Love For So Long

Disclaimers: I don't own CCS, CLAMP does..... you wouldn't be able to sue me anyways... *looks at empty pockets*.......

Author's Notes:
I guess it took me a while to start chapter 7. I guess I kinda needed a break. But hey! I find beating FF9 more important than CCS at the
moment lol~~ I'm having so much fun!

Syaoran is finally coming back to Japan, but his joy soon turns to depression when he meets Sakura for the first time in over five years. But
then.. someone begins stalking Sakura, and word goes around that someone wants Sakura killed. Can Syaoran save Sakura before she herself is
dead?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 7 - Because You Love Me
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Was it a dream? No. It seemed too real. Even if the whole world seemed like fantasy. Everything was blue; even the pajamas Syaoran lent
her were tinted blue. As far as her eye can see, everything from above, below, and around was all a big sea of blue. It just had to be a
dream. But she felt the strange movement as she floated around. She took a deep breath. It wasn't water either. But whatever it was, it felt
cold. Not so cold to make her freezing, but just.... cold.......

A big sea of blue.

"Is.... anyone out there?" Sakura meekly asked. "Something?"

Sakura got no reply. She looked around again to make sure.

"S...Syaoran....?" Sakura asked again, more frightened.

"S...someone's gotta be out there... I'm not all alone here, am I?"

Sakura felt sick to her stomach. Not only was she alone in this foreign place, the movement had become more rigorous.

"Is... someone there? Someone's gotta be there... someone..."

Some gurgling sounds could be heard from far away. Sakura started to regret trying to find someone. As the strange sounds came closer, she
shut her eyes, hoping it would go away. She shut them tight, as well as her fists, and crouched into a ball. Hopefully, whatever was there
would eventually go away.

The noises stopped. Sakura, feeling sure of herself, uncurled herself and slowly opened her eyes. When she did, she found a dark blue
unclear substance floating in front of her.

"Wh...who are you...? Syaoran?" Sakura asked again.

"I am not who you think," the object replied.

"Then... who are you...?" Sakura demanded. "What is this place? Why am I here?"

The object floated closer to Sakura. Sakura started to feel less frightened. This object couldn't hurt her. She felt as if it were there
to help her. Help her find her way back, to where her family and friends were.

"Who are you?" Sakura repeated. "Where am I? Where is everyone?"

Sakura could somehow feel this object's aura. It... didn't seem like a person at all. It seemed more like a spirit. A ghost. Something
like that... It's aura wasn't warm, but wasn't too cold either. Sakura couldn't make out whether it really wanted to help her out or not.

"I am...."

**********************

Syaoran's eyes jerked open. Something wasn't right. With Sakura still in his arms, his eyes searched through the darkness. He tried to
focus on the clock. Three AM. No. Maybe it was three-thirty. He couldn't see clearly. Sakura seemed sound asleep in his arms. He was glad
that she calmed down... somewhat. But something wasn't right. There was a weird presence hanging around. He couln't tell where though.

Unsecure, he tightened his embrace on Sakura as he recalled the incident that happened last night. Even though stalkers take their time to
attack, he still felt that someone was still trying to do something.

He felt something wet on his sleeve. He found this rather strange, since Sakura had pretty much dried up from the shower. But just to make
sure, he took a peek.

Sakura was crying, all right. Not the type of crying where someone would sob, but the type when someone would be trying to keep something
to themselves. Sakura had tears running down her face. Even though she was asleep, Syaoran could tell that she was having some sort of
nightmare. He took his sleeve and wiped the tears off Sakura's face. Then he settled down a little bit more in the couch, and hugged Sakura
even tighter. Hoping to keep his word and protect her from any harm.

To live his whole life with her.

**********************

"Depression...?" Sakura asked.

"You still don't get me. I'm merely the feelings you've held for the past couple of days. I am your Anger, your Hate, your Sadness. You could
also say I'm your Depression, but that's not really what I am."

"What do you mean?"

"This place is the Pool of Depression. This is where people run away from their fears."

"But I don't want to run away from my fears.... I have everyone to face them with! I have Syaoran!"

"Then I don't see why you're here. But you have come here. There's no way you can come out unless someone comes and gets you."

"What do you mean??"

This whole situation really confused Sakura. She wasn't really depressed anymore. At least... at least she shouldn't be. She has her
friends and family; why should she be depressed?

