-----------------
XI - Hand in Hand
-----------------
"Hai, Daidouji-desu."
"Tomoyo-chan."
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said excited.
"Are you busy?" Sakura asked as she sat down on her bed.
"Not at the moment."
"Ah." Sakura said.
"What's wrong?" Tomoyo asked.
"Nothing." Sakura said, "I just wanted to talk."
"Sakura-chan you rarely call."
"I'm making a start." Sakura said as she looked at the plush bunny.
"What's wrong?"
"Daisuke-san and I went out on a date."
"Oh! That's wonderful!"
"It was not!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Did the date go badly?"
"No."
"So how could it be a bad date?"
"Be-because!" Sakura said as she leaned back against her pillows.
"So it was a bad date because it went well." Tomoyo said, "Oh Sakura-
chan..."
Sakura stared at the bunny. "Tomoyo-chan..." she said softly.
"Yes?"
"I'm not ready." she whispered.
"No, you're afraid." Tomoyo said. "Every part of you is ready, your
heart is afraid to be broken again."
"Not true." Sakura said.
"Its true because I know you better than you think I do." Tomoyo
said. "And because I met Niwa-san and he is just like you."
"You mean he has an alternate night life?" Sakura joked.
"No." Tomoyo said, "He's lonely like you."
"He's so sure of himself." Sakura said, "So together, how can a
person so friendly be so lonely?"
"Just like you're cute Sakura-chan but on the inside you hurt as much
as he does." Tomoyo sighed, "Sakura-chan..."
"Yes?"
"I had hoped that Niwa-san would be the one that could make you see
that you have to let go of the past." Tomoyo said.
"Tomoyo-"
"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said, "He cares for you, you're so lonely, he's
good for you. Sometimes, its worth it to risk your heart to see if it
can work. We can't go through life expecting that our first love was
our only love."
Sakura smiled, "Tomoyo-chan."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"Any time."
"Sakura-chan!" Kimiko exclaimed as she popped her head into the door.
"Hnnnn, Kimi-chan?" Sakura muttered under her blankets.
"We're going to miss the boat race!" she said. "Hurry!"
Sakura buried her head under her pillow, "But its so warm.
Utsukushiii~" she said.
Kimiko laughed as she hopped onto Sakura's bed. She pulled the pillow
off her head, "Let's go, we're late, Daisuke-kun is holding the bench
for us! Sakura?"
"Sleep is so nice, shiwase~~" Sakura said with a smile.
Kimiko pulled the covers off, "You've never missed a boat race!"
Sakura sat up. "Hai, hai." she said as she tumbled out of bed.
"Hurry! I have to go wake Yuri-chan now." Kimiko ran out of the room.
"Why do I get woken up first?" Sakura muttered as she dug through her
closet for some clothes.
"Because..." Kimiko said softly, "she looks so peaceful when she
sleeps." she closed the door behind her and a moment later Sakura
could hear Yuri shout, "Wahhhhh Kimiko~!"
Sakura smiled and ran a brush through her hair. She crawled into some
wool pants and a fluffy sweater with hood.
"Kimi-chan!" Sakura exclaimed. "Where is Daisuke-san holding the
bench?"
"The one next to the tree infront of his dorm!" Kimiko said from the
room.
"Ouch! Kimiko!"
"Wake up!" Kimiko shouted.
"I'm up! I'm up!"
Kimiko giggled, "Yuri-chan you're such a grouch when you wake up."
"One of these days I will get you while you're sleeping, just you
wait."
Sakura smiled as she pulled on her coat and gloves. She ran out of
the apartment as she pulled on her hat and scarf.
Minutes later she peeked from behind the tree. He sat on the bench
huddled in his coat.
He had a sad look on his face.
"Kimi-chan, I'm freezing."
Sakura covered her mouth, he too was snookered by Kimi-chan's cute
charms. At that monent a guy walked by and talked to Daisuke. Daisuke
looked up and smiled at him talking animatedly.
