Chapter 5- Trapped All Alone in Your Fire Inferno
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"S-Sakura-chan?"
Sakura only stood, wide-eyed, and then gained her composure.
"Where are you keeping my daughter?" Anger flared in her eyes, and Syaoran took a step back.
"She-she's~" He tried to say, but a small girl came in holding a teddy bear. She tugged on her daddy's sleeve and looked up at him as he looked down at her.
"~right here." Syaoran finished.
"Dad, what's this?" She asked.
He picked her up and took the bear slowly from her hands, holding it very carefully.
"This, my daughter, is Sakura. Your mother made it all by herself, and when we fell in love she gave it to me."
"That's so sweet dad!"
He nodded.
"And I made her one too. I named it Syaoran, so she would never forget me," he added, and then looked at his wife.
Sakura now had tears in her eyes, and Syaoran put Mina down slowly as they began trickling from those beautiful jade green pearls. She sunk to her knees and just stayed there, sobbing, as he came over.
Tomoyo gasped, and Eriol put his arm around her, keeping her from running over to her best friend. This was between Sakura and Syaoran.
"W-why? Why did you have to leave us Syaoran? WHY?!"
He rubbed her shoulders softly, calming her. "Shhh... It'll all be ok, I'm here now. I'm here..." And he let a single tear escape also, sealing his sincerity.
"I'm s-sorry." She hiccoughed (A/n: that's the real way to spell "hiccupped") and his face came near hers. She could smell his scent again. Like peonies, but warm and soft and strong and...
She ran. She was falling in again, and wouldn't go under his spell. Love had hurt her before, and she wouldn't let it again. She would have to leave with Minako as soon as possible, but for now...for now, she would just stay in her old room.
She ran swiftly up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and went into a door on her left.
This was the room she stayed in before Yelan passed away, before she had to leave Syaoran, and before she realized she was pregnant.
Two years after Minako's birth, Yelan died from cancer, and that was when the clan began to collapse. China needed Syaoran, but he wouldn't leave his cherry blossom for even the largest country on the planet. When he asked if they could keep Mina in the house, the elders refused, splitting the family and forcing Syaoran to stage a marriage with Meiling to run the clan. There had been no choice.
Sakura buried her face in the pillow and cried away the memories. She looked up, and saw a small pink bear on the dresser next to a picture of Syaoran, another picture of all of the Lis, and one of the Kinomotos.
'I had been so happy...' she thought, but the idea just made the pain come welling back, and soon Sakura had cried herself to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~That Night~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakura woke to a soft tickle on her hand. Whatever was holding it was so warm... She squeezed it.
"Huh? What?"
Syaoran awoke from his sleeping spot in the chair at the soft squeeze on his hand.
"Oh, Sakura, you're awake." He looked at her sadly.
She nodded.
"I had a dream...you were in it...and we...we were in a meadow. It was full of daisies and all kinds of flowers. And you just held me in your arms and said you would never leave..You would never leave..."
"Sakura, I'm so sorry. You know I couldn't stay. You know I would never~"
"And then I smelled smoke. I looked up over the tall grass and saw a light. It was a soft orange. I thought it was pretty, but I had no idea what it was.
"B-but then you panicked. You said it was a fire, and it would burn everything. That it all would be lost and"-Sakura felt soft tears trickling down her cheeks, and found the words pouring from her lips hard to say. She didn't know why she was telling him this. She hardly knew what she was saying, but she continued anyways.
--"you ran away from me. Then I was in a cage, and you vanished while the flames turned red and they...they burned me to death! I couldn't move! I just...I just stood there...I couldn't move...I couldn't..."
Sakura felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her fragile form and instinctively she turned around and sobbed into his arm.
Just then, someone knocked softly on the door, and then it opened. In came the small figure of Mina, still holding the teddy bear. Sakura was still holding the other one.
"Mom? Dad? What's going on?" She climbed up onto the bed and sat on her knees.
"Can I come and stay with you two? I heard mom crying. I...want to make her feel better...Was it because I left?" She crawled up into the spot on the other side of Sakura form Syaoran, and touched her mother's arm lightly.
"I'm sorry Mom, I just missed Dad so much and I didn't want to never see him again. I-I didn't mean to make you cry. I feel bad because...you were always so tough at home, and I just gave up being lonely, while you fought it out."
Sakura looked at her daughter, as if deciding what to say, and then she spoke quietly, "That's alright, Mina, we're going to have to learn how to forgive if things are going to turn out right. I...I guess I was foolish not to do anything until now."
"We all make mistakes, Mom. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks honey." Sakura put her arm around her daughter.
The sky had been clear that night. That moment, right when Sakura thanked Mina, things could have been called perfect. Things could have been settled, and everything would have been fine...if Sakura hadn't forgotten everything that had happened by the time she woke up.
