cards. They all flew around her head and landed in her hand again.
"Now, perhaps, you should call?" Urged Yue with a smile.
"Yes." Said Sakura as she dialled the number on the phone.
Riiinnnngggg.....
Riiinnnngggg.....
Riiinnnngggg.....
"Hello?"
"Hi, Li?"
"S-Sakura?"
"Yeah, it's me. We haven't talked in a while."
"I-I know. I've been busy."
"Did you get my invitation? You know, to my birthday?"
"Yes."
"The party is today you know. Why didn't you reply?"
"I'm not going."
"What? Why? Eli's coming. In fact, he's moving back here."
"Because, I can't, I have better things to do."
"Li? You, you can't be serious, right?"
"I am. Goodbye."
*Click*
Sakura's eyes filled with tears as she put the phone down. She knew her voice sounded choked on the phone. She knew it sounded like she was going to cry. She fought the tears and much as she could. But as she bit her lip Yue spoke.
"Sakura? Are you, okay?"
She broke. She ran over to Yue and buried her face in his chest and cried harder than she had ever cried in her life. As Yue ran his hand up and down her back, Kero transformed to comfort her too.
After about ten minutes of straight sobbing, Sakura finally calmed down. Yue gave her one last hug and pulled her away from him.
"What happened Sakura? What's wrong?" He said in his softest and most comforting voice.
Sakura swallowed. "He, He's not coming."
"Oh, come now, you can't have gotten all worked up over that." Replied Kero Beros, also in a comforting voice.
Sakura swallowed again. "He said he couldn't, because he has better things to do. He didn't even say Happy Birthday." She bit her lip again
"Would you like me to call Tori? I'm sure they'd let him out of his classes. I'm only here because Julian has a few hours free time today."
Sakura nodded. It was all she could do to keep herself from crying again.
Ten minutes later, Tori was home and Sakura was explaining the conversation in full over a cup of tea. It was now 1:06pm and Sakura was feeling worse than ever She was holding The Hope card in her hand and she was staring at it. She wondered what it would do. She hadn't shown it to anyone yet, she had wanted to show it to Li first. Now it didn't matter. She had explained how she had gotten it to Yue, Tori, and Kero Beros. They had all agreed that she must have extremely strong powers if she could create a Star Card like that.
Sakura didn't care. She had waited for so long to hear from Li and when she did, all he did was tell her that he had better things to do. The party started in five hours. At six o clock she would have to put on a brave face for everyone. She was just glad Madison was coming at five to help Sakura with the last minute things and to begin filming. She could tell her then.
***
It was five o clock and Sakura's dad finished helping. He had said that he was going out and would leave the party for the duration of it. That meant Spinner and Kero could enjoy themselves without having to hide. Sakura explained to her dad that Li wasn't coming. (Tori and Julian had been invited so it was no problem for them to be there.) The family party was on Sunday.
When Madison arrived, Yue took her aside and warned her not to mention Li at all and told her why. Madison agreed because it seemed that Sakura was fine for now and didn't need any reminders about what had happened earlier.
At six, everyone arrived on time. It was planned out so that the girls from school didn't find out about the guardians they would be there for two hours, then the real party would start with everyone who knew about the magic. So at seven o clock, Sakura's school friends (Except those that knew, of course) left, thinking that the party was over and that everyone else was leaving soon. Then Spinner, Kero, and Yue, all came out to enjoy themselves. The party was going until midnight and Mr. Kinomoto had promised not to be home until 12:30, just for a little extra time. (he had gone to spend time with some friends.)
At 10:30 everyone (Madison, Meilin, Eli, Tori, Yue/Julian, Kero, Spinner, and Ruby) was sitting down for cake (they had cupcakes earlier). As they sat around and talked, the doorbell rang. Sakura looked around. She was sure everyone was here, what if someone had come back because they had forgotten something. There would be a lot of explaining if that was the case.
Sakura got up slowly and walked to the door. Her hand shaking she unlocked it and opened it slowly and standing there in the doorway, framed in moonlight, was Li. Sakura's eyes widened and her whole body began to shake. Soon, she couldn't see properly because everything was obscured by tears. She felt them trail down her face as she felt Li's cool hands pull her close to him and against his warm sweater.
She stood for a long time, crying silently and listening to Li's heart beating fast. Soon he whispered in her ear, "I'm so sorry."
"Sakura? Is everything alright?" Tori Yelled from the living room. "Do I need to call the police?"
Sakura cleared her throat and called back, "No, Everything is fine. I'll be right there."
She pulled calmly away from him and looked up into his face. He still looked the same, only a little older and he had grown taller. Sakura was no longer the same height as him. Li was about three inches taller.
As Li lifted his hand Sakura flinched and he drew back for a moment, then he wiped her tears away from her eyes. "Don't cry Sakura, You have every reason to be angry but, please, listen to my explanation."
"Sakura?" Came her brother's voice again.
"I-I'm fine, I'll be right there, just a second." replied Sakura.
"Okay."
"Sakura, I, I wanted to come, I really did, it's just. My mom told me not to go back and to forget you, But I can't Sakura, I just can't. After what we've been through together there was no way that I could forget you. So, I snuck away, I packed all my things and I left without saying anything. She was out at the time anyway. I'm back here now, for good. I'm not leaving you again. I'm living in the same place with the same help. He promised not to tell my mom. I promise you, I'm always going to be here, from now on. Okay?" Li explained quickly.
Sakura stared at him and blinked away her tears again. Then without thinking, she flung her arms around Li's neck and began crying again. "It's okay." She muttered quietly, "I forgive you."