"The body you have right now isn't your real body. This is just your spirit, and everything you see and feel is merely your imagination. It's
because you see yourself in everyday life."

"But in order to escape, I just need someone to get me out, right? I know that Syaoran will come! If I don't wake up, he'll know that
something's wrong! Then he'll come get me...."

The object seemed to shake its head. Sakura couldn't see it, but she definitely felt that it disagreed.

"It's not that easy, my dear."

"Why not?"

"Because... they don't care for you enough."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If someone cared for you enough, they'll come get you. But by the looks of what's been happening, I don't think anyone's going to care
enough for your safety after all this. No one cares for you, Sakura. You'd better forget it."

Sakura only replied with a blank look on her face.

"You have no hope, because soon, you're going to die."

And with that, the object disappeared.

************************

Fujitaka walked up to the front steps of his house. Oh, how good was it to arrive home after an extended day of work. Even though it was
still morning, he was prepared to take a nap, and then take a nice hot bath after he wakes up.

He didn't have to worry much about food. Sakura should be at Tomoyo's, and even if she's not, Sakura would still be the one cooking the
food.

He slowly brought the keys up to the knob, and unlocked the door. As he walked in, he could hear the sizzling sounds of the stove, and
smelt the wonderful smell of rice just cooked.

It looked like Sakura stayed home after all...

Fujitaka took off his shoes and placed his breifcase on the side. He tried to make his way over to the kitchen, but gave up somewhat and
threw himself on the couch.

"Sakura... can you make me a coffee or something please?" Fujitaka asked.

"Sakura's not home." a deep, somewhat rough voice replied.

Fujitaka's eyes widened and looked over at the kitchen. He was sure Sakura was smart enough to lock the door. Who else would have keys to
the house?

"....Touya?"

"Your coffee's coming right up." Touya replied.

Fujitaka let out a surprised chuckle, and despite his fatigue, stood up. Seeing his son return home after a couple years was really
shocking. Not to mention without notice.

"Why...?" Fujitaka asked.

"I don't know.... I felt I had to come home..." Touya replied. "I'm sorry for leaving for so long.... but there were things I had to do..."

"It's okay... but... you could've at least called once in a while... it's amazing though... you still look the same."

"Well, aside from my business I tried to take good care of myself too."

"Did you find a girlfriend?"

"Well.... yeah.... I...... uh.... proposed to her last week. I was going to call you about it in a couple of days... but... you know."

"That doesn't matter! You've still come back. What is she like?"

"I proposed to her because she reminds me of mother... but my feelings for her are different than what I felt for mother..." Touya explained.

"I see.... well, we'll come up there to meet her soon. I hope she's the right girl for you."

Touya scratched the back of his head. "I'm sure she is."

Fujitaka smiled. "Oh, just wait until Sakura gets home. She's going to be so excited..."

A small crash could be heard within the living room, sometime after Fujitaka mentioned Sakura's name. They found it quite strange. Touya
turned down the heat on the stove and the two men rushed to the living room to see what it was. To their relief, as they entered, they found
nobody at all. Then Touya went to pick up the fallen object and picked it up. As he did, his eyes widened in horror.

"I knew it." Touya mumbled. Then he rushed out the door.

Fujitaka just stood there, wondering what was going on. He picked up the picture frame. It was a picture of Sakura, looking really happy.
The glass was cracked, though, and there seemed to be red stains on the photo. Fujitaka frowned.

"Oh my God.... I hope Sakura's going to be all right...."

***************************

Syaoran slowly opened his eyes to find the room filled with the morning light. As he lazily sat up, Sakura still in his arms, he glanced
at the clock.

"10am already?" he mumbled to himself.

Sakura seemed to be sleeping soundly. He decided to carefully place her on the couch so he could start cooking something for breakfast.
That would impress Sakura for sure. He really didn't want her to be depressed. Besides, it would be better if she had an early start, in case
she really needed to get home.

As Syaoran tried to maneuver his way out, he noticed that Sakura's body felt awfully limp. Suddenly scared, he checked if Sakura was
breathing all right, and if she still had a heartbeat. He sighed with relief as he found she was still alive. But it still didn't seem right
for her to be so limp. He frowned and turned away. Unsure of himself, he turned back and found that tears were running down her face again.

Syaoran sighed. This didn't look good at all. He shook Sakura a little bit, trying to wake her up gently. No response.

Syaoran shook Sakura a little bit harder this time, hoping she'd wake up for sure.

