~*~ Eternal Fantasy ~*~
Disclaimer: I don't own any anime shows or book series in this fanfic; so… technically, you have no right to sue me.
Chapter Two: New Friends
On a mystical land, wind gently blows away a strand of auburn hair of a mysterious girl. "Where am I?" she thought but only the gentle breeze answered. She shook her head and realized that she had tiny daisies in her hair. She was also wearing a beautiful light yellow dress, decorated with white roses. She blinked her emerald-green eyes and saw a small pond, with the clearest ocean-blue water. As she headed there, she began wondering why she was summoned here. She finally reached the small pond and saw her own reflection: short auburn hair with daisies, beautiful emerald-green eyes, and an expression of wonder on her face. Suddenly, her reflection disappeared, replaced by a shadow of an unknown girl. " Who are you?" the auburn haired mistress asked. Unexpectedly, thousands of tiny spheres surrounded the mysterious figure. " Sakura…" it murmured. " What do you want with me??" the astonished girl asked. The tiny spheres started moving, and the shadow started disappearing. " Your destiny lies in the shadow of mine," the shadow whispered softly. " What?" the confused mistress exclaimed. Slowly, the shadow figure started revealing itself. Colour started to appear. But she was also disappearing quickly. " NO!" Sakura shouted, " I need to know!! NOOOOOO!!!…"
"DDDRRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!"
" Come back… I need to know…"
" Talking in your sleep again, Sakura?"
Sakura slowly opened her eyes. It was just a dream, she thought, but what did it mean?
" Just when you started to sleep peacefully & started being on time for school, you abruptly had the kind of dream that ruins everything," yawned Kero.
" Sorry Kero, but I had one of those dreams again…" Sakura apologized, then she realized: " OH NO, KERO!! I'M LATE!!!!!"
The flying animal just sighed and shook his head while Sakura hastily dressed up & went downstairs to eat her breakfast. I wonder if it had to do with anything that happened last night, Kero thought.
Sakura, meanwhile, was putting on her pink & white roller skates. Then she quickly opened the door and skated as fast as she can to school. On her way, she met Yukito.
" Hi, Sakura!" he greeted her cheerfully.
" Hi!"
" You mind if I walk with you? Of course, you would have to skate a little slower…" Yukito asked.
Sakura shook her head. She was always glad to walk with him, especially because she never saw him as often as before.
" So, I heard that you have a new student in your class, am I right?" Yukito asked.
" Yep! I bet Touya told you about it."
" Yes, he did. So, how is she like?"
" Oh… she's OK, I guess."
Yukito nodded. Sakura then spotted her school.
" Gotta go!" she cried.
" See you, Sakura!" Yukito waved as he headed towards his school.
When Sakura reached her class, she realized that Zafara didn't arrive yet.
" Late again, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, laughing.
" Yeah… I guess me being early doesn't last long."
" Sakura?"
" Huh?" Sakura turned around and saw Syaoran looking at her seriously.
" Yes?"
" I heard that you sensed something last night…" he began.
" Oh," Sakura said, " Sorry I didn't call you, Syaoran, I wasn't sure if I sensed anything at all and the aura was so unfamiliar…"
Which was partly true, but Syaoran kept starring at her. Finally, he shrugged.
" I guess it's OK. Anyway, did you find anything?"
" Hum … yeah, this shadow creature; but I defeated it pretty easily."
Syaoran nodded. Suddenly, the door opened and Zafara walked in, looking very depressed. I wonder what's wrong with her, Sakura thought; I bet she missed her friends and family from Italy.
" Hey, Zafara! What's up?" Sakura asked cheerfully.
Zafara just shook her head without looking up. Wow! She's really bummed, Sakura thought sadly, I wish I could help but- wait a minute! I've got an idea! But before she could put her plan into action, Mr. Terada came in.
" OK class, class has started. Please go back to your seats."
Sakura returned to her seat with one thought in mind: I hope this works.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Wow! That's a great idea, Sakura! But will she accept?"
" I don't know, Tomoyo, that's why I'm planning to ask her…"
" Did Chiharu, Rika, Naoko, Syaoran and Yamazaki agree?"
Sakura nodded.
" Yep! They say one more will be no problem."
" When are you planning to ask her?"
" Right… now."
It was lunchtime and Mr. Terada announced that they could eat outside. Sakura took that time to tell Tomoyo her plan.
" Go for it!" Tomoyo encouraged her.
Sakura nodded and looked for Zafara. Finally, she spotted her on the bench, eating her lunch alone.
" Hi…" Sakura greeted her.
" Hey," Zafara answered.
" Hum… are you doing anything next Wednesday?"
" Don't we have school on that day?"
" No, it'll be Easter Holidays."
" Oh."
