DISCLAIMER: I don't own any CCS characters, they belong to CLAMP.



a/n: I love how you guys all left such wonderful long reviews last chapter. I like getting long reviews. ^_^ I like getting reviews in general. Oh, and there were so many *-* ! I think the most I've ever gotten on a chapter is 20 something. Last chapter came close. ^_______^

Apologies for the long wait. Curses to college apps. grr.....

lilyflower, I love Li Syaoran, and Jared - hehehe....Kaiba is so thick sometimes, neh? It adds a little comic relief in a really twisted way, but only in the beginning part. The end....well...I won't give it away. ^_^ Force you all to keep reading. ^_^ Oh, and Jared, I'm with ya on the Kaiba thing. I don't think it's apparent in this chapter, but soon...ohohohohohohohoho.

Firey chan - I like your comment on love



My friend, My rival



"I can't take it anymore. I have to get away from Kaiba," she said to me. Why was she telling me this when she knew she was more than welcome to stay with me. I told her so, but she just shook her head. "No, it's not that simple anymore."

She started crying even harder. I'd never seen her quite like this before. Her sobs were overtaking her body. I wanted to cradle her in my arms and keep her there for ever and ever. I wanted to protect her from everyone and everything. There was so much I wanted to do, but couldn't. Before I could control the impulse, I found myself taking her into my arms and holding her close.

A few more minutes of crying, and she calmed down. She sighed in my arms and then gently pushed away, wiping away the tears. She started talking. "I was born in the mortal world. I was fifteen when I came here. My mother and father told me that on the day I was born, the Fates came and told them I was to be a goddess. My parents didn't want to let me go. I guess I would have loved to follow the Fates here, but I was in love. With a boy named Gareth," Sakura paused to see if I understood. In my hear, I was making the connections faster than I could digest them.

"We didn't want to leave each other. We were so in love. But in the end, it was inevitable that we separate. Right before the portal closed between the two worlds, I told him I'd never forget him. He seemed to have something on his mind and I just wanted to comfort him. He said something back, but it was too late, I couldn't hear him. To this very day, I wonder that he said to me, and even though he's been dead for over a thousand years, not a day passes when I don't think about him. Do you understand now why it's so hard for me to love?" she finished.

Now. Now I knew about why Sakura acted the way she did. She was stuck in the past. I nodded. "Because you're reluctant to let go."

Sakura nodded back. But then she dropped the bomb. "Yes, and Kaiba isn't helping me forget." She stopped for a minute to consider her words. "I need to go away for a while. Far, far away. Away to the mortal realms."

In my mind, her choice made sense. The problem with the Realms of the Gods was that nothing changed. Everything around Sakura would remind her of when she first arrived, when the hurt was the most painful. If she could purge her memory by going away...

I didn't want her to go. I tried to keep her here. "Sakura. You're a goddess, how can you?"

"No one said anything about not being able to visit the mortal world. I'll be perfectly safe thanks to you and your matial arts training," she responded frankly. Clearly, this was not a spur of the moment idea.

I pleaded again for her to think this through. I wanted so badly now, to take her into my arms and tell her how much I loved her, but I knew she wouldn't be happy if I did. But what was I going to do without her?

Again, I pleaded, but I could see it in her eyes. I'd lost the argument as soon as she'd started talking because she was determined to leave with or without my approval. "You're right..." I sighed, there was nothing I could do to stop her. Nothing at all.

Before she went up to her rooms though, she turned around. "Promise me that you won't tell anyone where I'm going. Act like I'm just staying here. And you need to be surprised when I leave, so I'm not telling you when I'm leaving."

What could I do but agree? "Fine. Where are you going?"

"Back to my world."

The only thing I could do was sit and stare. How did she think going back to her world was gong to help her? I didn't understand, but there wasn't a way I could stop her without risking at least her friendship. And the slight possibility of ever winning her love.

The rest of the day passed in sort of a haze. I didn't see Sakura at all, which should have made me suspicious, but didn't. I was too stunned by her decision that was even sure of my left hand and right hand. What was she going to do when she got to her home planet? Was she going to try and find the remenats of the village she had come from? Try and find the grooves of cherry trees where she had played as a child. I know I could have easily caught her thoughts, but that's unethical.

