Disclaimer: CCS and GA does not belong to me

Chapter 2

Departure

Sakura Mikan hummed a tune as she marched up the classroom hall. She proceeded to sit in her seat, until she found it swarmed with giggling girls. She peeked through the crowd of girls and loudly asked, "Hey, what're you guys doin'?"

"Ah, Mikan-chan!" replied Anna who was on the edge of the crowd. "We're doing Alice Fortune Cards."

Mikan cocked her head. "Alice Fortune Cards?"

"They're like Tarot Cards enchanted with the Alice of Divination," Nonoko answered, who was also next to Anna. "But the signs are a bit different from ordinary Tarot Cards."

"Ooh! That sounds fun!" Mikan chirped excitedly and then comically waved her hand in the air, "I wanna do it too! Lemme try, lemme try!" The crowd opened up a small path for her, revealing a Sumire holding a pair of Tarot Cards for Ruka and Natsume.

"Oh my, good day to you, Sakura-san," Sumire greeted in her haughty princess tone. Having gotten used to her tone, Mikan simply answered back, "How do these Tarot Cards work?"

"It's 'Alice' Fortune Cards!" Sumire corrected with a vein on her cheek. "You may get your turn after Ruka-kun finishes his divination ohoho~"

Ruka lifted one corner of his lips into an awkward smile and let out a small laugh. He picked a card from Sumire's hands, revealing a motion picture of Bear chopping down wood.

"Oh my!" Sumire snatched the card from his hands. "This is a big, huge, tremendously extra bad luck Ruka-kun!"

"E-Eh?!" His shoulders jerked up. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you, Ruka-kun," she pointed her finger at him dramatically. "Will experience some comical bad luck today!"

"W-what's with that?" he exclaimed with a flushed face. He held his bunny so tightly the bunny was tapping frantically on him to loosen up, which he did. "T-That's stupid," he huffed.

"Aww, it'll be alright, Ruka-kun!" the girls cooed with hearts. "We'll be here to protect you~" Ruka immediately regretted talking.

"Oohh! Hey hey Permy, let me do it next!" Mikan exclaimed.

"No! Next is Natsume-kun's turn~" she held out the deck of cards to him. "Natsume-kun, choose any one you'd like~"

He stared at her with his cold, crimson eyes which she seemed to be unfazed. Seeing her so unfazed, he closed his eyes and fished out a random card, opening one to see take a look. He scrunched his eyebrows together and slapped the card at Mikan's forehead, effectively earning a comical "OW!" from her and a surprised look from Sumire.

She tore the card away from her. "What was that for Natsume?! You didn't have to throw it at me!" She rubbed her forehead and then glanced at the card. "Were you that un satisfied with your divination? Let's see…uh…what is this?" Her face went red and tears started to form from the corner of her eye. She slapped her hand onto her mouth in an attempt to stop her uncontrollable shaking. Natsume's glare only intensified at her.

Sumire snatched the card from her. "What is so funny about Natsume-kun's fortune-" one look and she was silenced. The whole room was silenced and all movements were halted as Sumire and Mikan stifled their loud guffaws.

"Natsume, what was your fortune?" Ruka asked with a slight turn of his head.

"It was a magical girl!" came a monotone voice from behind. All heads present turned to the back of the room. It was Kokoroyomi. It was him who said Natsume's unspeakable fortune.

There was absolute silence.

A glint from his eyes, "Natsume-kun's fortune was a magical girl!"

All eyes turned to Natsume, who was furiously glaring at Koko.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning Sakura-chan!"

"Yo, Kinomoto!"

Sakura smiled back at the greetings from her classmates. "Good morning," she answered cheerfully. She slipped down into her seat and took her hat off. She hung her backpack on the side of her desk and inhaled slow breaths. Then she leaned over to Tomoyo and tapped her shoulder. "Tomoyo-chan," she half whispered to her. She nervously licked her dry lips.

She simply smiled. "Good morning Sakura-chan. What is it?"

Sakura gave her a small, nervous smile. "I need to tell you something."

It was around lunchtime when Sakura and Tomoyo sat on the fountain to talk. Tomoyo smiled and wondered what was her friend going to tell her. "So what happened, Sakura-chan?" she asked, her voice tranquil and melodic.

