I wrote this a while back as a practice and decided to post it. This is NOT part of my series and it's a separate story. ExS, as always, with some OCs. Not beta'ed, characters belong to their creators. It's actually finished, but I still need to flesh it out and edit it
Enjoy!
When her alarm rang, Sakura reached out and slapped at her alarm clock. She opened one eye to look at the clock, 8.30am. She stretched and dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready for class.
At twenty years old, Sakura was a third year student at Tokyo College, majoring in Graphic Design. Currently, she lived in a two bedrooms apartment in Tokyo with her fiancé. They'd been together since the second year of junior high school and he proposed after they finished high school.
After breakfast, she did the dishes, grabbed her bag and checked that she had everything that she needed for the day. She stepped out of the apartment, locked the door and rode down the elevator.
"So pretty!" She looked around. School had just started last week and spring was on its way, marked by the blossoming cherry blossom trees.
"Good morning, Sakura!" Someone greeted her.
Sakura turned and saw her good friend, Tomoyo walking towards her. "Good morning, Tomoyo! Going to class?"
"Yes. I have my first workshop in the afternoon. So I have to prepare." Tomoyo replied as they started walking together. They lived in the same building. Tomoyo lived with two roommates, their old friend Rika, and a girl named Ayumi Kojima. Ayumi was Rika's cousin and she moved here from Kyoto to attend Tokyo College. Sakura had never met her personally as she just moved in a little over a week ago, just before classes started, but she had been busy settling in, so Sakura didn't want to intrude.
"How exciting!" Sakura smiled widely. Tomoyo was very passionate about fashion and Sakura was glad that her friend was able to study what she loved the most.
At first, Sakura had some difficulties deciding on which faculty she wanted to major in, before she decided on Graphic Design. Their college offered a wide range of classes on various subjects, from agriculture, business, design, engineering, etc.
Their apartment was about seven minutes' walk to the campus' main entrance, so they usually walked to classes. There were a lot of students living in the building, it felt like a dormitory of a sort.
Sakura and Tomoyo walked together past the main entrance to the design building and parted ways inside to go to their respective classrooms.
After class, Sakura made her way to the cafeteria. Once she got there, she looked around and found her fiancé already sitting at one of the tables, reading.
"Hi!" Sakura greeted him and put her bag on the chair.
"Hello, dear." Eriol looked up, closed his book and put it inside his bag.
They went to get their food together. Sakura bought chicken teriyaki bento while Eriol chose the hamburger steak with demi glaze and rice. They also got some gyoza to share. They paid for their meals and sat down.
"Only you would choose morning classes." Sakura commented as she took a bite of the gyoza.
"There are twenty other students in the class, so obviously I'm not the only one. Did I wake you up?" Eriol asked. He tried to be quiet, but they shared a bed, so there was a chance that he woke her up by accident. Even though they stayed in a two bedroom apartment, they pretty much only used one bedroom. He had moved his clothes over to what used to be her room (now it was their room) and converted his old bedroom to a study.
"No. I woke up at eight thirty." Sakura told him.
"What time did you go to bed last night? It's only the start of the semester, surely there's still no big project due." Eriol had gone to bed early last night while Sakura was still on her computer.
"No." Sakura suddenly looked sheepish. "I ended up watching anime until quite late."
They finished lunch and put the tray away. "See you at two?" Sakura asked. They both had another class after lunch and then they were planning to go to the movies.
Eriol agreed and they went their separate ways.
Two hours later, they were on their way to the cinema for their movie date.
"That was awesome!" Sakura said happily after the movie. They watched an animation movie made by one of Sakura's favorite studios. Eriol quite liked it too since the movie was pretty deep.
"Let's have dinner outside today, since we're already here." Eriol suggested and Sakura agreed. They walked around the mall, looking at various things while waiting for dinner time. At dinner, they ate at a sushi restaurant and then went home.
A few days later, they were invited to Tomoyo's place for dinner. This would also be the first time that they met Ayumi.
"This is my cousin, Ayumi Kojima. Ayumi, this is Sakura Kinomoto." Rika introduced them. They greeted each other.
"Nice to meet you, Kojima!" Sakura bowed and smiled widely. By nature, Sakura was a very friendly person and she loved to meet new people.
"Mm, smells good! What are you cooking?" Sakura asked Tomoyo brightly.
"Grilled salmon with miso. It's a recipe that I found online a couple of days ago. Dinner will be ready soon. Where's Hiiragizawa?" She asked as Sakura had come alone.
"He has a phone call, but he'll be here soon. Do you need any help, Tomoyo?" Sakura asked since it seemed like Tomoyo was the only one cooking.
"Oh no, Sakura. I'm fine. I'm actually finishing up." Tomoyo said. "Sit down, relax and make yourself at home."
Sakura sat down on the couch with Rika and Ayumi. "How are you finding Tokyo, Kojima? Must be quite different from Kyoto…" Sakura had been to Kyoto once for a class trip and noted that it was more traditional compared to Tokyo.
