Ohayo minna-san! Here's the third chapter of Thank You, and by the way i would like to thank my awesome beta-reader moonstone-91! Please R&R:)
Thank you
Chapter 3
By: rendezvous159
Xander emerged from the stairs with a silly grin on his face. For some reason, he couldn't help but smile at everyone who looked his way. He directly went to the entrance of the bookstore and there waited a man with messy chestnut who approached him. A second longer a husky voice called out his name and ran in his direction.
"Found anything you like?" he asked which in turn Xander shook his head and with that they left.
It was a crisp refreshing night in the serene city of Tokyo. Comfortable wind blew through the usually booming town of Tomoeda, causing shop signs to swing back and forth swiftly with a small squeak. The stars glimmered like thousands of tiny, scattered diamonds, a rarity which brought flocks of tourists there. Tomoeda, in all actuality, was rumoured to be the place closest to the heavens.
"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight…"
On the compounds of the wall sat a young woman of no more than 25, staring up the sky with a child's curiosity. Her large emerald eyes had a certain glitter, which matched the intensity of the stars above perfectly, and enough spark to light the way of a lost traveler. But in a way, that statement was proved to be ironic. Gathering her legs against her chest, she allowed the floral fragrance of night to intoxicate her. Deep within her heart, she was searching for someone who could bring back the natural happiness of her eyes. Deep within her heart she longed to stare back at those amber orbs…those orbs that held the answer to all her troubles. 'Sakura no baka! No matter what you do it's your entire fault… You ran away from everything' a voice inside her head screamed as she reopened her eyes to regain sight from the stars above. Tears began to form underneath her eyelids as a small vision of the past played through the theater of her mind.
It was a long time since she thought of that person. The person who would laugh with her and share painful experiences with her, she missed that person. The person outside her family who truly cared for her. When she ran away from home, a few years ago, she knew that she left a very important part in her heart. Without this, she knew that she couldn't love another man completely the way someone deserved to be loved.
She not only missed him but also them. Her father's reassuring voice, his supportive smile and all of his advice. She missed Touya's constant teasing, and also his over protectiveness. At least whenever she was with Touya she knew that she was safe and nothing could harm her. She pined for Tomoyo's constant nagging to be her model and her sweet angelic voice and of course she missed Eriol's sense of humor and his brotherly like affection. She missed all of this, however she knew that when she left home, she would have to forget everything. All the happy moments, the sad one's, all her painful experiences, she had to erase them all. Thinking all these things made Sakura's chest ache. 'This feeling' she thought while she clenched her chest…'I hate it!' and with that she surrendered to the sweet calling of sleep.
Day light quickly came with the rising of the sun that illuminated the whole world. The flowers opened up and welcomed the new day. The streets of Tokyo were immediately filled with students chatting with each other or adults minding their own business. Amidst the busy crowd, there stood a man looking at the picture in his hand.
"Where are you? I've been looking for the past ten years but then I'm starting to lose hope. Xander came into my life and I was blessed but I never thought that you would be gone in exchange for him" he whispered as he continued to stare at those emerald eyes "I've been wishing for the past years that you will come back, but then again…why did you have to run away when we knew that we were going to be married to each other? Why Sakura? Why?" his passionate voice was now mixed with anger as he thought of this. A knock interrupted him and there emerged a young boy with the same chestnut hair. He bent down and opened his arms as the boy approached him.
"Dad…will you let me learn how to play the piano?" he inquired.
"Well of course, but I have to find you a private teacher and-"
"NO!" Xander reacted "I mean, when I was in the bookstore, I went up to the second floor and found a music studio. A very beautiful woman came up to me and then she taught me the basics and… and I want her to be my teacher!" he almost squealed.
Syaoran laughed at Xander and picked him up "Well, for me its okay but we have to have your mother's consent."
"Aaah! Do we have to? And why are you laughing?" he pouted.