"Um," Sakura plays with her thumbs, not tearing her eyes away from it. Tomoyo simply tilted her head, her face as kind as ever. Sakura still fiddles with her thumb and her heart starts to pick up its pace. Finally, she managed to utter out, "T-Tomoyo-chan."

"Yes?" smiled her friend.

"H-How would you feel…if you couldn't see me ever again?"

Tomoyo's eyebrows rose in mild surprise. Sakura's own eyes flew in surprise as well—she didn't mean to say it like that! It was a slip of the tongue! It wasn't supposed to come out like that! "A-Ah! S-Sorry, Tomoyo-chan, I-I meant—"

Tomoyo's light purple eyes gazes the water softly, thinking about what Sakura had just said. She sees her own reflection looking at with a little sad expression. "There must be a reason for it, right?" she said softly. She had a tone of 'ah, it can't be helped', which made Sakura feel a little guilty. "Are you going somewhere, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura flinched as she sees her best friend's eyes bore right into her green eyes. She nodded slowly. "Yea…I'm going to this school called Alice Academy and…Do you know what it is, Tomoyo-chan?"

Hearing this, her eyes widened, stunned. "I do. It's a school for kids with 'Alice's' to attend, right?"

"Un," nodded Sakura. "Yesterday, a man came and said he came to get me to the academy—"

"Do you have an Alice, Sakura-chan?"

"No," she shook her head gloomily. "I talked to Kero-chan about it, and he said they must have confused my magic as their Alices."

"Confused your magic?" Tomoyo repeated. "But Sakura-chan, never once did anyone see your magic! Even with the incident with Hiragizawa-kun, he used magic so no one was around!" Sakura looked guiltily at Tomoyo's worried orbs that shook.

"Kero-chan told me that Clow-san met the academy once so he's very suspicious of them. He didn't go into details, but…" she bit her lips. She wasn't sure how to continue the rest. She shook her head, thinking it'll get rid of the topic. "I still have some time to think about when I'll go there."

Tomoyo clasped her friend's hands together with her own and leaned in. "Sakura-chan, be careful. I've overheard some rumors about that school. I heard it from my mom's co-workers. If you ever need anything, I'll do whatever I can to provide you some help. It's the least I can do for you."

"Thank you, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura beamed, her cheeks as pink as her name. "We won't meet until I graduate from there, but we'll send each letter—" she stopped herself; contact from the outside world to the academy isn't easy to get by. They were also extremely strict about it. However, Tomoyo seems to understand what Sakura was trying to say. She knew the school well enough based off of eavesdropping on those chatty co-workers.

"We will meet again, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo smiled serenely.

Sakura nodded. "We definitely will."

All of a sudden, footsteps started to approach them. The two friends jumped in surprise but then relieved when they heard the voice: "Sakura-san, Daidouji-san."

"Eriol-kun/Hiragizawa-kun!" they both shouted, and then sees another in the back: "Syaoran-kun!" yelled Sakura. He looked at the grass awkwardly avoiding looking at them.

"We're sorry, we didn't mean to eavesdrop on you two," Eriol apologized despite his smile. Both shook their heads as Eriol continued on. "There are some things I'd like to say about this." He walked closer to the girls, standing in front of them. "But what I'd like to say is the matter about Clow Reed."

"Clow-san?" Sakura repeated. "Do you mean about him and the academy?"

"Yes," nodded Eriol. "I do not possess all of his memories, but I seem to have gotten some of his memories during his time at the academy. Keroberos didn't tell you everything, did he?" Sakura shook her head. Eriol chuckled lightly. "Well, I can understand why." He grinned. "The truth is, Clow Reed was a teacher at Alice Academy for a short amount of time."

"H-Hoe?!"Sakura yelped out, fists up against her chin in astonishment. Tomoyo simply cover her open mouth with her hand, surprised as well. "C-Clow-san was a teacher there?!"

He continued to chuckle at her reaction. "Yes, he taught English there. No one except the teachers knew about his 'Alice' so he was quite distrustful among the students' eyes. So his 'Alice' still remains a mystery in the academy up until this day. He had quite a laugh about it."