Still nothing.

Syaoran started to panic, and brought Sakura up and tried shaking her a little bit more rapidly.

"Sakura! Sakura! Wake up!" Syaoran urged.

Sakura stayed asleep, tears still running down her face. Syaoran was alarmed, and didn't know what to do. He then considered calling the
ambulance... but... what if it would be too late already?

What was he going to do?

***************************

Sakura continued to sob as she sat down. She didn't know how long she was there, but she must've been there for a while because the last
time she saw that object was already a long time ago. She was alone, and nobody was going to come get her. Sakura could only feel sadness,
and continued to sob more. Why wasn't anyone coming? Didn't anyone care?

She was sure that Syaoran would come get her. He did care, right? Of course he did. He tried to take care of her last night. But why
wasn't he here yet? She wanted to leave this horrible place.

How many hours?

How much longer?

Why did she have to wait?

She kept on screaming Syaoran's name through her mind, hoping she would get to him somehow. But of course he couldn't hear her. He
wasn't there. He didn't care enough to hear. No one cared. That's why no one was coming to get her.

But why?

How come no one cared?

What did she do wrong?

Was what she did in the past couple of days... terribly wrong?

Sakura lifted her head to see if she was mistaken. She knew that any minute.... there would at least be someone walking through the
water-like atmosphere. She would see ripples soon from far away and Tomoyo would walk right through. Or Eriol. Or maybe Chiharu, Naoko, or
Rika. What about Touya? Her big brother would definitely try to help. Even her father. Perhaps even her mother would soon come. Her sweet,
gentle aura would surround her at any moment soon.

No one came.

Sakura put her head down and cried.

*******************

Syaoran looked around in his new surroundings. When he had entered, he felt as if gravity had no meaning. Yet, there was still pressure. As
if he were in liquid. He was still able to breathe, thankfully. It had taken him a while to get used to the swaying atmosphere.

It was cold.

Not freezing, but cold enough to cause goosebumps.

He started to run. All he saw was a never-ending horizon of blue. All he could really do was hope he was running in the right way.

After what had seemed like hours, he finally saw something in the distance. It was still quite far, but something was definitely there. As
he got closer, he heard sobs. They were quiet sobs, full of hurt. He finally stopped, and collapsed to his knees. He had been running for a
while, and it seemed as if it was stuffy. His head bowed down, and sweat pouring down his face, he finally looked up.

Sakura.

He finally found her.

He stumbled to his feet, and slowly walked over to Sakura. He hugged her.

"Sakura... let's go home." Syaoran mumbled softly.

Sakura didn't reply.

Syaoran frowned and shook her. "Sakura. Let's go home. Nothing's going to happen to you."

Sakura only replied with sobs.

Instead of talking her into coming with him, he decided that maybe he could pick her up. He placed his arm over Sakura's shoulder, and his
other around her waist. He went ahead to lift her up. But as he did, Sakura didn't budge. Syaoran tried harder. She moved, just a little. It
proved that Sakura wasn't stuck in place, but she was extremely heavy. Syaoran felt as if he were trying to lift a cement building.

Syaoran gave up on that idea, and went back to getting her back to reality.

"Sakura... come on, let's go home."

Sakura only sobbed more. "No one's coming for me. I didn't do anything bad... all I did was gave them my heart... is that bad? Why is no one
coming for me?"

Syaoran placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her again. "What are you talking about?? I'm right here! Come on, let's go home!"

"No one cares for me... I'm all alone here... I'm all alone, left here to die..."

Syaoran growled in frustration. What the hell was she talking about? He obviously had no idea. Then, he closed his eyes and took a deep
breath. He needed to calm down, and frustration would only make him want to give up even more. There was no way he was going to give up now.
He couldn't. Not with the love of his life in danger. He would go wherever she went. Meaning that if she had to die, he would go with her.

"No one loves me..."

Syaoran's eyes snapped open. What was she thinking? Where did she get that idea? After what happened last night... she thinks no one loves
her? This was it. Syaoran was becoming awfully impatient. He immediately crouched down, embraced her tightly and held her close.

"SAKURA! What the Hell are you saying??! Come home with me!" he yelled.

Sakura still held that blank look on her face, repeating only what the pool had made her believe.

"Snap out of it! Sakura! Come home, and then we can all be happy!"

Sakura could only reply... "Everyone's leaving me here to die... I'm going to die soon..."