This is so hard, Sakura thought; it's like the time I asked Meilin to come to my house except that, at least that time, I made it quick.
" Anyway, me, Tomoyo, Chiharu, Rika, Naoko, Syaoran and Yamazaki planned to tour the town and go to the park for a picnic that day; would you like to come with us?"
Zafara looked up. Nobody ever asked me to come with them before, she thought, it would be nice to go but… should I?
" So, can you come?" Sakura cut into her thoughts.
Zafara shrugged.
" Sure, why not?"
I already let my only friends down anyway, she thought bitterly.
* * * * * * *
It was the next Wednesday morning. Zafara woke up and yawned. What should I do today? She thought and shrugged, nothing… I mean there's nothing special about today except that it's Easter holiday and-
" ~ Ding Dong ~"
" Huh?"
Who could actually be outside my door?
Zafara put on her lavender sleeping gown over her pyjamas and went downstairs. When she opened the door, she found Sakura, Tomoyo, Naoko, Chiharu and Rika in front of her door.
" Hey Zafara!" they all greeted her at once.
" Hum… hi. I didn't expect you guys to be here."
" Don't you remember what day it is?" Sakura asked happily.
Zafara was about to shake her head when she remembered. I really have a bad memory, she thought, maybe because I have so much on my mind lately.
" So can you come or are you too busy?" asked Chiharu, worried.
" I think that I can make it, but I got to change first…" Zafara replied.
" Can we come in?" chirped Naoko.
Zafara shrugged.
" Sure, make yourselves at home."
When they got in, Sakura noticed something odd.
" Hum, Zafara… Where are your parents?"
" Huh?"
Great, I have absolutely no idea how to answer that…the blond haired girl thought.
" They had an earlier conference to attend to? Yeah, that's it…"
" Oh," Sakura nodded. I have the feeling that something's wrong… she thought.
Zafara went upstairs to change her clothes and soon came down, wearing a white T-shirt bordered with pink and midnight blue jeans.
" Are we all ready?" she asked.
" We've got to pick up Syaoran & Yamazaki first," Rika answered.
The other girls nodded.
" But it won't take us long," Chiharu reassured Zafara, " Unless Yamazaki keeps telling us idiotic stories…" she hastily mumbled.
" OK, what are we waiting for? Let's get them."
Pretty soon, they were in front of Syaoran's door, after picking up Yamazaki. Sakura knocked on the door.
" I wonder if he's home?" Rika asked.
" Don't worry; Syaoran's really organized, he probably had a planner telling him that today, it's Easter vacation with us!" Tomoyo laughed.
Swiftly, the door opened and Syaoran appeared.
" Hey guys," he greeted them and yawned.
" When do you usually wake up, Syaoran?" asked Sakura, curious.
He looked at her, and then shrugged.
" At 6:00 a.m. That's the time I used to wake up in Hong Kong."
" YOU WAKE UP AT 6:00 A.M.????" yelled Sakura, dumbfounded.
Everyone else just laughed.
" That seems pretty early for a girl who wakes up at 8:00 a.m., thinking that it's still 7:00 a.m.," Chiharu giggled.
" Guys, I can't help it if I oversleep most of the time," Sakura protest.
" Oh yes you can," Yamazaki started, " There was a time in Lithuania when an emperor ruled. He was an on time person like Syaoran and hated to see people oversleep. So one day, he…"
Just then, Yamazaki got hit on the head by Chiharu's mallet, which suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
" LIES!!!" Chiharu cried, outraged. " Sakura, Syaoran, don't ever listen to him; LIES I TELL YOU!! That's all he speaks!"
She said that particularly to these two because they were the only ones to believe Yamazaki's idiotic tales. Zafara sweat dropped. Very strange people, she thought.
________________________________________________________________________
" Wow! That was a blast!" yelled Zafara happily.
" Yep! One of the best times I had this year!" agreed Naoko.
After getting Syaoran, the gang went to many shops in Tomoeda, showing Zafara how Japan worked. However, Zafara seemed to know already the things that Sakura and the gang told her about. After that, they went to a marvellous garden to finish their Easter homework and when they were done, they took a medium speedboat to arrive to the park.
Now, they decided, was lunchtime. It was already 3:00 p.m. and everybody was hungry. Rika, Naoko and Chiharu were preparing the picnic cloth while Syaoran and Yamazaki were getting the food ready. Tomoyo, meanwhile, took out one of the things she bought and began examining it.
" What are you looking at?" asked Sakura.
" Oh, this? I bought this from a souvenir store that carries special antiques from all over Japan," she began, then showed her the porcelain doll she was looking at: " Her eyes are tiny sapphire stones and she has golden hair. She's also wearing a very ancient kimono with precise drawing. A real work of art."
Zafara nodded, marvelling the precious doll.
