~ By Kirei Blossom
~*~*~*~
Sakura picked a berry from one of the trees and popped it in her mouth, savoring the sweet-sour taste.
It was early morning and she hadn't been able to sleep anymore. So without waking anyone, Sakura had quietly slipped out of the Daidouji mansion. Then seeing the nearby forest that bordered the area, she had decided to explore it.
Sakura bent down to closely look at a tiny flower growing at the base of a tree. "Morning feels like such a peaceful time here." She said softly to herself, feeling the freshness of the early morning and watching the delicate dewdrops on the petals. A few birds were singing up in the trees and the morning breeze felt cool against her skin. "It makes me feel as though I've also just opened up my petals like this flower to feel the fresh morning." She got up and resumed walking through the trees on a slightly visible path that had been carpeted by a few flower petals. Sakura hummed quietly to herself.
"I hope I haven't come too far out." she said after a while. The forest had seemed to be going out in an arc around the entire area, and Sakura had tried to stay close to the edge so that she wouldn't get lost. She emerged out of the trees and looked out at the grassy region in front of her. Sakura inhaled the cool air and looked up at the mountaintops she could see faraway. "I wonder what it's like up there. I would like to go there sometime."
Just then a cool gust of spring wind blew towards her, lifting up her hair a bit. Sakura laughed, cheerfully. Then, closing her eyes she ran out through the grass towards the trees on the other side, feeling the firm ground beneath her feet and the sweet smelling trees nearby. "Its such nice weather. It makes me want to fly up like a bird!" She said, as she ran on and on, imagining that she had turned into a bird and was soaring through the clouds…
"Hey, watch out!" a voice cried, interrupting her daydream. Too late. Sakura crashed headfirst into something, making her stop in her tracks.
Sakura opened her eyes and blinked a few times, confused. Then she looked down. She had crashed right into someone at the edge of the forest and the person had been thrown back on the ground.
"HOOOEEEE!!!!" Sakura gasped. "Li-sama!! I'm so sorry."
Syaoran got up from the ground, painfully rubbing the bump on his head. Then he noticed Sakura. "You again!"
"A-are you okay, Li-sama?" Sakura asked nervously.
"Why do you always keep bumping into me? Do you have anything against me?? Are you out to kill me or something?!"
"No, it was an accident! Seriously, I wasn't watching where I was going."
Syaoran glared down at her and crossed his arms. "I'd say. Maybe if you had your eyes open you would watch where you're going. What's with running around with your eyes closed?"
"Oh..that. I was just enjoying running. Ne, Li-sama.. don't you enjoy running?"
"No." he said simply. "It's just a faster way of getting where you want to go. What's there to enjoy?"
Sakura smiled, her face radiating cheerfulness. "But running is so wonderful. Just now I was thinking that I was a bird floating through the clouds, feeling the wind blow at me. It made me feel all hanyaan inside. With running, you can forget all your problems for a while and just run without thinking or worrying about anything. One can leave all their other thoughts behind them as they keep running forward and think of nothing else but the rushing feeling of the wind and the feel of the ground beneath them. When your foot hits the ground it feels so nice. As though the whole world is trying to tell you something. You can say that it's only a faster way of getting where you want to go, but I think that running means so much more. And walking too, come to think of it."
Syaoran stared at her. "…You are a strange girl."
"Hoeee." Sakura sweatdropped. "Li-sama, what were you doing out here so early in the morning?"
"Practicing martial arts." He replied bluntly.
"Is that so..?" Then Sakura noticed something. Her face exploded with delight and she jumped closer. "Sugoi!!"
Syaoran blinked. "What?"
"Li-sama, you have a sword!"
"Y-yes…"
"Can I see it? Onegai? I've never actually seen one up close before."
Syaoran scowled. "No. If I give you my sword, who knows what will happen. You might get a crazy idea of slicing off my head with it."