"SAKURA! DON'T DIE!! I LOVE YOU!!!" Syaoran cried. He held his cheek close to hers, as his tears started streaming down his face. The tears
soon transferred onto her face.

Syaoran couldn't stand it. How did she know she was going to die? He wasn't going to let it happen. His sobs lessened as he tried to calm
down. He was getting a little bit too emotional. He lifted his right arm to wipe off his tears, but surprise had prevented him from doing so.
Sakura had lifted her arms and wrapped them around his body, and she slowly started to stand up. Syaoran's eyes were wide with shock, as he
slowly followed her movement.

"Syaoran...?"

It took a few seconds for Syaoran to realize that someone had called his name. He looked down at Sakura, who was looking up at him.

"S... Sakura..."

Sakura and Syaoran stared at eachother for a while, both surprised that the other was there. Sakura seemed as if she wanted to cry in
happiness, because someone finally came. She frowned, and started to cry, as Syaoran continued to stare in disbelief.

"I'm.... awfully sorry... Syaoran... I... I let myself believe so much... that no one..."

Syaoran fumbled around his mind for something to say. Then he remembered what he had been repeating to her the whole time. He smiled
gently, and shook his head.

"Sakura.... don't worry about it... just come home."

Sakura didn't reply for a while, giving another quiet atmosphere. Then, she frowned and moved her lips slightly. "I can't."

Syaoran frowned at her reply. "Don't kid around with me, Sakura..."

"I'm not kidding."

Both stayed silent for a while. The only disturbance was Syaoran's heavy breathing as he started to worry more about things. Tears started
again, and softly traced his cheek.

"You don't mean..."

"Don't cry, Syaoran... you shouldn't cry... you shouldn't become like me..."

"It's a lie, Sakura. You have to come back with me. I'm not going to take no for an answer, you know..."

"I'm not lying... I have to... I have to go soon... I have no choice."

Syaoran let go of Sakura's waist, and collapsed to his knees. His tears couldn't stop. They just kept coming.

"Damn tears... my... my emotions won't even let me listen to you... I can't... help it..."

Sakura knelt down in front of Syaoran, and placed her hands on his shoulders. She made a small smile and kissed his cheek, where his tears
came down from.

"It's okay... Everything will be all right..."

It was Syaoran's turn to ignore Sakura. He can't sit there and believe everything she has to say. He was going to take her home, and they
will continue to live happily. And maybe in a couple of years from now, he'll propose to her. She'll say yes, and they'll live happily
together. He wanted to have a happy ending. He wouldn't know what he would do if it turned out otherwise...

"Don't cry... because you have my love..."

Syaoran lifted his head and looked at Sakura. "...what do you mean...?"

"You gave me your love... so now you have mine in return."

Syaoran stayed silent, still with no comprehension.

"My Love for Yours..."

Syaoran felt as if he were being controlled. He didn't know why or how, but his hands lifted up from his lap and wrapped themselves around
Sakura's waist once again. It was like he was in a trance. He didn't feel depressed anymore. All he felt was Sakura, and nothing else. This
was all he needed to be happy. As Sakura slowly leaned in closer, she started mumbling something.

"What did you say?"

"...I love you, Syaoran."

"Ah... I love you too, Sakura..."

Soon after that, their lips made contact. It surprised Syaoran at first, as it was his first kiss. He was actually... longing for this
moment for the longest time. But soon after that, Syaoran slowly closed his eyes as he continued to hold her waist. He felt himself being
pulled slowly back into reality, out of the pool of Depression. When they were finally sitting on the motel room floor, Syaoran felt weird.
It was like as if another presence was there. He couldn't tell if it was evil or not. But whoever it was, he didn't bother. All he needed was
Sakura right now, and as he still held on to her...

"good... bye..."

Syaoran ignored this figment of imagination. There was no one there to say goodbye, and Sakura was already home. She had no need to say
goodbye. But Syaoran realized he thought too soon, as he felt warm liquid soaking his hands, coming from Sakura's shirt...

****************************

"Are you sure??" A girl shouted as she ran through the bushes, following her boyfriend.

"I'm quite sure. If I'm not mistaken..." The boy replied. "Her father called your house, right?"

"Yeah... I didn't even know her father was leaving overnight for a project..."

As they both reached the end of the small area of bushes, the stopped and panted for a while.

"We... shouldn't... waste any... time..." The boy with glasses stated.