Once again Sakura was amazed at his looks. He was very calm, secure,
together, as if his smile would solve all problems. The world seemed
to light up when he smiled. She gasped and turned away from him
pressing her back against the tree. Her heart was beating fast. She
turned again and looked at him.
She had to admit it, she missed him and his friendship. The month
went by quite lonely and cold. "Maybe I am afraid." she whispered."I
never realized how he had worked his way into my life."
She stepped from behind the tree and walked towards him. Sakura sat
down next to Daisuke on the bench.
"Hello." she said softly.
He kept his eyes on the boat race. "Hello." he said back.
"I'm sorry." she whispered.
"Its alright." he said.
Sakura sighed and watched the boat race too. She was mentally
screaming, 'What now!?' She looked down to see his hand on the bench.
/I can make you happy... if you let me.../
Did she want to risk it? She missed Daisuke.
/Don't let him go./
She closed her eyes took a deep breath and reached for his hand, she
swore her heart stopped beating while she waited for a response.
He curled his fingers around hers.
Sakura felt her heart beat again.
"Thank you." he said.
She turned to look at him. He was looking directly at her.
"I should be the one saying that." she said.
"Oh! Sakura-chan! Daisuke-kun!" Kimiko exclaimed as she made her way
towards them. "Raaki!" she exclaimed. Yuri followed Kimiko. "Scoot
over, we're sitting here too!"
Sakura felt Daisuke tug on her hand. She moved over until she was
right next to him.
In the folds of their coats, she felt him squeeze her hand. She
blushed and lowered her face into her scarf.
"Sakura-chan? Are you alright?" Kimiko asked.
"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed, "I'm fine. Just a bit cold."
"We should squeeze together some more to keep warm then." Kimiko said
as she scooted over, pushing Sakura and Daisuke closer.
"I agree." Daisuke said as he slipped her hand into his coat pocket.
Sakura prayed Kimiko didn't notice her blush.
Daisuke smiled.
Later that day they walked around the lake hand in hand.
"So what now?" Sakura asked in half whisper.
Daisuke smiled at her. "Well..." he said as he sat down on a nearby
bench. He took her hand and dragged her toward him. He held her hand
between his, thumbing the soft skin under his thumbs. "You call the
shots," he said, "but I want you to be honest." he noticed an
apprehensive look on her face.
/She's afraid of telling you./ Dark said.
/I know./ Daisuke said. /How can I tell her that I know with out
exposing you and keeping her from running away from me? She's so
special to me, she'll understand the twisted DNA someday./
"You can tell me as much as you want, when you want." he said.
"Even at two am?" she asked in a half smile.
"Why not? It will annoy Kentarou but its nothing his girlfriend
hasn't done with me."
She suddenly turned pink. "Girlfriend?"
He smiled, "Not that either." he said. "We take it very slow."
/That's going to be so frustrating, why don't you let me do it?/ Dark
said.
/No, I want this to go well. Who else can I find that's so like me?/
he asked. /I can't lose her./
/We'll do it your way then./ Dark said.
"Is that all right?" he asked as he looked up at her.
She nodded. She sat down next to him and took his hand, threading her
fingers with his. "I like this." she whispered.
"And?" he asked.
She looked up at him. "You?" she supplied.
He smiled, "I think we got that established already."
She laughed.
"Actually..." she said softly. "I lied."
"About?"
"The death." she said. "He wasn't dead, but it felt better talking
about him as if he were dead." And she told him what she wanted to
tell him, he didn't insist on any futher information. She told him
about Shaoran and her relationship, things he already knew but
differently.
/Like that night on the roof./ Dark said.
/Yes./ he said.
And he told her about Riku.
"Sakura?" he asked.
She was silent.
"Is that why you wear that ring?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Ah..."
"Sakura..." he said with a warning tone. Suddently he realized what
she meant.
"Is that 'ah' an 'ah okay' or an 'ah I'm jealous'?" he asked softly.