Sakura gasped. "No, no. I wouldn't do such a thing. I don't even know how to use it. Can I please see it?"
"………"
Sakura frowned. "I've never seen one before. I just want to look at it. You don't have to give it to me. Please Li-sama, I will be very grateful."
Syaoran sighed. "Fine."
He grasped the hilt and pulled out the gleaming sword from its sheath. He held it horizontally for her to look at. "There, now you've seen one, so—"
"Wow, it's so shiny!" Sakura reached one hand to touch the cold metal.
"Oi! Stop!" The warning was too late. Sakura placed her hand on the sword, right at the razor-sharp blade which pressed into her soft palm. Sakura winced in pain.
"Now look what you've done!" Syaoran scolded sternly. He put the sword back and taking Sakura's hand, he looked at the wound. Blood trickled from her palm. "Who told you to go and touch the blade? Are you stupid or something?" he took out his handkerchief and wiped away the blood.
"Ah.. I only—"
"Sakura-chan!"
Sakura turned around to see Kotomo Shinzo running towards her. "Hoe? Shinzo-kun… what are you doing here?"
"I saw you leave Daidouji's place a few minutes ago. So I decided to come out and talk to you. Are you okay? You didn't hurt yourself did you?"
Sakura shook her head. "No, this is nothing. I'm okay."
The black haired boy sighed. "That's good. Sakura-chan, you are so pretty. It would be such a shame if you had hurt yourself. Do you want me to walk you back home? Come on.. we can go through the forest again and I could show you some of the beautiful and rare birds there. Of course, nothing can compare to you Sakura-chan. So, shall we go?"
"Kotomo, you fool. Her hand is still bleeding." Syaoran said calmly.
"It is?" he looked at Sakura's hand. "Oh dear, Sakura-chan your hand is still bleeding! Oh, Li-sama we'll need some kind of cloth or bandage for this." Shinzo plucked the handkerchief away from Syaoran's hand. "This should do." He bound the handkerchief around Sakura's hand.
Sakura looked at the bandage. "Ano…Shinzo-kun…"
"What? Is it too tight?"
"No.. but I've cut my other hand, not that one."
Sighing exasperatedly, Syaoran untied the handkerchief, wiped away the extra blood that had leaked out and tightly tied it around the wound. "You are so careless! Running with your eyes closed, cutting your hand on swords. What next? Are you going to jump off a cliff or drown in the ocean?"
Sakura's eyes softened at being reprimanded. "No I won't. There are no cliffs here and I already know how to swim." She replied in a hurt voice.
"Li-sama, don't be so mean to Sakura-chan!" Shinzo cried as Syaoran was walking away.
"Learn how to tie a bandage where the wound is, Kotomo." Syaoran coolly replied back.
"Li-sama, thank you for showing me the sword! And I'm sorry for bothering you~" Sakura called after him.
~*~*~*~
That afternoon…..
"Mou.. there is nothing much to do today. Come on, let's all of us go shopping!" Meiling proposed. She, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Sakura and Shinzo were all lounging around the castle patio.
"Shopping sounds like fun. I need to buy a few new supplies for the dresses I'm making for Sakura-chan." Tomoyo stated.
"Yeah, let's go shopping!" Shinzo grinned. "I'm going to show Sakura-chan the entire town and all the shops. If you feel like buying anything Sakura-chan, anything at all, just tell me and I'll get it for you. Okay? Sigh.. what I won't do for Sakura-chan."
Sakura looked at him, puzzled.
"Shinzo, you're such a big flirt!" Meiling yelled at him. Then she turned to Syaoran who hadn't been paying the slightest attention to them. "Syaoran, are you going to be stuck with that thick book all day again? You're coming with us." She stated in a threatening voice.
"I don't want to go anywhere. Leave me alone." Syaoran stated firmly.
"Li Syaoran, you are coming with us."
"I said I don't want to go."
"Li-sama, please come with us. It's going to be fun." Sakura smiled at him.