"H-Hoe…" Sakura blinked, trying to process it all into her brain. "I-I never expected that Clow-san to be a teacher there…hoe…"

"It's quite a shock," Tomoyo commented, stifling a laugh herself.

"And the other thing about that…Sakura-san you'll find out about it soon." His lips curved into a strange, uncanny smile that complemented with his crinkling gray eyes. She blinked and tilted her head with a 'hoe?' "It won't be pleasant, but it surely isn't nasty either." She was very puzzled by it—what did he mean? He smiled again and then faced Syaoran who was leaning on a shaded tree. "It's your turn to talk now, Li-kun."

Syaoran looked away with a 'humph' that came out a little awkwardly. "I don't know much about that academy, but a distant relative of mine went there before."

"Syaoran-kun's relative? What kind of Alice did they have?" Sakura asked excitedly.

Taken aback at her excitement, he flustered and continued on. "H-He had the Alice to be able to fly in the air. It's no big deal since it was a common Alice."

"That's amazing!" Sakura exclaimed. She faced Tomoyo, "Right, Tomoyo-chan?" She nodded in agreement happily.

"We were able to communicate with him easily, though. He had no trouble sending letters to his family since he was not a trouble student and his Alice was not particularly dangerous. He graduated last year and living a normal life now."

"But I thought letters could not be sent easily?"

"It depends on what kind of student you are and your Alice, Sakura-san," answered Eriol. "But with the situation now, I doubt they will let Sakura-san have contact with the outside world easily."

"But Sakura-chan is not a problematic student—" Tomoyo started, but she stopped herself once she realized it. She sunk lower into her seat, dispirited.

"Yes, Sakura-san is not such a student, but…" he gazes seriously at the clow mistress. "…her assumed 'Alice.'"

She could feel her heart drop to her stomach. Everything suddenly deafened around them, only the pounding against her ears and heat rising up on her cheeks. "E…h…" She didn't know what to utter out.

"Sakura-chan…"

"When you go to Alice Academy," Syaoran spoke, brown eyes set in all seriousness. "Do not tell anyone about your Sakura Cards. Tell them it's an Alice."

"K…Kero-chan told me," Sakura breathed out. "But why…? Why do I have to keep it a secret?"

"What you have right now is not an Alice but magic. Remember that only kids with Alices can attend that school. If word got out that you don't have an Alice, it will cause an uproar." Syaoran breathed through his nose as he continued on. "And you're the strongest sorceress who wields Sakura Cards. It will just complicate things more."

Sakura nodded, her eyes downcast. She agreed wholeheartedly actually—imagine someone who knew she's the strongest sorceress, and it's just a kid. "Please don't be so sad, Sakura-san," said Eriol. "There may be hidden intentions but Alice Academy is not all that bad. They have fun activities with their Alices and a wide variety of students with different Alices. So cheer up."

Hearing his words lightened her up. "Thank you, Eriol-kun," she chimed. "Syaoran-kun, too, thank you." His face went pink a little and mumbled, "I-It's nothing."

After their conversation, they all went back to class after the bell rang. This left Sakura to think about it carefully throughout the day. Tomoyo had said that she had something to do so she couldn't walk home with her, so she walked home by herself on her roller blades. She passed by the King Penguin Park and halted right in front of there. The park was empty and void of children. This could be the last time she will be able to play in this park again, so she decided to take this opportunity and take her time there. She giggled and rolls under the little shelter under the King Penguin slide. She stops herself when she catches a pair of dull, golden eyes.

It was the cat from yesterday.

Its golden eyes stares at her green eyes that reflects itself back. With a soft 'mew' it gets up and licks Sakura's hand delicately. She giggled, "It tickles!" She fell on her butt as the cat climbs up and licks her face, causing Sakura to stupidly laugh. "H-Hey, hehe, s-stop!" she shouts through her fits of giggles and laughter. She picks the black cat up and holds it in front of her, breathing and panting. "You surprised me!" she beamed. It mewed softly before wiggling out of her grasp and then jumped away into the bushes again. Sakura sat there, watching the cat run off into the bushes. A distant memory of her brother played out suddenly in her mind.