"Sakura!" Came Tori's voice once more, only it was closer, so close, that Tori was right behind her.
Sakura spun around and saw her brother's shocked face. Tori walked up to Sakura, pushed her out of the way and stared down at Li. Tori was a head taller than Li and did he ever look angry. At first it looked like He was just going to walk away when he turned around, but whether out of anger or instinct no one would know why Tori did what he did next.
Tori spun around full speed and punched Li hard in the cheek which caused Li to fly back against the door slamming it shut. Li then slid down the door and just sat there. A bruise began to form on his cheek immediately. Everyone in the living room had gotten up and ran to the door. Tori didn't stop there.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" He hollered at the top of his lungs. "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST BLOW OFF MY SISTER LIKE THAT AND THEN SHOW UP AT THE DOOR ASKING FOR HER TO FORGIVE YOU LIKE IT'S NOTHING? DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET A LITTLE SNOTNOSED PUNK KID LIKE YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE TO MY FAMILY? TO MY SISTER? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD? Li just sat there, not moving.
"Tori..."
Tori's head spun around to look at Sakura. She was standing there with something in her eyes that Tori knew was his fault, and yet, he didn't want to admit it. Sakura was afraid, afraid of him. He immediately began to apologise. "Sakura, listen, please, don't be scared. Shit, come on Sakura, I, I was only protecting you! Please, forgive, if you can."
"Tori. I forgive you. I know why you did that. I just."
Suddenly everyone looked at Li who had slowly and unsteadily gotten to his feet. He looked at Tori and said in a voice that sounded as that if he could talk properly that it would have been sincere, "Thank you Tori." The he slipped into unconsciousness and fell to the floor where Sakura caught him.
Everyone else seemed uncertain of what to do. Soon Yue had everyone back in the living room and calmed down. No one was scared though everyone was very quiet and it seemed like that didn't know what to make of the situation.
Sakura had excused herself for a moment and told everyone to carry on without her for a moment. She had taken Li upstairs and laid him down on her bed. She then ran to go and get some cold wet cloths and an icepack. Sakura laid one cold cloth over Li's forehead and the other over his cheek and put the icepack over that. Then she pulled the blankets over him and returned downstairs.
When she returned everyone avoided the subject of Li altogether. Everyone finished cake and Sakura opened her gifts. At 11:30 Sakura went upstairs to check on Li and she found, to her surprise, that he was awake.
"Li!" She said with surprise as he sat up and the cloths and icepack fell from his face. She ran over and caught the icepack and sat down on the bed beside him. She put the icepack to his cheek again and held it there.
"Sakura." Said Li. He could finally talk better because he wasn't in much pain anymore and surprisingly, the bruise wasn't too bad.
"Shhh, Li, you came back."
"I told that I had to. I wasn't going to leave you here alone. I know you have Yue, Julian, Kero, Tori, and Madison, but I just couldn't leave you here. There was no way I was going to lose you." He said quickly.
"I know. I'm just happy that you did." She said as she hugged him again and he stroked her hair slowly.
***
The party was ending soon and Eli had suggested that they all spend the night at his house because it was so big and everyone had some catching up to do. So, Sakura called her father on his cell phone and asked him if it was alright. Reluctantly he agreed after hearing that the two older boys were going too. It was the same with Madison's mom. So they left soon after getting everything cleaned up and on the way they stopped at the necessary homes to pick things up.
Sakura had lagged behind at the back of the group with Li to make sure he was alright and so that she could be near him. Eventually Sakura grabbed his hand and held it for the rest of the way there. She didn't lace their fingers together, it was more of a way that really good friends would hold hands.
When they arrived they all went to the rooms that Eli had told them they could use to drop off their things. Then they all went to the drawing room to talk. Mostly, they discussed Eli's reasons for moving back.
"Well, I really came because something is going to happen that we all need to be together for. It's something big, so it's really good that we are here to talk about it. Something new is coming, I don't know I we can face it alone." Was his explanation.
Later on, they all went to their rooms slowly until only Sakura and Li were left in the room. They had been sitting far apart and now Li crossed the room and sat down beside Sakura. The bruise in Li's cheek was already fading, probably because of his strength.
Sakura rested her head on his shoulder in the dim firelight. Li smiled and pulled her closer to him with his arm, half embracing her in a hug.
"You haven't opened my gift yet Sakura." Said Li and he pulled out a tiny box, no bigger than his palm. The box was wrapped in black wrapping paper and had gold ribbon attached to it.
Sakura slowly pulled the ribbon off and unwrapped it carefully. She opened the tiny box with shaky fingers to reveal a small wooden carving of The Hope card. On the heart it said "hope," and on the back it said "Sakura, always remember hope."
"I made it for you when I first got the invitation. I knew that somehow it would make you happy." Explained Li.
Sakura pulled out The Hope card and showed Li. "I created it just after you left." She said smiling at the look of shock on his face.
Li smiled once again and hugged Sakura warmly. "Fate?" He asked curiously.
"No." Smiled Sakura, "I think it's more like Destiny."
- -TBC- -
A/N: Wow, what a long first Chapter. I feel proud!! Yay me!! Okay! So! Major R&R alright? And remember, this is only the first chapter. I know some places are a little choppy but I couldn't make then flow very much. I just knew that they had to be that way. So, yah. Okay!! Rate this like you would a movie I guess. You know, tell me how many stars you would give it out of 5 in your review, but remember to tell me what you think!! Well!! Hope to read your reviews soon! Thanks!!!