Meiling laughed. "See, Syaoran? How can you not come if someone is asking you so nicely? Come on." Saying this, she, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Shinzo got up and walked away. Syaoran didn't move an inch. A few seconds later Meiling returned and grabbing Syaoran's arm she dragged him off with them.
"WAH!! Let go of me, Meiling!!" he struggled, trying to get free of Meiling's grasp. "What do you need me for while shopping?!?"
"Baka Syaoran." Meiling had an evil look on her face. "Who do you think's going to pay?"
~*~*~*~
Sakura hugged her knees to her chest and looked at the setting sun. She sighed, listening to the waves crashing against the beach. "Time seems to be going really fast, Tomoyo-chan."
Tomoyo nodded beside her. "Yes. I can't believe your fourth day has ended so soon. But you've done many fun things in this time."
"Yeah, you're right. Going shopping, spending all that time with Meiling-chan and Rika-chan and learning all kinds of new things. Did you know? Yesterday, Rika-chan taught me how to make a cake. I kind of messed it up though, haha. I got it right the second time. Rika-chan's mother was pleased. And now we're having this beach party here…" Sakura hung her head, her smile fading away. "But before I know it, it will be time to go back."
Tomoyo's eyes softened sadly. "Cheer up, Sakura-chan. You still have many days left to spend here."
Together, Tomoyo and Sakura looked out at the ocean. The deep orange-red glimmering sun was slowly beginning to set, making patterns in the sky and turning the clear ocean water to an orange tint. A wistful smile spread on Sakura's lips. She wondered what her family must be doing right now… Onii-chan and Otou-san must be at home right now, getting dinner ready.
"What is the ocean like, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked pleasantly, accurately guessing that look on Sakura's face.
"It's a nice place. You know, full of water of course. It's very beautiful, filled with all kinds of pretty fishes and other marine life and plants. I'm probably not a very good person to ask about its splendors, since I never could really feel attached to it. But if you ever ask Eriol-kun about it, he would list a whole number of things that are great about the ocean." Sakura giggled as a few past memories filled her mind.
"And your friends and family? What are they like?"
"My Otou-san and Onii-chan are the only ones in my family besides me. My Okaa-san died when I was three, so I don't really remember her. But Onii-chan tells me that she was very beautiful. You know Tomoyo-chan, ever since I saw your video camera, I've wondered… what if we had had one of those. Otou-san would have taken pictures of my mother and then he probably would've put them around the house for us to look at. That way, I might have been able to see what my Okaa-san looked like. But it's okay. My father and brother really love me so I don't miss my mother that much."
Sakura continued, "My Onii-chan is very mean. He loves me a lot, but he still teases me nonstop and picks on me for almost everything. I would have a fight with him everyday. And my friends.. Eriol-kun has been a very good friend to me. He always understands me and somehow, I think he knows more than he lets on. If it weren't for him, I probably would never have had the heart to ask for what I did on my birthday. Besides Eriol-kun, my other friends are Chiharu-chan, Yamazaki-kun and Naoko-chan. They're all very nice. Still, with all that, I always felt sad.. and I never understood why. I feel like that weight has been removed from my heart now. It's a little weird.."
"I'm happy that you are happy now, Sakura-chan. The ocean sounds like a very nice place.." she looked at the ocean stretching on and on out of their view. "It's a very free place. Without any boundaries or limitations…"
"Do you know how to swim, Tomoyo-chan?"
"No. But come now, Sakura-chan. We are at a beach party. Everyone is having fun!" They looked around at Meiling and Rika who were playing volleyball. Shinzo and Syaoran were standing some distance away, having an argument about something. Tomoyo jumped up and continued, "I brought my video camera with me. And the bathing suit I made for you must not go to waste. I just have to film "Sakura-chan's spectacular dive"! Oh ho ho ho! The camera is ready Sakura-chan!"