"Listen Sakura. Black cats are bad luck."

"Why?" questioned her four-year old self. She gazes sadly at a black cat licking itself clean. "It's so cute though."

Touya scoffed and crossed his arms. His face broke into a teasing grin, "If you don't listen to what your big bro says and you touch a black cat you'll die!"

"Eek!" Sakura's screeched out, her legs trembling like jelly. Her eyes started to form big drops of tears as she tried her best to hold it back. She hid her face behind her balled up fists. "That's so mean Onii-chan!"

She let out a small sigh at the memory. Although it was just a joke, she was genuinely scared of black cats back then. 'But I guess it's ok now,' Sakura thought to herself. It was just a myth after all. Ah, but with her magic—

"I think it's time to go home and make some hot cakes for myself," she muttered, trying to get the thought out of her head. She faked a laughed which came out shaky, trying to comfort herself. Her laughter died out. "I'll just go home today."

She skated back her way home turning at corners till she finally reached back home. She opened the door and unbuckled her roller blades. "I'm home!" she hollered once her feet were free again. There was a nice, delicious smell coming deep inside the house which made her drool a bit. Following the smell, her feet brought her to the dining room, where there were plates of hot food steaming on the table.

Her mouth gaped. "What's all this?"

"Ah, welcome back Sakura-san," said her father, with a clean plate in hand.

"We're having a feast today," Touya said, serving the chopsticks out on the table.

She tilted her head. "Eh? Why?"

"For you," he grumbled, thinking how stupid she can possibly get. "You'll be going to that academy, right?"

"A-Ah…" She felt sad all of a sudden. Noticing this, Fujitaka put his large, gentle hands on her shoulders with a smile.

"Smile, Sakura-san. A smile suits you best," he complimented. "You will be gone for a long time, so you'll surely miss some of Dad's cooking. So eat to your heart's content."

Sakura beamed at her father. "Yeah! Thank you, Dad!" She tackled them into a quick hug and then quickly sat down in her seat. She enthusiastically clapped her hands together with a big, wide grin. "Thanks for the food!" She picked up her chopsticks and aimed straight to the meat. Stabbing it with her pointy utensil, she popped it right into her mouth, appreciating every single bite of the juicy meat. "It's delicious!" she squealed while still chewing it. Touya and Fujitaka joined in the table as well, eating and happily chatting around the family table. Touya would steal some of Sakura's food, which she got revenge by taking some from his plate as well. Fuijtaka would smile and chuckle and then the three would start laughing as well and carry on with happy conversations.

The family wanted this to be a memorable dinner before Sakura leaves for a long, long time.

From upstairs, Kero can hear the giddy chatters and he feels reassured. He flies to the pink toy phone and puts it to his ears. "They're having a fun time there, Tomoyo."

Tomoyo's voice came on the other end. "That's good to hear."

He dug his plush arm into the bag of chips. "Those men from the academy came earlier before Sakura came home and said that she'll be leaving in two days, on a Wednesday."

"Eh? Why on a weekday?"

He shrugged and popped a chip into his mouth. "Most likely they want to get her as soon as possible…" He crunched angrily, which Tomoyo can clearly hear on the other line.

"Thank you, Kero-chan. That gives me some time."

"Uh? For what?" He raised his invisible eyebrows.

There was a chuckle. "Nothing at all. Well then, good night Kero-chan." And then she hang up, leaving a long beep.

He stared at the phone with a puzzled look. But then he shrugged and continued to eat his chips. "Oh right! I should play those new video games Sakura bought for me~!"

Back down in the dining room, Sakura was fast asleep on the couch. Fujitaka laid a blanket over her, watching her turn with a smile in her sleep. "She's fast asleep isn't she?" Touya remarked, holding a cup of milk.

The father nodded. "She ate more than usual today," he smiled.

"Feh, that's what happens when you scarf down your breakfast like its nothing everyday," he mocked jokingly.