She couldn't help but smile. "I admit I'm a bit jealous." she said.
"Don't be jealous of her." he said. "I don't compare you to her."
Sakura nodded. "You know that I do the same with you."
He smiled, "So now that we go that out of the way why don't we leave
the past behind us and just talk about things we enjoy?"
She nodded and scooted closer to him.
"Like..." he said as he rose his arm and pulled her closer to
him, "training for the team try outs." he said.
"You think I can do it?" she asked.
"I think you can." he said. "I've seen you do some stuff."
/Lots of stuff./ Dark said.
/Shoo leave us alone./ Daisuke said.
/Us? Ohohoho./ Dark said.
/.../
"I guess so..." she said.
"You guess so?" Daisuke asked with a mock tone.
"All right, all right, I can do it." she said, "I'll train with Kimi-
chan and try out." she said.
"That's the spirit." he said as he hugged her. He kissed her forehead
and stopped when he realized what he was doing. He pulled away and
looked at her.
Sakura smiled up at him and then burrowed under his arm
again, "Its cold, are we going to sit here and talk all day? Because
I think we can easily talk while we have some hot choco."
He smiled and stood up. "Let's go."
-------
Hello~ ^^ This is just a nice transition chapter. Kind of short but
sweet anyways. I'm not very fond of the chapter title but then again
its the story that counts, and its a chapter we've been waiting for,
or at least its not on a cliff hanger right? ^_~
I just got back from Japan but I've been sort of keeping up with
mailing list news here and there. ^^ I've now learned how expensive
melons are. x_x I was really amused that I was buying food from a
convienence store called "Daily Yamazaki" which sort of prompted this
fic idea about Yamazaki running a law firm and Tomoyo needs someone
to defend her toy company... anyways... its sketchy and put in the
back burner for now... ^_^
I'm not fond of the title of this chapter, but then again its the
story that's more interesting right? Forgive any grammer or typos
since I've been working on it for a while and I tend to gloss over
glaringly obvious mistakes. ^_~
Steph
XI - Hand in Hand
-----------------
"Hai, Daidouji-desu."
"Tomoyo-chan."
"Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo said excited.
"Are you busy?" Sakura asked as she sat down on her bed.
"Not at the moment."
"Ah." Sakura said.
"What's wrong?" Tomoyo asked.
"Nothing." Sakura said, "I just wanted to talk."
"Sakura-chan you rarely call."
"I'm making a start." Sakura said as she looked at the plush bunny.
"What's wrong?"
"Daisuke-san and I went out on a date."
"Oh! That's wonderful!"
"It was not!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Did the date go badly?"
"No."
"So how could it be a bad date?"
"Be-because!" Sakura said as she leaned back against her pillows.
"So it was a bad date because it went well." Tomoyo said, "Oh Sakura-
chan..."
Sakura stared at the bunny. "Tomoyo-chan..." she said softly.
"Yes?"
"I'm not ready." she whispered.
"No, you're afraid." Tomoyo said. "Every part of you is ready, your
heart is afraid to be broken again."
"Not true." Sakura said.
"Its true because I know you better than you think I do." Tomoyo
said. "And because I met Niwa-san and he is just like you."
"You mean he has an alternate night life?" Sakura joked.
"No." Tomoyo said, "He's lonely like you."
"He's so sure of himself." Sakura said, "So together, how can a
person so friendly be so lonely?"
"Just like you're cute Sakura-chan but on the inside you hurt as much
as he does." Tomoyo sighed, "Sakura-chan..."
"Yes?"
"I had hoped that Niwa-san would be the one that could make you see
that you have to let go of the past." Tomoyo said.
"Tomoyo-"
"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said, "He cares for you, you're so lonely, he's
good for you. Sometimes, its worth it to risk your heart to see if it
can work. We can't go through life expecting that our first love was
our only love."
Sakura smiled, "Tomoyo-chan."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"Any time."
"Sakura-chan!" Kimiko exclaimed as she popped her head into the door.
