Chapter 3
'she's gone'
The phone rang.
Ring…
"Hello?"
"Hi Syaoran!"
"Sakura." He blushed faintly as he stared at the wall and gripped the phone a little tighter.
"What's up?"
"Nothing much. I was just headed to the library to study for our history test."
"Oh Syaoran." He could practically hear her roll her eyes. "As if you don't know the material backwards and forwards."
"It never hurts to be prepared."
"Well, can you take fifteen minutes out of your study time to meet me at the park?"
Li smiled one of his rare smiles. Could he ever!
There was a soundless explosion, a bright flash that seared his eyes and burned into his brain.
And there was darkness.
A massive crash of thunder woke Li, and he almost banged his head on the bottom of the bed before he remembered where he was. His ragged breathing was so loud, he was surprised that the men in the house didn't rush into the room at the sound of it.
Calm down, Syaoran, breathe deep.
He inhaled carefully, then promptly sneezed at all the dust he'd kicked up. He froze, but nobody seemed to have heard. The spring thunderstorm was still raging outside, masking any noises he would make. Cautiously he crept out from under the bed and stood, stretching to alleviate the stiffness.
So that's why I was at the park. I wonder why she wanted to see me. Was she there, then? Was she with me when it happened?
He bit his lip. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask, but he couldn't go downstairs. Mr. Kinomoto was obviously on edge about his daughter, and Touya was like a live wire. He needed to talk to someone calm, rational. That person had always been Tomoyo. But after the way she had looked at him that morning…
Li shivered. He'd never seen his friend so frightened in her life.
But she's my best chance at getting any answers about what's been going on these past couple of days. I need to get her alone, away from that guy. But I can't get out with the weather like this.
Glumly he stared at the streaming window. He'd kill himself if he tried to climb down the tree in all this rain. Frustrating as it was, he was stuck for the moment. At least his head wasn't hurting so much anymore.
Curiously he drifted toward the boxes in the corner. The one on top was the lightest; it felt as though there was almost nothing in it at all. Upon opening it, he found just three items.
Her hamster slippers. And her old baton.
He lifted it out and examined it. There was nothing wrong with it that he could see. He thought of the many times he'd seen her at practice, and at her performances, tossing the rod up in the air and catching it with practiced ease. She'd always been so beautiful when she did stuff like that. He got a lump in his throat thinking about it, and he returned the baton and replaced the cardboard lid. The box below it was much larger and heavier, and he didn't move it. Instead he just opened it. This box was crammed with her clothes. Nothing too mysterious there, except –
This isn't right.
He shook his head as he lifted out her school uniform. Her old elementary school uniform. The familiar little sailor blouse brought a flood of pleasant memories back, but he thought she'd gotten rid of this years ago. What was it still doing here in her room, packed up with her clothes?
Not, I realize, one of the more vital questions that I am plagued with. But it's still strange. Nothing is making sense.
*****
It was torture to have to wait until the rain stopped, but he made himself do it anyway. There was no point in leaving the house too early, he needed the cover of darkness. As the room grew darker, the rain finally slowed to a drizzle, then stopped completely. Relieved, he pulled open the window and nerved himself for the slight jump to reach the branch. He wasn't going to be able to shut the window when he left, but he couldn't worry about that right now.
Don't look down, Syaoran.
He leaped and caught hold of the branch, bark still slippery with the rain. But he managed to hold on, and clambered down the side of the tree with little difficulty. The dizziness was almost completely gone, thanks to the short nap. There were stains up the front of his pants now, but he had other things to deal with. He needed to get to Tomoyo's.
*****
There was no point in trying the intercom at the gate, he realized, and he had to scramble up and over the wall, then slip through the garden like a common thief. Keeping a wary eye out for servants, he circled the mansion until he was underneath her window and began to climb the drainpipe.
For a man with a head injury, I've been doing a lot of climbing today. Seems risky. But I guess I have no alternative.
The light was on in her window, fortunately, and he could see that no one was there upon looking in. Now was his best chance. Pushing open the glass, he crept over the sill and landed lightly on the plush carpet.
There was a distant rumble of thunder, the last parting shot of the storm, and Tomoyo walked out of her bathroom in a lavender bathrobe. She was toweling her hair dry, and it was a second before she glanced up and saw Li by her window. Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to scream again. Li had to throw himself at her to cover her mouth.
"Don't," he hissed. "Please don't." She bit his hand and struggled, but Li wrapped an arm around her chest, pinning her arms to the sides, and pushed her up against the wall to limit her freedom of movement. "Please, Tomoyo. You can't scream. I know you have bodyguards downstairs, and I don't want to hurt anyone in a fight. I'm getting more desperate by the hour, and I can't be responsible for my actions."
That only seemed to make her more afraid, and she struggled harder.
