Disclaimer: I do not own CCS. But I do own "my" original characters in the story and, of course, the plot/storyline.

11/19/10

Author's Note: FINALLY, I have finished writing the entire story outline so that I would refrain myself from often revising each chapter. All I gotta do now is rewrite it into chapters… which would take a pretty long while -_- So if you have already read this fic, you might want to start over again. I changed and added an awful lot of details in this chapter. ^^ And ALSO, I have finally decided on a FINAL title for my story (sheesh, I know right?). This time, I asked my friends for their suggestions and we've all agreed to this FINAL title (the real FINAL, hopefully). Don't blame me for my previous actions. I've got a lot to think about in my mind right now coz I'm pretty busy in school as well. But don't worry. I'll try to make the next chappies a whole lot better and I'll make sure that they'll be good enough before I post them here… Well, I hope they'd be good enough, though XD

~ Pai Shunn :3

CHAPTER 1

Tainted

Haah… haah… hah… nghh…

She was breathing uncomfortably. The look on her eyes was gradually weakening. Her body was shivering not only to the rain softly dropping on her skin, but also to the pain quickly spreading throughout her nerves. Her energy was slowly being drained that she almost felt like falling until the warm hands of a young man swiftly caught her back and gently laid her on the ground. She carefully touched her abdomen with a slight reaction of sting on her face. She then lifted her trembling hand above her eyes and saw a terrifying color dripping from her fingers. She began to feel nervous.

Her lungs squeezed so tight that she could barely breathe. She knew she had to be strong. But she was afraid that her fear was overcoming all the strength that is left of her. Her eyes began to tear yet she didn't make any sound. Her only source of courage at that very moment was the man sitting next to her.

"S-Sakura…" Syaoran softly called to her with his voice breaking. He held Sakura's stained hand that was slowly cleansed by the endless drops of rain. He couldn't hold the guilt. As he kept on yelling in his heart that he was to be blamed, his grip on Sakura's hand became tighter. He tried to be strong as well. He tried to keep his emotions to himself. But when all was too much for him to bury inside, he suddenly burst into tears and held her hand closed to his lips as he moaned, "I'm… s-sorry…"

She knew she couldn't blame him. It was her fault after all. She was warned yet she didn't listen.

Only a few minutes have passed but she felt that time has already travelled longer. She felt her breathing could possibly come to a stop in a matter of seconds. She didn't want to waste her time. Rather than pitying herself and the boy beside her, she thought of at least leaving him with something memorable. The pain she felt did not allow her to speak, but the energy she had left did allow her to, nevertheless, leave the world with a smile.

Syaoran was shocked in disbelief that she could still smile that way despite her situation. It was the same cheerful smile he had always cherished from her. He was deeply touched. I only wish I could see you smile for much longer, he thought. He returned the favor by smiling back, although deep inside, his heart continued to cry. It was only a few seconds after when Sakura finally breathed her last.

A loud screech suddenly caught Syaoran's attention. He could hear the door of the car opening, the footsteps landing on the puddles of water, and the car door closing again. For some reason, he already had an idea on who the person behind him could be. He felt the rain was pouring a great deal of fear on him. He shivered to the coldness of the air and to his distress. He won't turn around. He wasn't ready to face him.

The guy behind them stood still beside the car as he was covering himself with an umbrella. He felt uneasy as soon as he was able to perceive the present scene behind the strong pour of rain. His eyes widened to what he saw and clenched his fists. "I'm too late…" he whispered and dropped the umbrella.

"Syaoran…" The guy called to him. His voice was still calm and gentle, but it was obviously weakening.

After the guy called after him, Syaoran didn't leave another minute of silence. He immediately stood up and faced the guy behind him. At first, he was unsure if his decision was what's best. But he hasn't got any more time to lose. And he had to say it…

"I killed Sakura."

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Two years later...

"No, Mrs. Daidōji. She hasn't come over since this morning. — Yes, I understand, but — … *sighs*"

Yukito knocked on the door to Touya's office before he came in carrying a tray with a kettle of hot tea and two elegant and delicate teacups. He quietly placed the tray on a glass table by the window, so as not to disturb Touya on his call. As he was filling in the two empty cups with tea, he softly chuckled at his friend's somehow humorous conversation with the person in the other line.

"Yes, Mrs. Daidōji. I'll make sure to give you a call when she gets back. — Yes, yes… — Bye."

After Touya hung up the phone, he swiftly sat on his armchair and leaned back. He took a moment to breathe in and rubbed his forehead in slight annoyance before he gave his attention to Yukito. He later noticed his friend quietly laughing by himself.

"Very funny," he commented, knowing just what Yukito was laughing at.

Yukito took the tray to Touya's worktable and handed him a cup of tea. "Tomoyo's mother seems to like you a lot," he joked.

"You meant the opposite." Touya gave a soft blow on his drink and took a small sip before continuing the conversation. "She hates me as much as she hated my father," he said sarcastically and took another sip.

Yukito laughed at his friend's statement. He sat on a chair across Touya's worktable and took off his glasses. "What did she call you for anyway?" he asked as he cleaned his glasses with the tip of his baby blue polo shirt.

Touya placed his cup back on the tray and slightly leaned on the table with his hands holding each other beneath his chin. "She's looking for her daughter, as usual. I feel like a babysitter here." He then fixed his eyes at Yukito. He had a rather interrogative yet intimidating expression on his face. "How about you, Yukito? Have any idea where she is?"