~* In another wing of the mansion *~
"So, how are we gonna hook 'em up?" inquired Tomoyo in a whisper as her and Eriol peered around the corner of the room, watching the sleeping family.
"I don't know, Love, but I was thinking the same thing."
"Well, Sakura as sure as heck won't act like this when she has her senses back."
"Yeah...What about the~?" He stopped, and they both said:
"Nah"
"What about~"
"Nah..."
"I know!" This was Tomoyo, "The pool!"
He smiled evilly. "Midnight swim..."
"Exactly" So did she.
"Perfect. Meet you tomorrow night after dinner. Sweet dreams!" Eriol said, and kissed her on the cheek.
"'Night, hon'!" Tomoyo said, winking, and headed to her room too, thinking to herself "Finally, we get to try this all over again."
*** The next morning ***
A yawn erupted from Sakura's room, and inside Syaoran stretched, yawning just like a wolf would, awakening the sleeping maiden beside him.
"Hoe? Oh...it's just you Syaoran..." She said, burying her face in the pillow. She hadn't realized what had happened yet, and that she wasn't in her dream just married to Syaoran and back in Tomoeda without a daughter yet, but in Hong Kong next to the Syaoran that had left her.
"Oh, sorry sleepyhead, I meant to say good morning," he teased.
"That's okay," she said, her eyes still closed, and her mouth in a contented smile, "I don't mind anything you do."
"Good," he said, smiling, and leaned down towards her, "Because you're perfect and I would never want to hurt you." And he kissed her softly, running a hand through her hair. Their noses touched, and Sakura giggled.
"You're cute, you know that?" she asked.
He nodded gently, so as not to bump her head, and kept smiling lovingly. All they saw were each other's eyes. His arms were on both sides of her, and his body was to her right.
She brushed one of his bangs out of his face, as he tucked one of her light brown locks behind her ear.
"Mom, Dad, I'm hungry."
Sakura's eyes widened, and she asked, "Who was that?"
"It's okay Sakura, it was just Mina~"
"MINA?!" She jumped from under him and hit his head with her shoulder, but didn't notice him clutching his skull in pain in her panic.
"It can't be real~" And she noticed her surroundings. No Syaoran's small, cozy apartment. No handmade pillows. No pictures of Touya being stomped on. Just a room painted her old favorite color: pink. And the worst part was she was in China.
"No...NO! I can't be here again!"
She threw the covers off her, and ran from the room in hysterics, a confused Syaoran and Mina left staring blankly at each other.
"Oops..." said Mina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End chappie 5~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"S-Sakura-chan?"
Sakura only stood, wide-eyed, and then gained her composure.
"Where are you keeping my daughter?" Anger flared in her eyes, and Syaoran took a step back.
"She-she's~" He tried to say, but a small girl came in holding a teddy bear. She tugged on her daddy's sleeve and looked up at him as he looked down at her.
"~right here." Syaoran finished.
"Dad, what's this?" She asked.
He picked her up and took the bear slowly from her hands, holding it very carefully.
"This, my daughter, is Sakura. Your mother made it all by herself, and when we fell in love she gave it to me."
"That's so sweet dad!"
He nodded.
"And I made her one too. I named it Syaoran, so she would never forget me," he added, and then looked at his wife.
Sakura now had tears in her eyes, and Syaoran put Mina down slowly as they began trickling from those beautiful jade green pearls. She sunk to her knees and just stayed there, sobbing, as he came over.
Tomoyo gasped, and Eriol put his arm around her, keeping her from running over to her best friend. This was between Sakura and Syaoran.
"W-why? Why did you have to leave us Syaoran? WHY?!"
He rubbed her shoulders softly, calming her. "Shhh... It'll all be ok, I'm here now. I'm here..." And he let a single tear escape also, sealing his sincerity.
"I'm s-sorry." She hiccoughed (A/n: that's the real way to spell "hiccupped") and his face came near hers. She could smell his scent again. Like peonies, but warm and soft and strong and...
She ran. She was falling in again, and wouldn't go under his spell. Love had hurt her before, and she wouldn't let it again. She would have to leave with Minako as soon as possible, but for now...for now, she would just stay in her old room.
She ran swiftly up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and went into a door on her left.
This was the room she stayed in before Yelan passed away, before she had to leave Syaoran, and before she realized she was pregnant.
Two years after Minako's birth, Yelan died from cancer, and that was when the clan began to collapse. China needed Syaoran, but he wouldn't leave his cherry blossom for even the largest country on the planet. When he asked if they could keep Mina in the house, the elders refused, splitting the family and forcing Syaoran to stage a marriage with Meiling to run the clan. There had been no choice.
Sakura buried her face in the pillow and cried away the memories. She looked up, and saw a small pink bear on the dresser next to a picture of Syaoran, another picture of all of the Lis, and one of the Kinomotos.