" And… oh yeah!" Tomoyo added, " Did I mention that it came from Shibuya?"
Zafara stopped abruptly. Shibuya? She thought, as in- but Yamazaki interrupted her in her thoughts.
" Hey Zafara, did you ever go there?" he asked.
" Hum… yeah…"
That caught everybody's attention.
" But I thought you came from Italy," Syaoran pointed out suspiciously.
Zafara sweat dropped.
" Well, I visited the city on my way to Tomoeda…" she replied hastily.
" How was it there?" Rika asked.
Zafara shrugged and was about to answer when Yamazaki cut her words:
" I've heard that there were ghosts in Shibuya…"
" Oh really, Yamazaki!" Chiharu hissed and was about to take out her mallet, but he ignored her and continued.
" The ghosts would mostly hunt at the Shibuya's train station. It is rumoured that the ghosts took the appearance of strange creatures: for example, once I heard that somebody saw a huge orange-striped dinosaur, with its face masked in armour. Also, there was an…"
I don't know if I'm paranoid or if I actually know what he's talking about… Zafara thought but had no time to ask because right after, Chiharu hit Yamazaki with her mallet.
" When are you going to come to your senses and stop telling stupid stories!!??" she shouted at him.
Zafara shook her head and glanced at the river that the group was close at. She bit her lips and thought: Do they need me out there? Where are they? Can I even try to contact them? Maybe I shouldn't be here, maybe I should be out there, trying to find them. Oh-
" You want something to eat?" Sakura asked her, cutting her thoughts away.
" Yeah, what do we have?"
" Hum… let me see: rice, dumplings, lamen noodles, broccoli & carrots, pork and beef, and drinks."
" I think that I would get some noodles and a few dumplings please."
" OK," Sakura answered then out of nowhere, she sensed an aura. What? She thought, alarmed, but it disappeared right away. Maybe it was just a fake alarm, she thought hopefully, I hope. Soon, they were all finished with lunch and Rika suggested that they take a walk around the park. Everybody agreed and soon, the group was strolling on one side of the river.
" What's the river called?" Zafara asked, curiously.
" Oh, it's called the River of A Thousand Dreams," Sakura replied.
"That's a nice name," Zafara whispered.
Syaoran nodded.
" One of the most spectacular rivers I've ever seen," he agreed.
No one knew that someone was followed them. Finally I have found my warrior, he mused, I'll just find a time when she's alone and I'll destroy her.
Then he let out a horrible laugh as he disappeared from his hiding place.
" What?"
" What's wrong Sakura?" Tomoyo asked.
" Nothing," she shook her head. She just thought that, a moment ago, she heard horrible laughing somewhere near them.
Zafara seem to notice that too since she was looking around the environment very closely. I wonder if she heard it too, Sakura wondered.
" Hey! Does anybody want ice cream?" Naoko asked.
" Yeah!" everybody cried.
Naoko nodded and took everybody's orders. Then she gave money to the ice cream man and asked for the desired ice cream for everyone.
" Here you go!" she said cheerfully, passing ice cream to the group.
" Muete Buenos!" Zafara cried.
" WHAT?"
Everyone starred at her. She sweat dropped.
" It's Italian for very good," she answered.
" Ah, proof that you're Italian," Syaoran said, " I was just getting suspicious if you came from Italy at all."
Zafara glared at him.
Wow! She's human after all, Sakura thought merrily.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
" Sakura! Are you ready for bed?" asked Fujitaka.
" Almost dad!" Sakura answered from upstairs.
It was 10:00 p.m. at night. Everyone has gone home after their trip. They all said that it was really fun and that they enjoyed the day. Even Zafara. Tomoyo was sleeping over at Sakura's home and was reading a story to Kero.
" Sakura, are you ready yet?" she asked.
" Yep!"
She got in her bed and switched off the lights.
" Good night, Tomoyo!"
" Good night, Sakura!"
" Good night, Kero!"
" Yeah, good night!"
" Good night to you too… YAY, PUDDING!!"
Sakura smiled. Today went well after all, she thought cheerfully, and my plan worked: Zafara had a good time with us, too. I can definitely say that today was one of the best days I ever had!
She closed her eyes and had no more thoughts in mind as she drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note: I hoped you liked the second chapter of the story: I personally thought that it could have been better… but, I was too lazy to do much changes ^^ Anyway, I appreciated the few reviews I got from my first chapter, even though there was only a few of them… Please don't expect me to update this story soon: I currently took a break from this story to continue my other fanfics*. Pleaz review if you liked the second chappie, or if you didn't, just tell me how to make it better… This story is going to be really long since, as some of you know, I'm already on my tenth chapter on this story and I don't think that's even half of this fanfic! So… Hoped you enjoyed it~*~