Fujitaka chuckled and patted his daughter's head. "I'll bring her back up to her room. Touya-kun you can go ahead and take a bath." Carefully, he picks the kid up and mounts the stairs to her room. Kero, who was inside playing videos games, sensed footsteps coming up. In a hurry, he saved his game, unplugged the T.V, switched off the lights and sat on Sakura's pile of stuffed animals to blend in.

Then Fujitaka came in just in time. "Huh? I thought the lights were on for a moment." He laid Sakura down on her bed and covered her with her blanket. He rubbed his eyes. "I guess it was my imagination…?"

Kero gulped. "Good night, Sakura-san." Fujitaka said, closing the door softly behind him. Sakura let out "mm's" as she twisted and turned on the soft mattress, and then she fell back into her slumber. Kero at last breathed and wiped his head. Pretending to be a stuffed doll is such a nerve-wrecking task! He hovered over to Sakura and brushed a strand of hair away from her mouth. He patted her cheek tenderly with a soft smile.

"Sleep well, Sakura."

The next morning was a bright, sunny morning. The blue birds were singing and not a crow was in sight! Seeing how wonderful the day was, Sakura decided to bring her cheerfulness up ten times max. It may be the last time she'll be here at Tomoeda Elementary, but she didn't want that to bring her down. And she also doesn't want to be sad because…

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!"

Her eyes instantly went dreamy. "Yukito-san! Good morning!" She stopped in front of him with a smile while Touya also stopped his bike. "Yo, Yuki."

"Good morning," he greeted. He bent down to Sakura's height. "Sakura-chan, today will be your last day here, right?" He frowned.

"Eh? How did you know?"

"Your brother told me," he answered with a small grin. "Alice Academy, was it? It's an interesting school, so I heard."

She nodded, although it was a little sad. "Yea…"

"But I guess I can't see you until you graduate from that school, huh?" He patted her head and genuinely smiled to her. "It'll be lonely without you here, but Sakura-chan will be fine no matter where she goes, right?"

Her face lighted up with pink and then she smiled back. "Yea! I will! Thank you, Yukito-san!" Touya smiles a bit in relief in the background. Then with that, the three went back on their road to school.

Once Sakura opened her classroom door, she greeted a few of her classmates and sat down in her seat with a smile. Then the homeroom teacher, Terada-sensei came in and the class chorused "good morning" to him. He nodded in response and then cleared his throat.

"I have an announcement to make today," he said. "Tomorrow," he glances sadly at Sakura's direction. "Your classmate, Kinomoto Sakura-san will be transferring."

In that instant, the whole class looked at her, with a few mutters and gasps. Sakura looked down, a bit embarrassed from the attention. Tomoyo glances at her worriedly. "Sakura-chan…"

"U-Um, Terada-sensei," Rika stood up, with a sad look. "Where is Sakura-chan transferring to?"

He frowned. "Alice Academy."

The gasps and mutters suddenly turned into the back of the room. Sakura dips her head down even lower. Syaoran opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out; so he sat back with a frown. Sensing Sakura's awkwardness, Terada quickly resumes class with a cough.

The rest of the day goes by slowly, but before Sakura even realized it, it was already the end of the day. Throughout the day she had been the most brightest she's ever been. Then she was approached by her friends-Chiharu, Rika and Naoko.

"Sakura-chan, do you have time?" Chiharu asks, with a soft smile. "We want to spend some time with you before you leave."

She broke out into a grin.

"Is that alright, Sakura-chan?" Rika asked. "Do you have any packing to do?"

She shook her head and hand. "No! It's absolutely fine! I did most of my packing done-I would love to!"

Naoko speaks up with enthusiasm. "Then let's get Tomoyo-chan too!"

"Yea!" they all chorused. Eventually, they found Tomoyo and headed to a café they liked to go to. They stayed there for about an hour, talking and reminiscing about each other. Then they went around the town going into shops and buying small gifts for Sakura as farewell gifts.

"When you leave, don't forget us, ok?" Chiharu wailed, comical waterfalls falling down her face.

Sakura giggled. "Of course I won't forget you guys!"

"Ah," Tomoyo spoke up, tapping her chin. "We haven't gone to Twin Bells yet, right?"

"Oh, that's right!" Naoko exclaimed. "We should tell Maki-san as well."