"Because you never like any woman, even your own mother well, except of course your aunt Tomoyo and suddenly out of nowhere you come here and say that you saw a beautiful woman? May I ask what she looks like?"
Xander nudged Syaoran to put him down and he kindly did. Xander sat on the chair of the library and started swinging his legs. "Well, to start, she has pink soft lips, her body frame looks so fragile that with a single touch you're afraid that it might break. She has a shoulder-length auburn hair and…"
"Wait! Did you say auburn hair?" Syaoran interrupted.
"Mm!" the little boy nodded "she has shoulder-length auburn hair, she always faced me with a smile that made her eyes twinkle like the crystal clear water. The most alluring part is her…"
"Emerald eyes" Syaoran murmured.
"Yes! How did you know?!" Xander's face shot up in surprise.
"It's because-" but then he was cut off with the familiar ringing of his phone.
"Moshi-moshi? Mm! Hai! Expect me there in ten minutes! Ja ne!" and with that he flipped his phone and looked at the confused boy beside him "I'm sorry Xander, they need me in the hospital" he said in disappointment as he ruffled his son's hair and left the room.
…Meanwhile…
The auburn haired beauty smiled at everyone who entered the studio. Wearing only a sweatshirt and jogging pants, she tied her hair up and proceeded at the middle of the room. Kinimoto Sakura, not only worked in the music studio but she also taught ballroom in her free time. She was very lucky to have studied ballroom at such an early age and she never thought that this would save her from her current state.
The students all set their eyes on her as she talked and moved gracefully around the dance floor. The studio was a bit old, some parts of the floor squeaked as you stepped on them. However, even if the room was ancient, it was filled with cheery people of every shape and size. When you entered the room, you could see a mirror wedged on your right side. Beside it there were two audio speakers and a CD player. In the very back of the room there sat a piano which they seldom used.
"Okay class, today we will be studying the swing. The history of swing dates back to the 1920's when the black community, while dancing to contemporary Jazz music, discovered the Charleston and the Lindy Hop. So now you know that the swing evolved from Jazz. Since your Kuchiki-sensei taught you the basics of jazz, I think it'll be easy for you to pick up the steps. Now listen to the beat and later on I will be teaching you the basic steps of the swing," she said as she approached the CD player and inserted the CD. After a few seconds, the music boomed through the room and the students started tapping their feet while listening to the beat.
The students were either busy chatting to each other or sharing some ideas of a possible step that they could contribute. Some even got up and started dancing to the beat. The sound of the fast beat music was accompanied by the continuous laughter of the students but little did they know that a certain emerald eyed girl was sweating incessantly. She clenched her chest as if trying to stop the pain but it was of no use. She turned and saw the joyful students laughing at their childish antics and that alone brought smile to her face amidst the pain she was going through. She hastily grabbed the water sitting beside the player and drank almost half of it hoping that the pain would subside but the beating of her heart just pounded even harder. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, she couldn't feel anything except her tugging chest and no sooner than that she blacked out.
"Where's the patient?" a flushed looking Syaoran entered the hospital and was immediately surrounded by four nurses and two doctors.
"She's sleeping now…we've analyzed her illness and I propose that we operate on her," a man almost in his forties with jet black hair suggested.
"I agree with Dr. Shiro. If we operate on her now the success rate will boost up," another doctor that went by the name of Tousaka with blonde hair and blue-green eyes said as they neared the patient's room.
"Let me first examine the condition of the patient and later I'll call you on a meeting" Syaoran professionally said as he grabbed the patient's profile from Dr. Tousaka and shut the door.
He opened the folder and studied the patient's state. The patient had a left ventricular hypertrophy ( refers to the thickening of the heart muscle's main pumping chamber (left ventricle).) He flipped the first page and saw the patient's records. He turned around and saw the woman lying with an oxygen mask around her face.
"Hi Fukunaga Sakurako" he whispered as he stood beside her and started getting her pulse beat. Little did he know that there's a great disturbance taking place at the lobby of the hospital.