"Hnnnn, Kimi-chan?" Sakura muttered under her blankets.
"We're going to miss the boat race!" she said. "Hurry!"
Sakura buried her head under her pillow, "But its so warm.
Utsukushiii~" she said.
Kimiko laughed as she hopped onto Sakura's bed. She pulled the pillow
off her head, "Let's go, we're late, Daisuke-kun is holding the bench
for us! Sakura?"
"Sleep is so nice, shiwase~~" Sakura said with a smile.
Kimiko pulled the covers off, "You've never missed a boat race!"
Sakura sat up. "Hai, hai." she said as she tumbled out of bed.
"Hurry! I have to go wake Yuri-chan now." Kimiko ran out of the room.
"Why do I get woken up first?" Sakura muttered as she dug through her
closet for some clothes.
"Because..." Kimiko said softly, "she looks so peaceful when she
sleeps." she closed the door behind her and a moment later Sakura
could hear Yuri shout, "Wahhhhh Kimiko~!"
Sakura smiled and ran a brush through her hair. She crawled into some
wool pants and a fluffy sweater with hood.
"Kimi-chan!" Sakura exclaimed. "Where is Daisuke-san holding the
bench?"
"The one next to the tree infront of his dorm!" Kimiko said from the
room.
"Ouch! Kimiko!"
"Wake up!" Kimiko shouted.
"I'm up! I'm up!"
Kimiko giggled, "Yuri-chan you're such a grouch when you wake up."
"One of these days I will get you while you're sleeping, just you
wait."
Sakura smiled as she pulled on her coat and gloves. She ran out of
the apartment as she pulled on her hat and scarf.
Minutes later she peeked from behind the tree. He sat on the bench
huddled in his coat.
He had a sad look on his face.
"Kimi-chan, I'm freezing."
Sakura covered her mouth, he too was snookered by Kimi-chan's cute
charms. At that monent a guy walked by and talked to Daisuke. Daisuke
looked up and smiled at him talking animatedly.
Once again Sakura was amazed at his looks. He was very calm, secure,
together, as if his smile would solve all problems. The world seemed
to light up when he smiled. She gasped and turned away from him
pressing her back against the tree. Her heart was beating fast. She
turned again and looked at him.
She had to admit it, she missed him and his friendship. The month
went by quite lonely and cold. "Maybe I am afraid." she whispered."I
never realized how he had worked his way into my life."
She stepped from behind the tree and walked towards him. Sakura sat
down next to Daisuke on the bench.
"Hello." she said softly.
He kept his eyes on the boat race. "Hello." he said back.
"I'm sorry." she whispered.
"Its alright." he said.
Sakura sighed and watched the boat race too. She was mentally
screaming, 'What now!?' She looked down to see his hand on the bench.
/I can make you happy... if you let me.../
Did she want to risk it? She missed Daisuke.
/Don't let him go./
She closed her eyes took a deep breath and reached for his hand, she
swore her heart stopped beating while she waited for a response.
He curled his fingers around hers.
Sakura felt her heart beat again.
"Thank you." he said.
She turned to look at him. He was looking directly at her.
"I should be the one saying that." she said.
"Oh! Sakura-chan! Daisuke-kun!" Kimiko exclaimed as she made her way
towards them. "Raaki!" she exclaimed. Yuri followed Kimiko. "Scoot
over, we're sitting here too!"
Sakura felt Daisuke tug on her hand. She moved over until she was
right next to him.
In the folds of their coats, she felt him squeeze her hand. She
blushed and lowered her face into her scarf.
"Sakura-chan? Are you alright?" Kimiko asked.
"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed, "I'm fine. Just a bit cold."
"We should squeeze together some more to keep warm then." Kimiko said
as she scooted over, pushing Sakura and Daisuke closer.
"I agree." Daisuke said as he slipped her hand into his coat pocket.
Sakura prayed Kimiko didn't notice her blush.
Daisuke smiled.
Later that day they walked around the lake hand in hand.