"That sounds good," Rika agreed. "Then let's go to Twin Bells."

And so the group headed to Twin Bells. As soon as they opened the door, the two little bells chimed, signaling customers coming in.

"Hello, Maki-san!" the girls greeted.

Maki, the store manager smiled at them. "Hello girls," she greeted back. "So what brings you lovely ladies here today?"

"We're going around the town today," Tomoyo explained. Then she said in a sad, low voice. "Because Sakura-chan is going away."

Maki's hands flew to her mouth with a small gasp. "Oh, dear," she says, seeing the girls' down faces. Trying to lighten up the mood, she cheerfully smiles at them. "Well then, please do enjoy your stay here! How about some tea? I also have some cookies. And as a special for Sakura-chan here," she bends down to her height. "I'll give you a freebie on whatever you want in this shop." She finishes it with a wink.

Sakura's face goes pink. She frantically waves her hand, "N-No! Maki-san doesn't have to do such a generous thing for me!"

She chuckled. "It's quite alright!" Then she beckoned everyone else with her hand. "Come on, everyone; let's have some tea!"

They all followed behind Maki, with gleeful "thank you's" chorusing. Sakura walked behind them slowly, with a grateful look. She mentally thanks Maki-san in her head and thinks of what kind of cookies she'll be treating them.

Then he halts.

She feels a cold presence. But what could it be? There was only her friends and Maki-san and one customer-

Tomoyo pokes her head of the back door where her friends went to. "Sakura-chan? What's wrong? Everyone is inside-"

Her eye catches a man standing in front of the stuffed animal shelf, holding a stuffed sheep. He was just fluffing the doll and checking it out like an ordinary customer would do. Then the sheep blinked.

The sheep blinked.

He made a ran for it.

Tomoyo inhales a sharp breath, ready to shout, but Sakura was quicker; she yells to Tomoyo, "Let me handle this!" and chases after the man. For a split second, she saw Sakura reach for her key before dashing out of the door. Maki comes out upon from hearing all the ruckus outside.

"Sakura-chan just now had something she forgot to do, so she left!" Tomoyo quickly lied. Maki blinked. "Eh? But she could've had some tea…"

"It'll be fine! She'll be back soon!"

Now, onto Sakura's side…

The man continues to run straight ahead. Knowing the streets of Tomoeda by heart, Sakura was confident that she will eventually catch him. So she quickly goes into an alleyway and releases her key. A bright light flashes once and then another flash for her FLY card. She flies high into the sky and flies hot on his tail. Her eyes scanned the ground, trying to pinpoint the suspicious man.

"There he is!" Sakura shouted, her eyes zooming in onto the man in black, running into a forest. She steered her wand down to the forest, where she meet with the man and question that ability of his-clearly, it was not a part of Clow's trials anymore.

As she landed down the mouth of the forest, she summoned the JUMP card and leaped right into the forest. She maneuvered her way through the thick trees, avoiding twigs and branches. The suspicious figure was finally in sight, and oddly enough, halted in place. Sakura, out of breath, stopped as well and sealed the JUMP card back.

The man chuckled. "Heheh…you're quite bold to follow me this far, Kinomoto Sakura."

"Who are you? Why do you know who I am?" Sakura demanded, gripping her wand tightly. She knew it was reckless of her to blindly follow a strange man who had used some odd magic, but she just could not ignore it. "What was that magic you used on that stuffed animal?"

"Magic?" the man sniggered. "Well, I suppose it is somewhat like magic…" He turned around to face her, revealing a mask covering his eyes, resembling a masquerade mask. His dark, maroon hair swayed in the wind as he smirked. "Consider this as our greeting to you, Miss Kinomoto Sakura…" His silhouette began to fade, and he completely disappeared within seconds.

Sakura stood there, wind breezing by her with a grave look. However, she was confused by what had happened.

"What did he mean…?"

After that short event, Sakura went back to Twin Bells, where her friends had been wondering where she had gone off to. She apologized with a slight laugh, and they soon started to talk about old memories with Sakura. While there were tearful and joyful memories, it had made Sakura slightly tear up, but she held strong. After it was over, everyone had said goodbyes to Sakura, hugging her in one big group.

