Hi everyone! Thank you for reading, I really DO appreciate it. ^_^ So here's the next chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it. The story is finally starting to get somewhere, I'm glad to say. -_-; I hope that the next chapter will be far more interesting than this one. Okay, this chapter is sort of developing the storyline, so pretty please bare with me? ^.^; Arigato! ^_~
Chapter 4: Blue Light

Sakura pinpricked a microscopic hole into the thin sphere and strung a tiny golden thread through it and laced it around her neck. She stared at herself in the mirror, a hand held to the precious treasure. It began to illuminate her skin with an aquamarine blue and her green eyes flashed a deep cerulean. There was something magical about it, she thought as she stared at it for a long time. She promised herself that it would never leave her neck.

*

The weather was growing warmer and the teachers recommended that they started taking swimming lessons before summer came. The school's private indoor pool was just finished with its repairs after a leak had emptied the entire pool. It had taken a month at least to find the crack in the tiled bottom that stretched the length of an Olympic pool. Now it had been newly polished, refilled, and equipped with a eight-meter high diving board with three separate boards for different experience levels.

Eriol heaved a sigh as instructed Syaoran him to put on a pair of bottle- blue board shorts. They were currently in the changing rooms, getting ready for their first swimming lesson. Syaoran had dragged Eriol from his seat in the classroom. His potent substitute cousin shook his head furiously.

'I'm not going swimming!' Eriol stammered. 'D-Do you have any idea how undignified it is to wear such lowly bathers!'

Syaoran stared skeptically at Eriol. He felt bold enough to hold them up to him. Syaoran nodded his head thoughtfully. 'Well, at least they're not Speedos. I know you wouldn't look good in them.'

Eriol slapped a hand to his face and pulled it down roughly, damaging his glasses and making his eyes droop, making his face look distorted. Syaoran chuckled lightly and clapped Eriol on the back, which sent him careening face first into the ground.

'This boy has far too much strength for his own good,' Eriol moaned, watching from the floor as Syaoran flexed an arm in front of the mirror. He sighed, 'Surely no real cousin of mine would be so pompous.'

In the end, Eriol dressed in the shorts. With crisp black towels tossed over their right shoulders, they proceeded out into the swimming room where the boys were lined up on one side of the pool, the girls on the other. Syaoran's face cracked into a goofy smile when he saw the line of attractive girls wearing revealing two-pieces. Their swimming instructor was a lanky thirty year old woman who's nostrils flared like a horse's. She gave each girl a disapproving look and glared at any boys that were out of line.

'First up, we will be testing your diving abilities. First we will start with the lower level, and work our way up. Go up in an orderly fashion of girl, and then boy.' She blew her silver whistle and the first girl in the line stepped up onto the ladder and climbed. She walked out onto the long, hard plank and hesitated. She stared over the edge and sank back.

'Come now, no need to be afraid,' the instructor called.

Syaoran nudged Eriol in the rib, 'She's pretty hot, don't you think?'

Eriol didn't know; he couldn't see without his glasses. He had left them in the changing room because you couldn't wear glasses in the water.

The girl closed her eyes and gave a clumsy leap, splashing messily into the pool below. The girls and several of the boys applauded. The first boy climbed up and did a large explosive bomb, that splashed over the girls and made them screech. He had done it deliberately. And so it went on like this for another ten minutes. Syaoran was growing bored and yawned loudly. He randomly gazed around the place until his eyes wandered up to the girl that stood on the lowest level diving board.

She wore a one-piece black leotard that hugged her slender frame and revealed her back. She walked out onto the board with precise stepping and her arms placed neatly by her sides. She stopped a foot from the end and turned her head to see Syaoran staring intently up at her.

*

Sakura's insides seemed to have disappeared. It was the first time Syaoran's eyes had ever gazed directly at her. It was as if she had suddenly become an object of existence. She raised a hand shakily to her chest and clutched the sphere. A faint azure light flashed within her palm. She withdrew her hand and stretched her arms, took a deep breath and shut her eyes.

*

Syaoran was engrossed in her calming exercises as she steadied herself for a dive. He nudged Eriol again. 'Who is that girl? I don't think I've seen her before.'

Eriol looked absolutely exasperated. 'That's Sakura! My best friend! I haven't been able to talk to her for weeks because of you-'

Syaoran nudged him again and silenced him. Eriol clutched his side and groaned. The girl held her arms out in front of her, lowered her head so her forehead faced the pool below. She took one more deep breath and sprang forward.