Sakura sweatdropped. "But Tomoyo-chan, there isn't any place to make a 'spectacular dive' from.." Hopefully, she would be able to get out of being videotaped now…
"Why not try that big rock over there? It extends quite far out so that if you walk to its end, you should be able to make a good dive."
Tears streamed down Sakura's face. Hauu… Slowly, she waded into the water till the water reached above her waist and she climbed the rock and cautiously walked across the warm boulder. Carefully, she poised herself at the tip and looked back at Tomoyo. "Go on, Sakura-chan…"
Sakura took a deep breath and raising her arms above her head, she dived straight into the cold, chilling water. For a second, her body sunk down into the ocean and automatically, was pushed back up to the surface. Sakura shivered a bit from the icy water. Then, she moved her legs in the same manner that she would have used her fins to stay afloat… but instead, it didn't give the same result and she plunked back into the water. A nervous chill ran down her spine. What was happening? Horrified, Sakura opened her mouth and water filled into her lungs. Sakura once again, managed to reach the surface. She coughed and sputtered and wildly splashed her arms and legs around. "KYAAAAA!!!!! Help me!!!!"
From the shore, Tomoyo removed the video camera in horror. "SAKURA-CHAN!!!" she screamed, running up. She halted as her foot touched water. She couldn't swim…
"Sakura-chan!! Hold on!" Tomoyo cried.
Shinzo came running up from Tomoyo's anguished yells. "What's wrong?!"
"Kotomo-kun, Sakura-chan is drowning. Please help her!"
"Me?" Shinzo looked towards Sakura in surprise. "But… but.. my clothes are going to get wet! I just bought these yesterday!"
"Help me!!" Sakura swallowed some more ocean water again and was clearly struggling with the ocean that was trying to pull her down.
"Kotomo-kun, please!" Tomoyo pleaded.
"I…."
Just then, a figure ran past them and without the slightest bit of hesitation, dived straight into the water, swimming with powerful strokes directly towards Sakura. At the same time Sakura lost control and plunged into the ocean once more, the water closing over her head. Syaoran reached her in time, grabbed one of her outstreched hands and pulled a bubbling and sputtering Sakura up. Sakura gasped for breath and dizzily leaned against him, trembling. Steadily, Syaoran held her with one hand and with the other swam back to shore.
"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?!" Tomoyo rushed up and helped Syaoran pull Sakura out of the water. Sakura collapsed to the ground on her knees, gasping for breath and couging occasionally. Water dripped from her hair and she was completely soaked. She started shivering uncontrollably.
Tomoyo brought a towel and wrapped it around Sakura's shoulders. "Sakura-chan… are you okay?"
Sakura nodded. "A-arigatou, Li-sama."
"You!" Syaoran wiped his face with his sleeve. "You did go and drown yourself in the ocean! I thought you said you knew how to swim—"
"I…did—" her voice trembled. With fearful green eyes, Sakura looked at Tomoyo. Tomoyo's eyes softened with understanding.
Syaoran glared down at Sakura. "Stupid girl! If you did know how to swim you wouldn't have been drowning out there! Do you have some kind of death wish? Is that it? Because if you like showing off so much— Uh.."
Syaoran stopped himself when he noticed a large tear rolling down Sakura's cheek.
Tomoyo put a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Sakura-chan, please don't cry. It wasn't your fault.." She faced Syaoran. "Please, Li-sama, please understand. Sakura-chan isn't to blame..."
"She should be more careful next time. She could have died." Syaoran stated before walking away.
Sakura wiped her tears away with her hand. Then she sneezed.
"Sakura-chan, you'll catch a cold if you stay in your wet clothes for long. We should go home and get you changed."
~*~*~*~
"It hurts so much, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura said later. "To think, all my life I've been swimming in the ocean. And right now, that same thing almost killed me. Something I had always taken for granted nearly cost me my life. It hurts when I think of this. Why couldn't I swim?"