"Shh! Tomoyo, please. You've got to listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. You're one of my best friends. God knows why, but you don't remember me. All I want to do is talk. That's it."
She didn't seem convinced.
"You can sing," he added. "You're one of the best singers in the varsity choir, and you're president of the Audio/Visual club. You love taping things; you always have a camera in hand. You love to wear lavender."
She'd stopped struggling now, staring at him with curiosity mixed with her fear.
"I'm going to remove my hand now. Do you promise not to scream?"
She nodded.
"Good." Slowly he took his hand off her mouth, alert for any chance that she would go back on her word. But she didn't seem scared now so much as sad.
"I always wanted to be president of the A/V club in high school," she whispered. "But I don't love to tape things. Not anymore."
Li backed away, and she straightened her robe, pulling it more tightly around her waist.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Li Syaoran. I go to school with you, we've been friends since we were kids." Seeing her puzzled face, he sat down on the edge of her bed, discouraged. "I know you don't know me. I don't know why. But I need to talk to you anyway. You've always been the one, Tomoyo. The friend that I turned to when I was unsure of myself, and didn't know what was going on. You were the only one that knew that I was in love with - "
He stopped himself just in time. She was intrigued now, and she sat on the edge of the large bed, just out of his reach.
"Tomoyo. Everything has been spinning around for the past day and I don't know up from down anymore. Nothing is how it should be. I need answers. Please, just tell me this one thing."
He paused to take a deep breath.
"What happened to Sakura?"
"I don't know."
*****
He let the silence hang in the air for a full minute, trying to understand the meaning behind her cryptic answer. She was staring at the threads in her comforter, pain and grief obvious in her posture, even if he couldn't see her eyes.
"What do you mean, you don't know? Did she – is she dead?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know. Nobody does."
"How can nobody know?"
"Because she's gone," she choked.
"Gone?"
"Disappeared. She was kidnapped, I guess. We don't even know that much, really. She just – vanished." Li realized she was starting to cry, and he hurried to hand her the box of kleenex she kept on her desk. "Thanks," she sniffled, and dabbed at her eyes.
"Please. I know this is painful. But I have to know. What happened?"
She looked up at last, and tried to gain better control over her voice.
"It was just so sudden. One day she was there, and then she was gone. It was horrible."
"How could she just vanish?"
"I have no idea. There was nothing special about the day she disappeared. We went to school, and she had cheerleading practice afterwards. Nothing unusual. She said goodbye to me after that, and then she went home. Nobody ever saw her again."
Li had to swallow. The way Tomoyo said it; he could imagine why Mr. Kinomoto had been so edgy. What a horrible experience.
"When did this happen?"
"In April. We were nine."
"Nine?" Li repeated in disbelief. This couldn't be happening. He had just seen Sakura on Friday!
"Yes. I still remember the day she vanished. It was ordinary, but it's so clear in my mind because of the shock that followed it. She went home to fix dinner for her family, and next thing I know, Touya was calling me that night to ask if I'd seen her. I said no, and he seemed a little worried. But I was sure that everything would be all right." She took a deep breath and elaborated on her story.
"The next morning, I waited for Sakura outside the school like I always did. She didn't show, and she didn't show, and then finally Tsukishiro-san came riding up on his bike. I asked where Sakura and Touya were, and he said he didn't know. Touya had never showed up like he usually did, and he had ridden on to school alone. I mentioned that Touya had called me looking for Sakura, and he said that he'd gotten a call too. I didn't like that, but I didn't feel there was anything I could do except go to school. Then, in the middle of class, a detective walked into our room. He talked to Terada-sensei for a minute in a quiet voice, and I remember seeing the look of shock and horror on my teacher's face. Then Terada-sensei turned to us and said, very slowly, that Sakura was missing, and had any of us seen her the evening before? Everybody gasped, we were all so shocked. And I was afraid. I was so afraid. Nothing like this had ever happened in my life. I burst into tears and ran out of the room. Terada-sensei shouted at me to stop, but I just kept on running. I ran all the way to Sakura's house. There was a police car parked out front, and I ran into the house. Both Mr. Kinomoto and Touya were there, talking to a policeman. Neither of them looked as though they had slept all night. Touya said I shouldn't have left school, but he gave me a hug anyway. I guess I looked like I could use it. Then he sat down on the couch with me on his lap and told me I could stay if I was quiet. I think he needed the comfort of having a little girl around. I wasn't his sister, but I was the next best thing."
She stopped talking for a moment to take a sip from the glass of water on her bedside table. Li looked absolutely horrified. Whoever he was, he obviously cared very much for Sakura. She could see it in his eyes.