"It's bigger than I thought. And very crowded." Ayumi said with a smile.
"I agree. When I first came here, I was fascinated too." Sakura nodded. "Back in Tomoeda, it's definitely quieter."
"It is." Rika agreed too. "While Tokyo is very exciting, sometimes it feels good to go back to Tomoeda."
"Rika, you should take her to the Sky Tree! We went there a while back and it's very nice!" Sakura suggested. "You can see most, if not all of Tokyo from there."
"Once Ayumi is settled down, I'm planning to. I've never been there myself, so it would be a great experience." Rika said enthusiastically.
At that point, the doorbell rang.
"Oh, must be Eriol." Sakura commented.
Rika stood up and opened the door.
"Good evening, Sasaki." Eriol greeted her.
"Evening, Hiiragizawa. Come on in." Rika stepped aside to let him in. He took off his shoes and changed into the provided slippers before joining the rest of them in the living room, where Rika introduced him to her cousin. "This is my cousin, Ayumi Kojima. Ayumi, this is Eriol Hiiragizawa."
"Nice to meet you, Kojima." Eriol bowed and flashed her his trademark smile.
"Nice to meet you too, Hiiragizawa." Kojima greeted him back.
"You're just in time, Hiiragizawa. Dinner is ready, everyone." Tomoyo appeared from the kitchen. They helped her move the plates to the table and sat down around the dining table.
"Oh, this is so good, Tomoyo!" Sakura complimented her friend as she ate. "Where did you find the recipe? You have to tell me."
"Thank you, Sakura. I'll email you the recipe." Tomoyo said.
"Tomorrow is Sunday, do you guys have any plan? We're going to the mall." Rika told them. "Ayumi needs a few things and I need to pick up some stuff too."
"We're going back to Tomoeda to have a family lunch." Sakura said. While Tomoeda wasn't that far, they moved to Tokyo because it was more convenient, especially living here, so close to the campus. "What about you, Tomoyo?"
"I, uh, I actually have a date tomorrow." Tomoyo said, blushing slightly.
Sakura and Rika's jaws dropped to the floor. "You have a date?! With who?!"
"Oh, come on, guys. You're overreacting. It's not that big of a deal." Tomoyo told them. "With a guy from business major. My friend introduced us a couple of months ago and he asked me out a few days ago."
Sakura and Rika were both speechless. Tomoyo had never once shown any interest in any guy, so this had come as a surprise for them.
"Of course it's a big deal, Tomoyo! It's going to be your first date, ever!" Sakura said, her excitement was clear.
"And your first boyfriend too!" Rika continued.
"Why are you two more excited about it than I am?" Tomoyo asked. "And honestly, I don't even know if we're going to be a couple. It's just a date."
"Well, in any case, it's still your first date." Rika said and Sakura nodded. "Where are you going?"
"We're going to Sumida Aquarium. I've never been there." Tomoyo told them.
"Oh, that place is awesome!" Sakura said and turned to Eriol. "We went there, right?"
"We did." Eriol confirmed.
"You guys have been to places." Rika commented. "The Sky Tree, the aquarium…"
"I guess so…" Sakura shrugged. "But the aquarium is really great! It's located in the Sky Tree town. Actually, we went to the aquarium in the morning and the tower at night." She recalled.
"That does sound great." Rika admitted. "Oh, now everyone is going on dates. While I'm still single."
"I'm still single." Tomoyo pointed out. "Like I said, it's just one date."
"Uhm, well, I'm still single too, Rika." Ayumi chimed in.
"Right." Rika nodded. "We're both still single, Ayumi. Tomoyo, if the date goes well tomorrow, you won't be single for much longer."
"Let's not talk about it anymore." Tomoyo said, now regretted telling them as they were blowing it out of proportion. "How's your first couple of weeks so far? I think things are going to get tougher this year. I already have three big projects coming my way…"
They changed the topic to school and finished dinner. Sakura offered to help with cleanup, but they declined. So, the couple sat with Tomoyo in the living room as Rika and Ayumi cleaned up. Since it was the weekend, they weren't in any rush. Half an hour later, Sakura and Eriol left.
"Good night!" They bid their friends goodnight and then walked back to their apartment.
"This is great! Tomoyo is going on a date, finally." Sakura commented as they got into the elevator. They lived two floors above.
Eriol pressed the button to their floor. "Hm, like she said, it's just one date. Don't get too excited."
"How could I not? Tomoyo has never shown any interest in any guy before and now she's going on a date." Sakura said.
They reached their floor and walked to their apartment. "I'm tired. We're going in the morning tomorrow, right? I think I'm just going to take a bath and go to bed." Sakura yawned as Eriol opened the door.
"You do that. I'll have an early night as well. I'll just check my emails." Eriol closed the door behind them.