When it was time for dinner, she didn't show up; Sakura was always punctual for meals. I went up to her room to see if she was all right. Normally, I wouldn't even go into her room, there was an understanding between the two of us that I wouldn't randomly go into her rooms. The door to her room was slightly open. She never left a door half open, just like she never left anything half done. I knocked, but hearing no answer, went in; the door was open.

Inside, though, there was no Sakura. Just three notes, one for Kaiba, me, and Eriol and Kaho, and a trace of magic. So she'd left. I was deffinately surprised. I called out to Eriol, Kaho, and Kaiba, telling then to come to my place immediately. I even said it was an emergency to make sure they would be here now not later.

A few seconds later, the three of them materialized in my living room, wondering what was going on. I handed them the notes. I had already read mine. She had predicted that Kaiba would be very angry. "You and Eriol will be able to calm him down though," she had written. Her faith in us was touching, but I wasn't so sure of us.

Eriol read the note Sakura left for him and Kaho, and his face immediately became impassive, revealing no emotion what so ever. He passed the note to Kaho. She read it and started to cry. Apparently, Sakura had sounded so much like herself in that note that Kaho was overcome with grief.

Kaiba on the other hand, Kaiba, Kaiba. He read the note Sakura left for him, sat and turned red. His fists were clenched at his side. The worry inside me built up; what if he completely exploded and we couldn't calm him? I had glimpsed the note Sakura wrote for him. It was a single line, hastily scrawled. "Sakura is not the one for you," it read.

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, Kaho turned to Kaiba. "It's your fault. Why couldn't you listen to me when I told you to leave her alone?" she demanded.

She looked like she was about to go one, but Eriol silenced her and led her farther away from Kaiba. For the longest time, the only sound was Kaho's occasional sniffle and a heartbroken sob. "I'm going to look for her."

"NO!" was the unanimous shout. Evidently, we all agreed with Kaho to some degree, but it was Kaho who showed her venom.

"You've ruined her life enough already. She is not the same Sakura who came to us all those years ago. I remember a time when she was happy. When she was truly happy," she accused icily.

Eriol agreed with Kaho. "Sakura needs time by herself," started Eriol, "and Kaho, my dear, you are right, I didn't notice before, but Sakura has changed. Who knows, she may come back a changed goddess."

I waited until I could see the effects of their statements before I added my thoughts. Kaiba was not taking it well. Even so, I had an overwhelming urge to speak my mind. "I'm sorry Kaiba, but she told me she doesn't want you. Don't you get it? You're the whole reason she left. Did you read her note or what? And she's told you so about a hundred million times. I have complete faith in her. She'll come back when she's ready. Sakura is her own pers-" He cut me off before I could finish.

"I don't give a damn," were his exact words. He pushed me into the wall behind me and started to leave, obviously trying to find a way to find Sakura. But something stopped him. The Fates stopped him! I hadn't seen them in such a long time. Meeting them now, though, gave me the feeling that I would be seeing a lot more of them for the time being.

Even Kaiba lost some of his bravado upon seeing them. Enti spoke. "You, Kaiba, God of War, are forbidden to interfere with Sakura. There are events that will happen that are necessary in her life." I puzzled over that statement, and it seemed Kaiba did too, since he paused before he retorted.

"How would you know?" Goodness, Kaiba could be stupid sometimes. Apparently, the Fates also thought so, since Vega and Soko admonished him. Stung, Kaiba hesetated even more.

"Hear and obey," Enti concluded. The three women disappeared and Kaiba look sullen and angry, but in a more contained way than before. It seemed that he had resigned himself to his current position and wasn't even going to try to rebel.

There was no way this was going to last very long though. Unless the Fates themselves enforced Kaiba's thoughts, he would soon return to his militant ways and try to get Sakura back. For now though, Sakura had a head start. Kaiba didn't know where she was, he wasn't allowed to find out where she was, and even if he did by some miraculous chance find out where he was, he wasn't allowed to do anything about it. I could almost shout with joy, a perverse kind of joy, but joy nonetheless.

At the same time though, I wondered where Sakura was and how she was doing. It would help if I knew when she left, but I didn't. I knew where she was going though, making me one step ahead of Kaiba, my rival and my friend.




a/n: short chapter neh? what do you think? I love the Fates. They're darlings. I crave your feedback just as badly as Syaoran wants to tell Sakura his feelings. I crave your feedback the way a pregnant woman craves strange foods. I crave your feedback the way a vampire craves blood. Are you getting the idea? ^_^ Review!