"But... we've been... running... so long..." The girl with amythest eyes protested.

Eriol stood back up. "We're almost there. We're at the back, so just about 10 more seconds to run..."

"I can't..." Tomoyo replied.

Eriol walked up to Tomoyo and gently held her hand. "Let's go."

Tomoyo, having no choice, stood up and started running again. Fortunately, Eriol was supporting her this time, so she wouldn't be tired.
They both saw Touya running from ahead.

"I thought you'd be here before us," Eriol shouted.

"My... motorcycle's... in the... shop... What about... you guys?" Touya panted, as they met up.

"Mom was busy..." Tomoyo replied. "We couldn't get a ride..."

"Enough talking! What if something happened?!" Eriol demanded as he broke the talk. Eriol took a quick stride and went in front of Syaoran's
motel room, with Tomoyo and Touya following shortly behind.

Eriol knocked on the door twice, and stood around impatiently. Then he turned around and knocked again, harder this time. He still didn't
get a reply, and leant on the door. He placed his ear on it, hoping he could hear if anything was going on in there.

"Do you hear--" Tomoyo started.

"Shh, someone's crying..." Eriol said as he cut her off.

Tomoyo watched, eager to find out what was going on. She was getting more worried by the minute. As she tried to wait patiently, she
finally saw a reaction on Eriol's face. He seemed as if he were scared. Touya was starting to get impatient too, as his face filled with
anxiety. Eriol tried to turn the door knob, but it was locked.

"GODDAMMIT, OPEN UP, SYAORAN!!" Eriol yelled, this time pounding on the door. "I'M GONNA BREAK IT DOWN, YOU HEAR??"

Tomoyo gasped, seeing this violent reaction in her boyfriend. She felt Touya's large hands on her shoulders, pulling her away from Eriol,
who was now trying to break down the door. She heard the doors of other people in the motel open, mumbling over whatever was going on. She
watched as Eriol started kicking the door knob. Soon, the door thrust open, and Tomoyo started to feel pale. She could feel Touya's hands
tighten their grip on her shoulder, and she saw that Eriol was frozen in his place. No one could believe what they just saw.

"My God..." Eriol mumbled, as he started to back up.

Eriol turned around and faced Tomoyo and Touya. Touya slowly released his hands from Tomoyo, as Eriol took over and blocked Tomoyo's view.

"L...let's... we should leave him be... and... call emergency..." Eriol mumbled in shock.

Eriol wrapped his arms around Tomoyo, and started to lead her to the main room of the motel. But Touya couldn't move at all. He just
continued to stare at the gory romance scene. People from other motels started to gather behind him. His eyes started to widen as the chinese
boy, the boy he always had a grudge against, looked up at him. His face was pale, and his eyes were red. His face was covered somewhat in
blood. His hair seemed messy, and matted with sweat. His clothes were soaked with blood. And he seemed to be holding what seemed like a doll
in his arms.

Touya would love to think it was all a mistake. The chinese boy was really a small child, who spilt red paint over his brand new toy, a
toy that he swore he would love forever. But this was reality. The whole motel room was soaked in blood, and what shocked Touya even more was
that the blood was his sister's. His own, little sister's blood. Something he could never believe. Never in a million years. He started to
regret hating the chinese boy she loved. He started to regret teasing her. If he knew this would happen, he would've treated her more like a
princess. Yeah, that's what he would've done. To make her life more worth it... he would've stayed home and never left the house... That's
what he should've done. Touya soon snapped out of his thoughts as Syaoran started to talk.

"It's okay... because I still have her love..." Syaoran smiled weakly. "But... I just want a little more time with her... alone... please..."

Touya walked up to the door and grabbed it. "Don't you dare kill yourself, brat... I'll hate you even more if you do..."

A tear rolled down Touya's cheek, as the scene he never wanted to imagine was blocked from his sight. The door was now closed, as if
nothing had ever happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AAHHH!!!!!! DON'T HIT ME!!!! I know I'm bad ;_; but that's what I had planned the whole time...
;_; that's the LAST CHAPTER of the story now! ......... ;_; I'm so sorry.............................. but...... I promise I'll write an
epilogue.... I'll try to make it a happy one too ;_;
I'm not a very good story writer so I'll have to apologize ending it in Touya's point of view ;_; I didn't know how else to end it! .......
*sniff* I think I'm going to grab a bucket of ice cream now..... I feel depressed....

~*AngelSakura*~