ONE COLD WINTER:

Struggle for Love

CHAPTER:2





[I do not own CCS, or any of it's characters, all I own is Tashi, so don't sue me!]



"He's come for me again
There's nothing I can do
Don't know where or when
Just can't let him harm you."



SAKURA's P.O.V.

Sakura walked out of her last class with her best friend Madison in tow. She had tried all the rest of the day to keep him out of her mind, but she knew that her friends could see under the forced cheerfulness to the sadness and the fear underneath. Right then she saw Syaoran coming towards her and all of the tension she had been feeling seemed to melt away. Why is it he could always do that to her. Just one look at him and it made all of her problems just seem to go away at least for awhile. He always made her feel so safe and secure.
She sighed she so wanted to tell Syaoran her feelings for him but she couldn't. She just knew he would try something, and she didn't feel worthy of him anymore not since last winter. Before she could block them the dark memories of that cold and black time came rushing back.
*FLASHBACK-1 year ago*

It had been cold that day too with a slight falling of snow, she had been walking home by herself that day for Madison had to stay after school to make-up a test. She so wished now she had stayed with Madison and waited for her but she had been impatient to get home and she now realized what that impatience had cost her."Hey Sakura wait up!" A semi-familiar voice shouted to her. Stopping in mid-run she turned around to see who had called to her. Surprise was written on her face when she saw Tashi Tembo one of the most popular guys in school and captain of the soccer team. Why was he talking to her? She wasn't exactly the most popular or pretty girl in school. As he came closer she could feel herself blushing and looked down at her feet as she talked to him."Hello Tashi-kin." She said using the formal way of speaking. Tashi laughed slightly and using his finger placed it under her chin and lifted her face to eye level.
"Why so formal Sakura-san, we know each other do we not?" Brows coming together in slight bewilderment Sakura slightly nodded her head and moved her face away from his touch.
"Well yes I have said greetings to you once or tw-
"Well then that says to me we know each other." He said calmly and softly interrupting. Sakura suddenly felt uneasy by the strange look in his eyes and started to slowly back away.
"Well it was nice to see you again Tashi-kin." She replied still using the formal way of speaking. "But I have to be getting home before I'm late" She moved to go but before she could he moved in front of her. Her heart began to pound in fear. What was he doing? She began to back away once more. He followed her, and soon she was backed against a wall with nowhere to go. She looked up at him her eyes round with fear.
"W-what are you doing?" He had moved closer to her and lifted his hand up to her face. Taking a piece of hair in his hand he brought it to his nose and smelled it.
"You are so beautiful,do you know that?" Sakura was frightened by the look in his eyes and looked around to see if she could find a way out of her predicament. Damm what a day to forget her cards at her house and Kero too. She was trapped how could she get away?
Before she could think up a plan she felt something that both startled and repulsed her. Tashi had placed his hand upon her chest right over her left breast. Sakura's eyes widened once again this time in anger. Lifting her hand she slapped him hard against the face. He looked at her once again with that look in his eyes. he seemed so calm, but Sakura knew that underneath that calm surface was a dark anger just waiting to be released and all on her. It was this thought that scared her to the core. Taking up his hand once again he this time gently caressed her cheek his touch total opposite of the anger inside him.
"Ah you have so much spirit my little angel, that is one of the things I love so about you." Then in a quick movement his caress turned into a sharp, quick slap. Wincing Sakura nether cried out nor defended herself. The only outward sign of pain was a single tear that rolled down her left cheek. Taking his finger Tashi caught the tear on it and lifting it to his lips he drinks it. His eyes closed as if he was drinking the nectar of the Gods. That is when he smiled, a cool smile of no warmth but of much cruelty.
"I will have much fun breaking you my dear." He says in a soft voice full of passion and anger as he advanced on her. Sakura closed her eyes as she felt Tashi's hands on her. Her last thought as he pulled her roughly to the ground was "Oh Syaroan, where are you?"
*Flashback ends-present day*

Sakura wiped a single tear from her left cheek as she walked into her next class. No she thought, I cannot tell Syaoran nor anyone else what happened or my feelings for Syaoran not with him around. She refused to call Tashi by name. Sighing she sat down and tried to listen to the teacher but all of her thoughts are on Syaoran. "Oh Syaoran I wish I could tell you my feelings but how can I, I just know he will try something and I cannot not bear to think of you hurt especially because of me and the terrible thing I have done, what do I do?"





TASHI'S P.O.V.