As if in slow motion, she performed a perfect tuck role, a full-bodied twist and swooped gracefully into the water, barely making a splash.

*

Sakura's head rose from the surface slowly. She exhaled softly and wiped back the damp hair that had fallen over her eyes. She heard the jealous and spiteful chatter from most of the girls that had already dived and the cheers and applauds from most of the class. She skimmed the various faces of her classmates until she saw Eriol, slightly smiling, and then at Syaoran who stared at her with a piercing gaze.

Deciding to not let it appear that it had fazed her, Sakura swam to the side and climbed out, wringed her hair and walked to the back of the line, turning to face away from the boy's line.

Syaoran stood on his toes, peering over the row of heads and staring at the back of her head. 'So you know her?' he asked distractedly.

Eriol gave him a withering look.

Sakura felt the need to turn around, she caught a quick glimpse of Syaoran staring at her back. He blushed a deep crimson and ducked back down. She thought it strange; he'd never reacted that way to any of the other girls in their class. She absentmindedly fiddled with the flat jewel around her neck. It emitted a white light and made her light olive skin glow white for a split second.

Why had he looked at her? Why had he actually noticed her up until now?

*

Syaoran walked out of school in a daze. Why hadn't he ever seen this girl?

'Oh, I left my Maths textbook in my desk. I'll be right back!' Eriol said quickly and ran back into the school building.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and wondered what was so wonderful about Mathematics. Eriol was renowned for his inquisitive mind, and clear thinking. He was good at all things academic, but differed with physical activities, which Syaoran took the liberty of. They sort of balanced each other out as cousins, like two weights to perfectly balance the scales of talent. Syaoran rubbed the back of his head. The sun started to grow warmer and the light stung his eyes. He sprinted over to the nearest maple tree and stood under it.

He listened to the faint rustling of the leaves and the distant honking of cars and coughing of motors from a chain of bad traffic several streets away from the school. It was a very peculiar day.

More sound added to the picture came from a muffled sob.

Syaoran craned his neck and stared up into the thicket of the tree. Sitting on a low, thick branch was a girl with her knees tucked up to her chin and her arms curled around her head, concealing her face.

'Hey,' he called up at her. 'What're you doing up there?'

The girl lifted her head slowly, revealing her face.

Syaoran's eyes and mouth widened. It was the diving board girl from that morning. He put on a cool posture and pushed back his bangs that easily fell back into place. 'What's up?' he said.

The girl looked away from him. She didn't reply.

He was shocked. No girl had ever answered him with silence; it would usually be a shrill giggle, a sweet smile or the batting of the eyes. Feeling like his ego had been slightly bruise, Syaoran cleared his throat.

But nothing came again.

Irritated by her lack of response, Syaoran hoisted himself up the tree's trunk and landed on the same branch as her. This caught the girl by surprise as she backed up into the trunk.

'Hey, hey,' he said soothingly, 'I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know what's wrong.'

Syaoran saw fine lines of water trailing down her flushed cheeks. He idly brought a hand to her face and touched her face. He withdrew his hand quickly when she winced. His tense eyes calmed and he spoke gently and politely, 'Will you please tell me what's troubling you? ...Sakura?'

Sakura stared at him as if he defied nature. He knew her name, he had seen her, and he had spoken to her. At that moment she had truly existed.

She drew a shuddering breath and another tear ran down her cheek and dropped from her chin and onto the round blue object around her neck. It glowed white and suddenly a vast ocean spread out beneath them, covering the paved grounds of their school, burying the lower maple trees, the school building and everyone that walked below the tree. It stretched out from horizon to horizon, the sun shone blindingly in a perfect blue sky, casting its light over shimmering blue waters.

They grasped the scene in their mind's eye as well as visually seeing it. The nasal calls of seagulls could be heard, the silent lapping of waves, and the howl of a salty air gale.

Syaoran narrowed his eyes and said, 'This seems so familiar...' he turned to Sakura, 'You know it too, don't you?'

Sakura nodded her head and another tear fell onto her necklace. As fast as it had appeared, the ocean vanished. The trees, the asphalt and the school appeared again. Syaoran looked slightly anxious, as if he were lost or very troubled about something.

'Wh-Where?! What?!'

Sakura felt very frightened. She jumped out of the tree and ran away, leaving Syaoran alone.

He watched her leave, her each sprinting foot in exact distance from the last. Her long, purple shadow retreated from behind her and traveled across the cemented ground.

'I know you...' he said. 'Sakura.'