'I had been so happy...' she thought, but the idea just made the pain come welling back, and soon Sakura had cried herself to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~That Night~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakura woke to a soft tickle on her hand. Whatever was holding it was so warm... She squeezed it.
"Huh? What?"
Syaoran awoke from his sleeping spot in the chair at the soft squeeze on his hand.
"Oh, Sakura, you're awake." He looked at her sadly.
She nodded.
"I had a dream...you were in it...and we...we were in a meadow. It was full of daisies and all kinds of flowers. And you just held me in your arms and said you would never leave..You would never leave..."
"Sakura, I'm so sorry. You know I couldn't stay. You know I would never~"
"And then I smelled smoke. I looked up over the tall grass and saw a light. It was a soft orange. I thought it was pretty, but I had no idea what it was.
"B-but then you panicked. You said it was a fire, and it would burn everything. That it all would be lost and"-Sakura felt soft tears trickling down her cheeks, and found the words pouring from her lips hard to say. She didn't know why she was telling him this. She hardly knew what she was saying, but she continued anyways.
--"you ran away from me. Then I was in a cage, and you vanished while the flames turned red and they...they burned me to death! I couldn't move! I just...I just stood there...I couldn't move...I couldn't..."
Sakura felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her fragile form and instinctively she turned around and sobbed into his arm.
Just then, someone knocked softly on the door, and then it opened. In came the small figure of Mina, still holding the teddy bear. Sakura was still holding the other one.
"Mom? Dad? What's going on?" She climbed up onto the bed and sat on her knees.
"Can I come and stay with you two? I heard mom crying. I...want to make her feel better...Was it because I left?" She crawled up into the spot on the other side of Sakura form Syaoran, and touched her mother's arm lightly.
"I'm sorry Mom, I just missed Dad so much and I didn't want to never see him again. I-I didn't mean to make you cry. I feel bad because...you were always so tough at home, and I just gave up being lonely, while you fought it out."
Sakura looked at her daughter, as if deciding what to say, and then she spoke quietly, "That's alright, Mina, we're going to have to learn how to forgive if things are going to turn out right. I...I guess I was foolish not to do anything until now."
"We all make mistakes, Mom. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks honey." Sakura put her arm around her daughter.
The sky had been clear that night. That moment, right when Sakura thanked Mina, things could have been called perfect. Things could have been settled, and everything would have been fine...if Sakura hadn't forgotten everything that had happened by the time she woke up.
~* In another wing of the mansion *~
"So, how are we gonna hook 'em up?" inquired Tomoyo in a whisper as her and Eriol peered around the corner of the room, watching the sleeping family.
"I don't know, Love, but I was thinking the same thing."
"Well, Sakura as sure as heck won't act like this when she has her senses back."
"Yeah...What about the~?" He stopped, and they both said:
"Nah"
"What about~"
"Nah..."
"I know!" This was Tomoyo, "The pool!"
He smiled evilly. "Midnight swim..."
"Exactly" So did she.
"Perfect. Meet you tomorrow night after dinner. Sweet dreams!" Eriol said, and kissed her on the cheek.
"'Night, hon'!" Tomoyo said, winking, and headed to her room too, thinking to herself "Finally, we get to try this all over again."
*** The next morning ***
A yawn erupted from Sakura's room, and inside Syaoran stretched, yawning just like a wolf would, awakening the sleeping maiden beside him.
"Hoe? Oh...it's just you Syaoran..." She said, burying her face in the pillow. She hadn't realized what had happened yet, and that she wasn't in her dream just married to Syaoran and back in Tomoeda without a daughter yet, but in Hong Kong next to the Syaoran that had left her.
"Oh, sorry sleepyhead, I meant to say good morning," he teased.
"That's okay," she said, her eyes still closed, and her mouth in a contented smile, "I don't mind anything you do."
"Good," he said, smiling, and leaned down towards her, "Because you're perfect and I would never want to hurt you." And he kissed her softly, running a hand through her hair. Their noses touched, and Sakura giggled.
"You're cute, you know that?" she asked.
He nodded gently, so as not to bump her head, and kept smiling lovingly. All they saw were each other's eyes. His arms were on both sides of her, and his body was to her right.
She brushed one of his bangs out of his face, as he tucked one of her light brown locks behind her ear.
"Mom, Dad, I'm hungry."
Sakura's eyes widened, and she asked, "Who was that?"
"It's okay Sakura, it was just Mina~"
"MINA?!" She jumped from under him and hit his head with her shoulder, but didn't notice him clutching his skull in pain in her panic.
"It can't be real~" And she noticed her surroundings. No Syaoran's small, cozy apartment. No handmade pillows. No pictures of Touya being stomped on. Just a room painted her old favorite color: pink. And the worst part was she was in China.
"No...NO! I can't be here again!"
She threw the covers off her, and ran from the room in hysterics, a confused Syaoran and Mina left staring blankly at each other.
"Oops..." said Mina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End chappie 5~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