"It's alright Sakura-chan." Tomoyo handed her a mug of hot chocolate. "It's because the way you are used to swimming and the way humans swim is different. I should have remembered that. You can learn how to swim like humans do, and then it won't matter at all. So don't worry about it."
"Okay.." Sakura smiled weakly and sipped the hot liquid. It warmed up her body. "I'm glad that Li-sama saved me. He must think that I'm such a big nuisance. I hope he doesn't hate me too much."
Tomoyo smiled. "Oh ho ho.. how can anybody hate dear Sakura-chan?"
~*~*~*~
Next day…
Meiling, Sakura and Shinzo were playing with Meiling's puppy in one of the vast lawns of the castle. Tomoyo was sitting on a bench under a tree, working on a new outfit for Sakura.
Sakura laughed as the puppy tackled her to the ground and licked her face. "Puppy-san, stop it!" she laughed. "That tickles!"
"Shoo, you thing!" Shinzo laughed beside her, gently kicking the puppy away. "Don't bother Sakura-chan!"
Sakura got to her feet and dusted her clothes. "Meiling-chan, this puppy is your's right?"
Meiling nodded. "Right. I got it for my birthday a year ago."
"What is it's name?"
"Neko."
Sakura's eyes widened. "NANI?! What kind of a name is that for a dog?"
"I named him that." Meiling giggled, petting the puppy. "Because I couldn't think of a better name. It kind of suits him, don't you think?"
"Hoeee.. no." Sakura cried, running around chasing the puppy again. "But it's a cute name for puppy-san anyway. I mean Neko-chan."
"Sakura-chan, don't try to tire yourself out now!" Shinzo called.
"Shinzo, you are such a jerk!" Meiling stated, sticking out her tongue at Shinzo. "And a very big flirt too!"
"Hey, it's not my fault I think Sakura-chan is cute!" Shinzo laughed.
"Hmphf, why can't you see any other incredibly cute things nearby?" she muttered.
"What was that?"
"Ho Ho Ho! Nothing!"
Sakura stopped, out of breath and watched puppy-san, no.. Neko-chan scamper away. She slowly walked back to her friends and together they joined Tomoyo at the benches.
"Sakura-chan, you're going to love this newest outfit I'm working on!" Tomoyo held up a pretty red blouse with a white sailor collar that had two blue stripes on it. The skirt was of blue-gray denim. "I still need to finish the hat though. Do you like it?"
Sakura nodded. "Of course! It looks so pretty! Tomoyo-chan, you are amazing!"
"Oh ho ho.. thank you."
"Wow! Sakura-chan is going to look even more cuter with that outfit on, Daidouji-san!" Shinzo looked dreamily up at the sky.
"Hoe?" Sakura looked side to side. "Why isn't Li-sama here?"
Meiling stretched her arms above her head. "Well, obviously Syaoran isn't anywhere where there is fun stuff going on. And even if he is, he is such a grouchy spoilsport. For some reason, he has always hated doing anything fun."
"There he is!" Sakura pointed at the castle patio. "I'll go ask him to come join us."
"Hey, wait.. Sakura-chan! It won't be any good!" Meiling called after her.
"Li-sama!!!" Sakura ran up to him.
Syaoran looked up from his book. "Eh?"
Sakura smiled at him. "Ah, I just remembered! I never really got to properly thank you."
Syaoran looked at her, puzzled. "Thank me?"
"For saving me yesterday. If it weren't for you I would've drowned for sure. I'm sorry for making everyone worry." Sakura twiddled her thumbs, embarassed. "I know it was my fault for trying to swim when I didn't know how to. I've been very careless lately. I promise I'll try not to do any more reckless things or bother you anymore. But still, thank you very much for saving my life." She bowed in gratefulness.
Syaoran stared for a second and then looked away. "It was nothing."