"The detective came back, and he talked with Mr. Kinomoto for a while about what could have happened. They questioned me, since I was the last person to have seen her. I swore that she was coming right home, and he wondered if someone had picked her up on the road. But Touya pointed out that the door was unlocked when he had gotten home later that evening, and that her bookbag was in the living room. She had come home. It was beginning to look as though someone had come right into the house and grabbed her, and that was scarier than anything. I'll never forget the look on Mr. Kinomoto's face. He looked as though he'd aged about a hundred years overnight. Everybody was stumped. Nobody could think why anyone would come to the house to pick her up, there didn't seem to be any motive. They'd been all over the house, but there were no prints of anyone besides me and the Kinomotos, and no signs of a struggle. Touya asked if they'd checked the basement, and they said no, they hadn't realized there was one. He and I led them down there, and that's when we saw them."
"Saw what?"
"Her slippers. And her baton. They were lying on the floor by the last row of books. Her slippers weren't lined up side by side. It looked as though they'd been kicked off, as though maybe she'd been struggling. And her baton right beside them, as though maybe – maybe she'd been trying to defend herself with it. Touya's face lost all color when he saw them, and he almost broke down right there. He loved his sister so much.
And that was it," she concluded. "They never found a trace of anyone being in the house, and no note arrived for ransom. It was as if she'd dropped off the face of the earth. I had to go to therapy a lot those first few years. I still go, occasionally. I used to love to tape things, especially her, but I never touched a camera after she disappeared. We were best friends."
"I know."
"It was worse for her family. Touya had to drop out of school for the remainder of that year to take care of his father. He got counseling too, but Mr. Kinomoto had to be checked into an institution for a while. After losing his wife, Sakura's disappearance was just too much. He got better after a while, but he had to quit his job. The university felt that he really wasn't up to teaching anymore. Touya finished school, at least, and went on to college, but he never moved out like I know he wanted to. He's too afraid that if he leaves his dad alone, he'll do something, um, unhealthy. He's been trying to convince him to move out for the past couple years, but Mr. Kinomoto doesn't want to. The house holds a lot of painful memories, but because she was never officially declared dead, he's afraid to leave. I think he thinks that if she ever managed to find her way back, she'd have no way of locating him. Touya doesn't like to hold out false hopes, though. He convinced himself a long time ago that she was dead."
"And you?"
Tomoyo was silent for a moment as she looked at her hands.
"I don't really know. It was too horrible to contemplate what must have happened to her, so I tried not to think about it too much. I don't think I ever really thought of her as dead though. It was just too alien; I couldn't make myself do it."
"What about Kero?" Li asked, realizing that she hadn't brought it up. "The Cards?" Tomoyo gave him a blank look.
"Cards?"
"Yes, what happened to them?"
"What cards?" Something clicked in Li's mind as he looked at her puzzled expression, something that just might explain a few things…
"You said you were nine?"
"Yes."
"Tell me again about that day. Before she left you to go home. Don't leave anything out."
"I told you, it was just a normal day."
"You said you remembered it vividly. Did anything unusual happen, anything just the slightest bit strange?"
"Well, she did drop her baton in practice. That was odd. She never did that."
"Anything else?" She seemed to come to some kind of decision, prodded by his insistence, and she stood.
"Well, there was one other thing…" She looked slightly guilty as she crossed the room to pick up an old antique-looking box. "I never told anybody, because I know I should have never taken it. I knew I couldn't show it to Touya or Mr. Kinomoto, they would never understand. But in my heart, I always wondered if it had something to do with her disappearance."
She was unlocking it now with trembling hands. Tomoyo hadn't opened this box in years, and she wasn't sure why she was doing it for this mysterious, frightening stranger. But there was something in him that drove her to do it. She lifted the lid carefully, and Li saw nothing but a bouquet of dried cherry blossoms. But Tomoyo reached for one side, and withdrew a folded and yellowed piece of notebook paper.
"Her books were just lying there on her desk, after Touya went through her backpack to look for clues. I remembered something odd that she had doodled in class that day, and ripped out the sheet to take it home with me. It was the last thing I would ever receive from her, so I put it in this box. To be with the eraser."
Li didn't know what she meant by eraser, but he had no time to wonder what she meant. She was unfolding it now and handing it over.
"Do you know what this is?"
Li gazed at the childish scribbling. On the far right side was a half-hearted doodle of what looked like a stuffed animal. It was an exaggerated drawing, and the end of his tail had been made to look more like a little heart, but it was still recognizable.
"Yes. It's Kero."
"What's that?"
"He's the Guardian Beast of the Seal."
"The what?" He sighed. He really didn't feel like getting into an explanation, but Tomoyo was at square one. She didn't even know that there was such a thing as magic.