Sakura took a bath and got ready for bed. When she stepped out of the bathroom, Eriol was already in meditation, apparently choosing to meditate first before taking a bath. Sakura climbed into bed and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
"It can cut cost, but we've converted the second bedroom into a study room, so that's actually very nice. Besides, it's very difficult to get a one bedroom unit in our building." Sakura said when Touya asked if they were planning to move into a smaller unit. It wasn't a secret that they were sleeping together and didn't need the extra bedroom. Touya himself had moved in with Yukito a few years ago, and so did Nakuru and her own boyfriend.
In the first few months of university, Sakura, Tomoyo and Rika lived together in a big house with two other girls. Eriol lived nearby with a few housemates of his own. But soon enough, they found some units in their current building. It was closer to campus and they didn't even have to take any public transport to go to campus. The cost was comparable, so it really was a no brainer. They found two empty two-bedrooms units. So Sakura suggested that she would share the apartment with Eriol, and Tomoyo could share with Rika. That way, they each would have their own bedroom and could share the rent equally. But of course Touya objected, not wanting Sakura to live with a guy, even though she and Eriol had been engaged by then. But after a while, and with some help from Fujitaka and Yukito, he finally agreed.
At first, they slept separately. Sakura took the master bedroom and Eriol took the other bedroom. That went on for almost a year before they finally stopped pretending that they were not sleeping together and moved into one bedroom.
Eriol had shown his commitment to marry Sakura, but she wanted to finish her degree first, so he waited for her. He went to school with her, even though he didn't need to. He also taught himself how to play the stock market and investments so that he could get some extra income for their daily life. He had a sizeable amount of wealth back in England, but he chose to learn more about today's business and investments.
After lunch, they helped cleaning up and Eriol left to go back to his own house to check on Spinel as Sakura stayed back to hangout with her family. They spent the afternoon in Tomoeda before heading back to Tokyo around six. They ate dinner at one of their favorite restaurants before going back to heir apartment.
"Good morning, Kinomoto." Ayumi greeted Sakura when they bumped into each other the day after. Sakura was on her way to her mid-morning class.
"Morning, Kojima!" Sakura smiled and greeted her. They started walking together. "What major are you taking?" Sakura asked the younger girl.
"Accounting. How about you?" Ayumi asked.
"Graphic Design." Sakura told her. "How do you like university so far?"
"It's easier than high school. I thought that it was going to be tough, but I guess when you're focusing on one subject, it kind of makes things easier." Ayumi said.
"Hm, that's a good way to put it. And I agree with you. When I was in high school, I had this thought that things are going to get crazy hard in university. But it turns out, that's not the case. I guess it's just like what you said. I don't have to learn about math and other things and I can focus on design." Sakura mused.
"You're also from Tomoeda, right? You, Daidouji and Hiiragizawa." Ayumi checked. "Rika said all of you have been friends since elementary."
"That's right. Rika, Tomoyo and myself have known each other since first grade in elementary school." Sakura nodded. "Well, I'm going this way. The business building is that way, right? Have a nice day, Kojima!"
They parted ways as they went to different faculty buildings.
"How did it go yesterday, Tomoyo?" Sakura asked her friend during lunch time. Neither of them had any afternoon class, so they decided to hangout outside instead.
"It was okay. We went to the Sky Tree and it was pretty fun. How about you, Sakura? How did the lunch go?" Tomoyo asked as she ate her udon.
"Normal, I guess? Food was great, as always. Touya fought with Kero, you know how it is. The usual…" Sakura said. "How's the guy? Is there going to be a second date?"
"I don't know… He said he'd call me." Tomoyo looked unsure.
"Just take it easy, okay?" Sakura took a bite of her tempura. "Don't think too much about it. Like you said, it's one date. If he calls and you want to go on a second date, go ahead. If not, that's okay too. You know that, right?" Sakura told her and noted the uncertainty on Tomoyo's face. "Tomoyo, listen to me, if you don't want to go out with him, it's okay to say no."
"Um, it's not that I don't want to, Sakura. He seems nice. It's just, you know I've never had a crush or a boyfriend, I'm not sure what to do." Tomoyo admitted. "Like, what to say, how to act and all that. What if I do or say something wrong?"
"I think you're overthinking it." Sakura told her.
"You think so? I mean, I'm not sure myself." Tomoyo looked conflicted.
"Okay, what's your biggest concern?" Sakura asked.
Tomoyo seemed to think of her answer. "I guess, I'm worried if I've put him off. He's a business major and you know I know nothing about that. Our conversation was a little awkward, but then we talked about general things, you know, like food and stuff."
"It's your first date, Tomoyo. And you didn't even know him, of course it's going to be awkward." Sakura said reassuringly. "You said he's nice, so that's a good sign, right?"
Tomoyo nodded. "I guess so…"
"Look, don't worry too much about it, ok? If he calls, and if you agree to go on a second date, then you go from there." Sakura finished up the last of her meal.
"You're right, Sakura. There's no point worrying about it now since I don't even know if he was going to call." Tomoyo agreed.
After their meal, they went back to their apartment building.