"Make sure you send us a letter, Sakura-chan!" Chiharu pouted.

"I will!" Sakura bit her lip. "I will also never forget you guys!"

And then another big group hug ensued.

Later that night, Sakura plopped down to her bed and told Kero about the strange man.

"He mighta been someone from Alice Academy," Kero concluded. He gulped down a big scoop of pudding and relished it.

"He said to consider it as their greeting…" Sakura mumbled softly.

Kero looked at her oddly, a comical sweat down his face. "Uh, then thatsa' real strange greeting," he commented. "But anyways, are ya done packing, Sakura? Tomorrow's the big day, so ya better get some sleep."

Sakura nodded. "A-Ah, yea. I'm done packing." She looked at her full suitcase, and then to her room. She did not pack much besides her clothes and school supplies. She had mainly left the stuffed animals on her desk, so she can see them again once she gets out of the academy, as well as the many other furniture and decorations around her room.

"C'mon, get ta bed kid," Kero comforted, flying his towards his own bed.

"Good night, Kero-chan." And then Sakura closed out the lights, wishing tomorrow would never come.

The next morning came, and it was a very bright morning, as if to make Sakura happy. A limousine was parked outside of the Kinomoto household, along with a blonde, foreign man. Sakura, her family, Yukito, Tomoyo and Syaoran were with her to greet their goodbyes.

"Take care, Sakura-san," Fujitaka said quietly, with the kindest smile flashed. His eyes were somewhat glassy, but they never broke. "We will see you again." And then he gave her a tight hug. Sakura sniffed into his broad shoulders. "Mm. Thank you, Dad. I'll write a letter everyday. Good luck at your job, ok?" With a nod, Fujitaka had to quickly catch his bus for work.

Then Touya ruffled her hair with a playful smirk. "Make sure you grow up over there, you big monster." Sakura angrily stomped on his foot, which he animatedly cringed. "I'm not a monster, you big meanie! Onii-chan, you idiot!" Although they said that, Sakura knew that Touya was really upset at her leaving, which made her feel upset as well.

"Sakura-chan," Hearing her name, she turned around and met face-to-face with Yukito, who bent down to her height. Her face reddened with a poof of steam.

"Y-Yukito-san!"

"Take care over at the Academy. I'm sorry I cannot be there with you. My other side is worried about you, too. He said he will protect you if you are ever in danger."

"Other side…Yue-san?" Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Yukito-san, Yue-san! I'll do my best!"

Then the two left for school, as they had early morning practice for an upcoming basketball game.

"Sakura-chan," the blonde guy said sweetly. "It's almost time."

"A-Ah, please wait a few more moment, Na-Narumi-se-sensei," Sakura stammered. "I still want to talk to Tomoyo-chan and Syaoran-kun…" Sakura turned to them.

"Sakura-chan, here. Please take this as my last gift for you." Tomoyo handed her a rather large bag.

"Hoe? What is this, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked, peeking inside the bag.

"It's my latest costume for you, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo beamed. "You won't be able to wear the clothes I make for you anymore, so I wanted to make this one special! Please, wear it and tell me what you think!" She grabbed her hands enthusiastically, eyes shining. "Oh, and I also have cakes for Kero-chan as well."

"Ah…haha, thank you, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura giggled unsurely. Ah, it's the usual Tomoyo. "I'll definitely mail you as often as I can, Tomoyo-chan. You're my best friend." And they hugged tightly, slightly sniffing into each other's shoulders.

"Yes. I will definitely be waiting for them," Tomoyo replied sweetly. "And now, the last one is Li-kun," she giggled.

Syaoran turned red, and he robotically moved up to her. "G-Good lu-luck."

Sakura, moved, replied, "Thank you, Syaoran-kun. I also brought the teddy bear you made, if that's alright! It'll remind me of home." She blushed a bit on the last part.

"O-Oh, yea sure," he blushed. "It's yours after all-" He jumped when he suddenly felt Sakura came intimately close to him as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you, Syaoran-kun," she smiled and then she backed off. "Where is Eriol-kun?"