"There was a magical book of Cards in Sakura's basement. She told me about that day. She told me she'd had a dream of Kero the night before, though she didn't mention drawing him in class. And she told me that evening she had heard Kero snoring and went down to the basement to see what the noise was. She had her baton with her. But you taped her that night. You knew about the Cards almost right away." He stood and began to pace.
"You had your camera out that night, didn't you? Were you taping the town at night?"
She nodded, wide-eyed.
"At least I was until I got the phone call from Touya. After that I packed it up and went to bed."
Son of a bitch, thought Li. Somebody – something – snatched her right there in the basement. Her and the book and Kero. The Cards were never even scattered! They're with her, wherever she is. And that's why nobody knows me. That's why I don't have an apartment. With the Cards still in the book, I would have never moved here. But how did this happen in the first place?
"Tomoyo, I know that this is hard to believe. But Sakura was never kidnapped. The three of us grew to be really good friends. I moved to Japan that May and I helped her capture the Cards. She grew to be a powerful sorceress. I fell in love with her, Tomoyo! We all went out to dinner just last weekend."
"Sorceress? Last weekend?" She looked so confused, and he knew he was rushing it.
"I know that this is so much to take in, and I know how vulnerable you must feel about Sakura. I know how much you loved her, too. But I swear it, Tomoyo, none of this is real. I wouldn't just imagine all the things that happened to us. I know it happened. But nobody else does, and I don't know why."
He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, and was surprised to feel her hand on his shoulder.
"I do believe you," she said softly. "I don't know why. You just seem so sincere. And you have too many details. Do you know where she is?"
He shook his head.
"No. I was attacked yesterday in the park, and I don't remember anything that happened beforehand. She might have been with me, but she might not have. And when I woke up, I was in a dimension where nobody knows me and she's been gone for six years."
She spoke again, her voice filled with longing.
"And until yesterday, she was here? Living with her father and going to school with us and everything?"
"Yep. Just like a normal girl. She was still in cheerleading, and she was elected Homecoming Queen last fall. You taped the coronation ceremony. Everything was great." He felt his voice catch as he remembered how beautiful she had looked that night, in her dress that Tomoyo had designed. Now nobody could remember that except for him.
"And you were in love with her?"
"So much that I could barely stand it. I watched her all the time; I was always looking out for her. You knew; you were the only one that knew. You were always telling me that I should confess it to her, but I was too scared. And now it's too late. I might never get to." He buried his face in his hands as tears began to threaten, the first ones all day. Tomoyo's story had wrenched him, it really had. He felt drained and exhausted, and all he wanted some kind of release.
Tomoyo watched him struggle for control, sympathy welling up within her. She had no reason at all to trust this strange boy, who was bringing up so many painful memories. But when she saw him, she felt a flicker of hope as well. He was the first person who seemed to have some idea of what might have happened to Sakura. Maybe there was a chance after all.
"You have no place to stay tonight, do you?"
"No."
"You can stay here, if you want. It'll be all right."
"Really? You don't mind?" Tomoyo shook her head as she refolded the old sheet of paper and returned it to the box.
"No. I can see that you really do love her. I don't know how it is you're here, but I think you must have come to save her. Save all of us from this miserable life."
"I hope so."
"You can shower if you want. Do you want me to get a maid to wash your clothes?" Li clutched at his shirt protectively and shook his head.
"No. Don't touch them. They might be clues. But I would like to shower, I feel awful. Thanks."
She nodded, and he retreated into the bathroom with one of her boyfriend's gym shirts and jogging pants. He had to take off the bandage to shower, but it felt good to stand under the hot water and feel his muscles relax and unwind. The pain was almost gone now.
The heat and steam restimulated blood flow, but he covered the wound again securely and dressed himself in clean clothes, folding his khakis and shirt into a neat stack.
The light was off when he returned to the bedroom, with only the paltry moonlight showing through the clouds to give light. She was in a nightgown and pulling back the covers.
"I'll sleep on the floor."
"Oh no," she shook her head quickly. "Please don't. That's not necessary." She patted the sheets beside her, and he climbed uncertainly into bed. He was surprised at how she immediately curled up beside him, pulling his arms around her.
"What about Yuuhi?"
"Oh, Yuuhi. I know how much he loves me, but…no one will ever replace her. A lot of guys have tried over the past few years, but nobody can really reach me. That place that she left empty is still inside me. You're the closest thing; it's almost like I can feel her with you." Tomoyo laid her head against her pillow and closed her eyes. This man was so compelling, and his strong arms so comforting. It was almost as if he'd brought Sakura back to her, even though he said he didn't know where she was. For now, it was the next best thing.
Li felt her breathing grow deep and even, and yawned. He'd been in and out of sleep all day it seemed, but he hadn't gotten the rest that his body still craved. Here, in the quiet calm of Tomoyo's bedroom, he felt his mind shut down at last, and he drifted into sleep.
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Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
