Disclaimer:
None of the characters, places, or anything you recognise belong to me. They all belong to CLAMP. CLAMP owns them, and there is nothing I can do about it, so now I have to deal with that, not you, so don't sue me! Besides, I have no money. The lyrics belong to Andrew Lloyd Webber.Summary:
I can't do summaries, but oh well. This is mostly a big flashback. It is very sad, so I advise you to get out the tissue box before you start reading. A big flashback for Sakura, remembering things about Syaoran etcetc. Songfic to the theme song of the musical 'Cats', Memory.Key:
* flashbacks * "talking" 'song lyrics'Memory.
'Syaoran! No!'
Sakura sat upright in her bed, sweat running down her face, mingling with the tears.
"Syaoran-kun…" she said, reaching out to the air while Kero watched helplessly from his little corner.
'…Midnight,
Not a sound from the pavement,
Has the moon lost her memory?
She is smiling alone.
In the lamplight,
The withered leaves collect at my feet,
And the wind begins to moan…'
* "Sakura! Please, remember the good times for me okay?" Syaoran yelled out to her, as she stood immobilised next to a tree. Lightning flashed, then all went black. She heard a yell, as the magically enhanced sword sliced through Syaoran's body, then all was silent. Eriol was gone. Syaoran…was gone. Being able to move again, she fell to her knees sobbing as the wind whipped her hair around her face. "Syaoran…" *
A lone tear ran down her cheek as she remembered the day when Eriol Hiiragizawa, a young man she considered a friend, had seemingly gone insane. He badly hurt Tomoyo, her best friends, and at the time, his girlfriend, in a way nobody thought was possible.
"…Remember the good times for me…" Syaoran had said to her. But she couldn't. She couldn't get the picture of Eriol, the lightning and the feeling of not being able to move to help the special someone you loved out of her mind.
'…Memory, all alone in the moonlight,
I can smile at the old days,
I was beautiful then.
I remember the time I knew what happiness was,
Let the memory live again…'
"I betrayed you Syao-kun…" she whispered to herself. At this, Kero flew up from where he was seated and sat himself down in front of her. He looked up.
"Sakura…" he put a paw on her arm. "Remember when he first told you he loved you. If that isn't a good memory, I don't know what is."
She thought back to the time, exactly one year ago.
* It was a sunny day. Cloudless and warm. Syaoran grabbed her hand and pulled her along past everybody to his favourite sakura tree.
"Sakura-chan, I have to tell you something."
"What?"
"Wait until we get there."
He picked off a bunch of pretty cherry blossoms and gave them to her.
"For you."
'…Every street lamp,
Seems to beat a fatalistic warning,
Someone mutters a street lamp,
Gutters and soon it will be morning…'
"Ashiteru Sakura." *
Then she was back, back in her room with it's looming shadows, and the full moon obscured by clouds outside her window.
Nobody knew where Eriol had gone. Tomoyo had walked around the school listless for weeks. Sakura hadn't gone at all.
Images of Syaoran flashed through Sakura's mind as she tried to remember the good times. Their first date…Tomoyo continuously taping them both…his many blushes…when she was cheering for him at the soccer games…
* The first time he had come to Tomoeda Elementary.
"Class, this is Li Syaoran." He had walked in wearing the glare they would all get used to very quickly. He walked straight up to Sakura's desk, looked her in the eye, then said straight out: "Kinomoto."
Later that day, he had tried to get the cards off her. She refused to give them to him. Later on they learned to work together in capturing each card. He was there to catch her when she fell, exhausted, after changing each of her Sakura cards into a Star Card. When she got hurt during one of the captures, and vice versa.
'…Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise,
I must think of a new life,
And I mustn't give in.
When the dawn comes,
Tonight will be a memory too,
And a new day will begin…'
"Kero," she whispered.
"Hmmm?"
"He was happy enough to tag along when me, Tomoyo and Meilin went shopping."
"Yes. He was. Remember more of those days. What about when you were cheering for him in the soccer final and he scored the winning point?"
She smiled wistfully. "Yes I remember. You were there too. You couldn't resist the fairy floss and the celebration carnival after."
Kero smiled back at her. "Yes. Some of the best fairy floss I ever had."
More tears ran down her cheek but she giggled. "What about the time when Syaoran fell off his chair when I walked past him once?"
"Oh I haven't heard this one! What happened?" he asked, curious.
"I was just finished with my cheerleading practice, and I went back to the classroom. I winked at him when I went to sit down and he fell out of his seat. Everyone couldn't stop laughing! He was so embarrassed!"
Kero laughed along with her. "Now, go back to sleep. He is waiting for you."
"You mean, he could visit me in my dreams?"
"Quite possibly. Now lay down, and go to sleep."
She agreed as her eyes were drooping. She laid her head down on her soft pillow and closed her eyes. Kero flew up with the end of the blanket in his paws and tucked them around her. Then next, he curled up next to her, listening to the soft breathing she emitted from her lungs.
'…Burnt out ends of smoky days,
The stale cold smell of morning,
The street lamp dies another night is over,
Another day is dawning…'
The still figure by the window watched the two sleep. The clouds had moved away, and the moonshine was shining right across Sakura's face. This time she had a small smile on he face, as if remembering something fun that she once did, or exciting.
He walked over to the small figures, and sat on the edge of their bed. He reached out a semitransparent arm and stroked the girl's hair out of her eyes. He ran his fingers up and down her arm that was uncovered by the blanket and wished he could touch her for real. "I wish I could be there with you Sakura-chan. Lying next to you, feeling your breath along my skin. But I can't be there. Thank-you for remembering the good times Sakura. Remember me as I was, not how I am now," he said softly, but only the moonlight heard him. He bent his head over slightly and kissed her on the cheek. Her eyelids fluttered as though she could feel him there. She rolled over, snuggled closer to Kero, and sighed.
'…Touch me, it's so easy to leave me,
All alone with no memory,
Of my days in the sun.
If you touch me,
You'll understand what happiness is,
Look a new day has begun…'
Syaoran the spirit turned around as he heard the door open quietly. Touya crept into the room and looked at Sakura with a wistful look on his face. Then he looked up and saw Syaoran.
"Look, Gaki," he whispered so that Sakura and Kero wouldn't wake up. "You know I never meant any of the hurtful things I may have said to her, and you hey?"
Syaoran nodded silently.
"I know you know I can see you. And I know I can't hear you so just nod or shake your head to my questions okay?"
He nodded again.
"Did you truly love my imouto?"
He nodded.
"Did you intend to hurt her in anyway?"
"He shook his head violently almost falling off the bed. Touya looked at him. "I'm sorry Gaki."
Syaoran smiled and motioned to Sakura. She still had a smile on her face and was breathing peacefully. He kissed her on the cheek once more, then shook his head, and walked towards the window.
Touya understood this to be, "I can't come any more. I had one chance, now, I will be waiting for her, tell her that for me, please. Please tell her that for me."
Then he climbed out of the window and was gone just as the sun rose. Touya looked at his sleeping sister one more time, then went out, and closed the door quieter than before. When the door closed, Kero sat up, looked out where Syaoran had gone then snuggled back into Sakura's neck and closed his eyes.
'…Memory, all alone in the moonlight,
I can smile at the old days,
I was beautiful then.
I remember the time when I knew what happiness was,
Let the memory live again…'
* * *
So, guys. What didya think? I thought it was pretty okay, considering I have never written like this before.
Have an opinion? Please review it, I will be eternally grateful.