Tashi Tembo smiled as he looked over at Sakura at her desk. He could see the torment in her eyes and reviled in it. She deserved the pain after the way she had treated him. Not just ignoring him and his love and turning to Syaoran an outsider not of this town, but for striking him. She was the only woman to do it and he vowed she would be the last. Right then he saw her move and reveal more of her womanly curves. His eyes softened then and he felt his heart rate increase. Damm!, no matter how much he wanted to hurt her, he wanted her for himself ten times more! He had realized back last winter when he had had a taste of her that he would need more lots more to tire of her. But it was hard when she constantly tried to avoid him and now was starting to turn to another.
His eyes hardened with anger at the thought and his lips curled back until his outward beauty was gone and his true ugliness was revealed. Many peers of his moved away slightly with fear at the sight and hoped they weren't the ones who had made him angry. He would not let her go to another, she was his until he said otherwise. Once he was tired of her then Syaoran Li was welcome to the leavings until then she was his and only his. He looked back at her again his throat getting tight. Something told him this girl, Sakura, would be different then the others. His little angel, he would soon clip her wings.









I just found out
I feel so torn
Now I know why you pout
and look so forlorn
I feel at fault
I feel to blame
I should have been there
For his anger to tame
Now that I know what you have been trying to hide
I will protect you for all time
We are forever tied


SYAORAN'S P.O.V.

Syaoran felt both guilty and sinful as he snuck into her room. "But, he thought, "there is no other way I just have to find out what is wrong and I just know she won't tell me I can see it in her eyes." Syaoran felt a stab of pain in his heart when he realized Sakura was keeping something from him, something that was hurting her. He had to know why, and the only way was this, he thought as he held up the book, Sakura's diary it just had to have the reason for her different and frightened behavior.
Taking the book to the tree next to Sakura's bedroom window Syaoran turned its pages until he came to last winter's entries. He began there because he knew this was when her strange behavior had started. And so he began to read. The first couple of entries were normal. They told of Sakura's talks with her best friend Madison and her talks with Syaoran himself. He blushed slightly as he read that Sakura thought him cute and inside felt both flattered and thrilled. She had noticed him as he had noticed her. But were there more to these feelings of hers than just mere admiration? Syaoran shook his head, he had no right to read about Sakura's feelings for him even though he was dying to find out. Besides he was reading this for a reason. Flipping forward he kept reading, nothing much more interesting happened until the entry of January 20th caught his eye. Sakura's handwriting was different it was more scribbled and messier than the others and there were tear stains on the paper. The entry read:

Dear Diary,

Today something horrible happened I am almost to ashamed to write it down but feel I must tell someone or die of the horror and guilt of it all and my dear, dear diary I know you will not tell another living soul. Today I was walking home late from school when I was called out to stop by Tashi Tembo the most popular guy in our school. I was flattered and a bit uneasy about having him want to talk to me but out of respect I stopped to listen to what he had to say. But when I found out what kind of message he wanted to relay my uneasiness quickly turned to terror. He started out friendly and then turned ugly backing me into a corner and...and h-he touched me in a way I am too ashamed to say.
I slapped him for it but he just slapped me back. It was then my diary that I knew I was going to be hurt. H-he pushed me down.....began touching.....ripped.....clothing......and he forced......his lips.....onto my......i can-canot say anymore it is too shameful to me. I feel as though I betrayed all who love me and especially my dear Syaoran. Oh how could he love me now? I curse Tashi and hope he dies a horrible death. As for me I feel as though I should no longer be cardmistriss. But how could I explain why to my friends, Syaoran, and Kero without telling them? I will have to try to live my life as it was before but I swear I don't know if this emptiness will ever leave me.

-Sakura-



Syaoran stared in horror and rage at the diary page in his hand. He could not read the whole thing because some parts were too smudged by satins, probably Sakura's tears, but he got the gist of what had happened to her that fateful afternoon. His Sakura, his cherry blossom, had been assaulted by Tashi Tembo! A guy he had thought was his friend, his teammate and all this time while he had been smiling and joking with him he had known what he had done to Sakura! Syaoran could feel a red rage begin to boil in his blood. He wanted to go to Tembo and tear him to pieces. Only the thought of Sakura and what it would do to her stopped him from doing just that.
And how could she feel ashamed and not worthy of him and of being cardmistriss? It had not been her fault the bastard had done this too her! Oh how he wished he could go to her and hold her and tell her she was still as pure and innocent to him as the day he first met her. But not now, he could not let her know he knew now. he had to let it sink in first, and then figure out how he was going to tell Sakura and what he was going to do about Tashi. Taking a deep breath to calm some of his anger he quietly snuck back into Sakura's room and placed the book back where he had found it.
Soon the boy had left back though the window leaving everything looking as it had been before even though a tornado of extreme proportions had just blown though there just a few minutes before. A tornado of love, hatred, grief, and disbelief and all this emanating from a boy who wished he had never snuck in there and found the book with it's dark secret that it had just been waiting to share.







I hope you liked this next chapter. I guess it's going to be longer than I thought. I bet your wondering still about what exactly happened to Sakura that cold winter day. Well you'll just have to read the next chapter(s) to find out. Thanks for reading.

Suey