After Yukito wore back his glasses, he turned to Touya and gently smiled. "Sadly, no. But I'm sure she will be alright. Tomoyo's a responsible and careful young lady after all."

"I guess you're right." He leaned back on his chair once more and sighed as he looked through the window.

Yukito abruptly stood up and gave a small bow to Touya. "Well, I'll see you later. I almost forgot I have some other errands to run to."

"Sure."

Once Yukito was out of the office, he collapsed all of a sudden. He then crawled to the wall opposite to the door and leaned back. As he was taking his breath, he remembered the last time he met Tomoyo that morning.

"Yukito-san!"

"Oh! Tomoyo! You seem to be in a hurry. Is something the matter?"

"Well, I was actually going to ask you a favor, if that's okay."

"Sure, go ahead. Anything for the lovely miss."

"I'll be going someplace later. What I wanted to ask is… if you could cover up for me."

"Cover… you?"

"Mm-hmm! My mom might wonder where I'll be going and I've got a feeling she's going to ask Touya-san. So, could you do that for me, Yukito-san? I won't be away for very long."

"Well, that's pretty hard… I mean, considering Touya. But, where exactly are you going to?"

"That would be my secret."

Yukito still felt nervous since when he was back in the office. He thought he was going to be found out by Touya. He knew just how sensitive his friend is to his surroundings. It was rare for Touya to be fooled. In fact, he could barely remember a single time Touya was fooled. At least I'm still safe. Goodluck then… Tomoyo, he spoke in his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Touya remained seated on his usual throne. He grinned as he was continuingly tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair. "Very funny indeed," he said softly and smirked. He then took his violin inside a cabinet drawer that was situated underneath his table and started playing a soothing tune that appeased his mind.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Asahi Village

(in the northern province)

After Syaoran was finally done with his work, he made his way back to the apartment. When he stepped inside, he heard a soothing music filling the air. He thought that it had to be the landlady's radio again. Every time he comes home from work, he would hear the same music genre playing from the same FM station. The landlady Ms. Takahiro had always loved the sound of violins.

As soon as he closed the door, Ms. Takahiro came to greet him back. He had always felt at home in the apartment because of her pleasing personality. She knew how tired he was just by looking at his weary face so she gave him a glass of water to cool him down.

"By the way, a guest is waiting for you upstairs."

Syaoran coughed out what he drank. His eyes widened to what the landlady had told him. "Guest? But I'm not expecting anyone. Are you sure that person knows me?" He asked apprehensively.

"Don't worry." She giggled and continued, "She looks like a pleasant young lady. Very sweet and lovely." She elbowed his arm and joked, "I'm sure she's a safe guest."

Syaoran went upstairs and headed for his room. He noticed the door was unlocked when he twisted the knob. He sighed before cautiously opening the door. As he entered, he saw a person staring at the picture frames on top of his clothing shelf beside the bed. He was uncertain of who the person was since she was wearing a beanie to hide her hair, and a pair of shirt and cargo pants. But he was definitely sure that the person was a girl, based on her figure. Just then, he smelled a familiar scent that probably came from the girl. And when he recognized her, he immediately locked the door behind him and remained facing the wooden door.

"Syaoran? Is that you?" A sweet and gentle voice spoke behind him.

He didn't make any move. He was uncertain of whether he should face her or not. He couldn't even decide if he should stay inside any longer. He was nervous. That was all that crowded his mind. He couldn't think clearly. But he later decided to break his silence. "I don't know him. He's obviously not here."

"Oh, really?" The lady walked a little closer towards him, still keeping a short distance away. "I wouldn't be sure so sure unless you don't mind turning around now, hmm?"

Syaoran took a moment to slowly take his breath. He later turned around with a hand covering his face that looked down on his feet. After which, that hand ran its fingers through his hair as he slightly looked back up, ready to show himself to the lady before him. Still, he remained in complete silence.

A mix of emotions filled the lady's heart when finally, she was able to take a good look at him. Deep inside, her teeming heart would want to burst with tears of joy, yet all she truly showed was a pleasant smile. She took Syaoran's hand and led him to sit beside her on the bed. "Two is a big number in years. We have so much to talk about!" she said rather excitingly.

"No." Syaoran forcefully took his hand back and looked away. "We have nothing to talk about. You should leave, Tomoyo."

Tomoyo wasn't very satisfied with what she heard. In fact, his response wasn't what she was expecting from him at all. The joy on her face was slowly melting down. She was embarrassed of the mood of the situation but still, she didn't hesitate on keeping her eyes on him. "I came all the way here to see how you're doing."

Syaoran faced her back. "Well, now you've seen me!" he said strongly, almost like yelling. "Just… go back. There's nothing else for you here." He stood on his feet right after and quickly headed for the door. But before he could even open it, Tomoyo caught his attention.

"There's something important I need to tell you." Tomoyo also stood up yet she remained on her place. She tried to secretly release her tension as she was crumpling the tip of her blouse. She was thinking of a good way to explain it to him. She was afraid he might not believe her.

Syaoran slightly turned to the side so as not to completely face her. He held his head down a bit and sighed as the strain in him slowly faded. "What?" he asked too softly, as if he was the only one who could hear himself.

Tomoyo took another deep breath. She had prepared for that moment since before she arrived. She looked directly at Syaoran but this time, she was serious. There was no sign of gentleness in her. "It's about Sakura."

(…to be continued…)

Well, this would be the end of chapter 1. I do hope you like this "almost completely" revised version. Catch you guys later when I'm done with chapter 2 ^^