"Ano, Li-sama, why are you sitting here all by yourself? Everyone else is out there and we were just going to play volleyball. Do you want to come and play with us?"
"No.."
"But, Li-sama—"
"I said I don't want to play."
With a forlorn look on her face, Sakura said, "Li-sama, you're always sitting here all alone and never come join us in anything we do. Don't you get lonely like this?"
"………" Syaoran went back to reading his book, completely ignoring Sakura.
Sakura tried to strike up some conversation. "What are you reading?"
"That doesn't concern you."
"I see…" Dejectedly, Sakura turned around ready to head back to her friends. However, Meiling's earlier words came back to her. 'For some reason, he has always hated doing anything fun ' From her own earlier encounters with Li-sama, Sakura had constantly noted that he wanted everyone to stay away from him, to leave him alone.
Slowly, Sakura turned around. "But Li-sama, if you always stay separate from everyone like this and never want to do anything fun, how will you be able to enjoy life?"
Syaoran sighed. "What are you talking about now?"
"You never do anything except stay alone. You never socialize with anyone or have fun just like everyone else does. Why?" Then Sakura noticed that she was asking highly awkward and intruding questions. "Ah! Gomen nasai! I didn't mean to say all that. I just—"
Syaoran closed his book and stood up. "You don't understand! I have many responsibilities and people expect a lot from me." He looked straight at her with fierce amber eyes. "I am different than you!"
Sakura watched him heading back inside. "You might be different than me, Li-sama.. But still, you are the same age as I am and everyone deserves to enjoy life." Something that she had recently learned from experience stirred in her heart. "Li-sama…"
Syaoran stopped and turned around. "What now?"
"I…" She bowed her head. "I know what it means to have certain responsibilities, and what it feels like when people expect something from you." Back in Mizueda, everyone expected me to live as a mermaid, not be able to go see what lay above the surface of water. But if I hadn't done what I did on my birthday… I wouldn't be happy like I am right now. I would have missed out on so many things. Not knowing what I am missing out on… that is something that hurts.
"But then I think that it is my own life. I am free to take charge of it and enjoy it to the fullest. It is my decision to do what makes me happy. Everyone has responsibilities, but one of their biggest responsibilities is to see whether what they are doing with their life makes them happy or not. Life is full of so many wonderful things. It would be a pity if someone doesn't enjoy them. One should be able to cherish every single thing, every single moment of it. Especially the small things in life. Because those small, everyday things are the ones that count for happy memories and treasures for the future. Life is all about appreciating it and enjoying it." Sakura looked up, with a smile as radiant as the sun. "And nobody should miss out on it."
Just then Sakura jumped. "HOEEE!!!!! I didn't mean to say all those things to you, Li-sama. I am very sorry. I bother you too much. Please forgive me." Tears streamed down Sakura's face.
Syaoran gazed at her silently for a while. "You are a very strange girl.." He finally said. Then he turned around and went inside.
"Hoe??" Sakura tilted her head.
"Sakura-chan!!" Shinzo waved from the lawn. "Come on already! We are about to start the volleyball game!"
"Hai!" Sakura raced down to where Meiling, Shinzo and Tomoyo were waiting. "Shinzo-kun! You will have to teach me how to play volleyball first though!" A bright smile was on her face and her golden brown hair billowed back in the wind.
Unknown to her, Syaoran watched her silently from a window.
~*~-----To Be Continued-----~*~
All Readers shout and yell: Slow down! You are going way too fast with the story!
Kirei-chan: +_+ Hauuu….
I think this story is so weird.. Why am I going too fast with the story? Because I suck at writing and doing details -.-'' Gomen ne. I'll try to work better at the story next time.
As always, please review and tell me what you think. Is the pace too fast? Are there less details? Boring stupid cliché plotline? @_@;;
*cough* I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. There's a scene in there that I've been wanting to write ever since I started this story. ^_~ So stay tuned…
And onegai, review before you leave! ^_^