"Hiiragizawa-kun had morning chores to do today, but he told us to tell Sakura-chan to have fun," Tomoyo answered. "He said if anything happens, Kero-chan will be there and he will try his best to assist you as well."

Sakura felt relieved and grateful for all the support and care. "Eriol-kun…"

"I-I'll also be there fo-for you so…" Syaoran stammered out.

"Sakura-chan," Narumi called out softly. "I'm sorry. It's time."

Sakura felt her heart drop, but she smiled nonetheless. "Ok! I'll be there!" Cheerfulness was her best trait, and she didn't want anything to hinder that! "Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran-kun…I'll see you!" Waving her hand above her head, she jogged into the car and immediately, Sakura had departed from Tomoeda City.

Tomoyo had stopped waving when the car had disappeared in sight. Streams of tears fell down. "See you soon…Sakura-chan…I…" And she sobbed into her hands. Syaoran comforted her, patting her hair and letting her sob onto his chest.

I hope nothing will happen to you…Sakura…!

Back at Alice Academy, rumors of a new student flooded the school.

"Hey! You hear? There's a new student comin' here!"

"Eh?" Mikan perked up. "Really! Is it a girl? Or a boy? What kind of person are they like?"

Imai Hotaru punched her head with her infamous inventions. "Be quiet."

"Oww! Hotaruuuuu~" Mikan sobbed.

"Not sure!" said another student. "But they probably won't be as strong as Natsume-san, though, haha!"

Natsume did not look up from his manga, appearing disinterested from the rumors.

"Eeh! I don't want another one like Natsume!" Mikan whined.

The rest of the class began to chatter, discussing only of this new student.

"What kind of person do you think this person is, Natsume?" Ruka asked. He was rather curious about the matter as well.

"Dunno." Natsume shrugged. "Maybe they're another weirdo like Naru."

Back in the car…

"ACHOO!"

"N-Narumi-sensei, are you ok?" Sakura asked, surprised by the sudden outburst. Narumi sniffed as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Ah, I'm fine Sakura-chan. Maybe someone is talking about me, haha! Probably about my beauty," he swooned, posing to the audience.

A comical sweat drop fell over her head and she laughed lightly. Sitting in a long car ride made her think about many matters, such as why does the academy want her or about the man from yesterday. Although she was really upset for leaving her hometown, at the same time, she was excited about it. 'What kind of people will I meet there…?' She wondered. Eriol had told her that the school had fun events, which is not a bad thing at all! She was rather looking forward to attending Alice Academy, although it made her somewhat guilty to admit it.

Inside her bag, Kero was beating the bag to get some air. "K-Kero-chan!" She hastily whispered and pushed the bag down into the seat.

"Hm? Sakura-chan, is something the matter?" Narumi asked.

"N-Nothing! I-I was just getting something from my bag, that's all!" She laughed it off. Kero inside was still trying to beat his way for air.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, for this sudden transfer," said Narumi suddenly. He smile apologetically. "I know this must be hard for you. But Alice Academy has fun events, and we have cute uniforms too. Incidentally, what is the name of your Alice, Sakura-chan?"

"H-Hoe?" Sakura jumped. "M-My Alice…?"

He nodded.

"Hoe…well, um…" Sakura looked at Kero for help. "Kero-chan…what should I say…?" she said really lowly against her teeth.

Kero stuck his head out, but not high enough for Narumi to see. "Tell him you can summon spirits!" he whispered aloud to her.

Sakura fumbled with her words as she tried to repeat them. "U-Um, I-I can summon sp-spirits that c-comes out of-of cards!"

Narumi's eyes widened a bit, however he tried to remain calm. "Hmm, I see!" he answered cheerfully. "That's a very interesting Alice!" And both of them laughed, trying to hide their awkwardness. "Ah, look Sakura-chan."

Sakura looked out the window, and they were in front of a very grand building, protected by tall gates. The nameplate on the side read aloud in large kanji: ALICE ACADEMY.

She could literally hear her breath taken away.

"Here we are at Alice Academy!"

I think Sakura would always stay really optimistic and cheerful, no matter how glum the situation is.

EDIT: Made some minor changes to this chapter! They're nothing big, so don't worry!