"So what now?" Sakura asked in half whisper.
Daisuke smiled at her. "Well..." he said as he sat down on a nearby
bench. He took her hand and dragged her toward him. He held her hand
between his, thumbing the soft skin under his thumbs. "You call the
shots," he said, "but I want you to be honest." he noticed an
apprehensive look on her face.
/She's afraid of telling you./ Dark said.
/I know./ Daisuke said. /How can I tell her that I know with out
exposing you and keeping her from running away from me? She's so
special to me, she'll understand the twisted DNA someday./
"You can tell me as much as you want, when you want." he said.
"Even at two am?" she asked in a half smile.
"Why not? It will annoy Kentarou but its nothing his girlfriend
hasn't done with me."
She suddenly turned pink. "Girlfriend?"
He smiled, "Not that either." he said. "We take it very slow."
/That's going to be so frustrating, why don't you let me do it?/ Dark
said.
/No, I want this to go well. Who else can I find that's so like me?/
he asked. /I can't lose her./
/We'll do it your way then./ Dark said.
"Is that all right?" he asked as he looked up at her.
She nodded. She sat down next to him and took his hand, threading her
fingers with his. "I like this." she whispered.
"And?" he asked.
She looked up at him. "You?" she supplied.
He smiled, "I think we got that established already."
She laughed.
"Actually..." she said softly. "I lied."
"About?"
"The death." she said. "He wasn't dead, but it felt better talking
about him as if he were dead." And she told him what she wanted to
tell him, he didn't insist on any futher information. She told him
about Shaoran and her relationship, things he already knew but
differently.
/Like that night on the roof./ Dark said.
/Yes./ he said.
And he told her about Riku.
"Sakura?" he asked.
She was silent.
"Is that why you wear that ring?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Ah..."
"Sakura..." he said with a warning tone. Suddently he realized what
she meant.
"Is that 'ah' an 'ah okay' or an 'ah I'm jealous'?" he asked softly.
She couldn't help but smile. "I admit I'm a bit jealous." she said.
"Don't be jealous of her." he said. "I don't compare you to her."
Sakura nodded. "You know that I do the same with you."
He smiled, "So now that we go that out of the way why don't we leave
the past behind us and just talk about things we enjoy?"
She nodded and scooted closer to him.
"Like..." he said as he rose his arm and pulled her closer to
him, "training for the team try outs." he said.
"You think I can do it?" she asked.
"I think you can." he said. "I've seen you do some stuff."
/Lots of stuff./ Dark said.
/Shoo leave us alone./ Daisuke said.
/Us? Ohohoho./ Dark said.
/.../
"I guess so..." she said.
"You guess so?" Daisuke asked with a mock tone.
"All right, all right, I can do it." she said, "I'll train with Kimi-
chan and try out." she said.
"That's the spirit." he said as he hugged her. He kissed her forehead
and stopped when he realized what he was doing. He pulled away and
looked at her.
Sakura smiled up at him and then burrowed under his arm
again, "Its cold, are we going to sit here and talk all day? Because
I think we can easily talk while we have some hot choco."
He smiled and stood up. "Let's go."
-------
Hello~ ^^ This is just a nice transition chapter. Kind of short but
sweet anyways. I'm not very fond of the chapter title but then again
its the story that counts, and its a chapter we've been waiting for,
or at least its not on a cliff hanger right? ^_~
I just got back from Japan but I've been sort of keeping up with
mailing list news here and there. ^^ I've now learned how expensive
melons are. x_x I was really amused that I was buying food from a
convienence store called "Daily Yamazaki" which sort of prompted this
fic idea about Yamazaki running a law firm and Tomoyo needs someone
to defend her toy company... anyways... its sketchy and put in the
back burner for now... ^_^
I'm not fond of the title of this chapter, but then again its the
story that's more interesting right? Forgive any grammer or typos
since I've been working on it for a while and I tend to gloss over
glaringly obvious mistakes. ^_~
Steph
