Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura- yada, yada yada
Summary: It is the story about a girl called Sakura who falls in love with a boy who saves her life (Syaoran). Unknown to her, Syaoran has a secret! By daylight he is the cold, handsome boy Syaoran, but by nightfall, immersed in the enchantment of moonlight he becomes the mysterious white wolf of the forest. Will Sakura learn of Syaoran's secret before all hope is lost?
Chapter 4
Touya paced anxiously up and down the length of the living room, muttering to himself and throwing the occasional concerned glance at the closed –door of his sister's bedroom.
It was morning once again and the little town of Jas'mynn was stirring awake in the dawning light. Soon the cheerful voices of the woken townspeople would be heard; happy greetings to their neighbours as they opened their stores and restaurants or sent their very small children off to school. The bronze bell hanging outside the bakery would undoubtedly ring, announcing the arrival of new hot, fresh breads and pastries.
It was usually during this time that the Kinomoto family would be sitting down for their breakfast at the kitchen table. Touya would surely be standing by the toaster, pouring a mug of coffee for himself while his father sat quietly at the table, content to read the newspaper. Sakura, the earliest riser of them all (yeah, yeah, I know, quite unlike the anime and manga! ^_^) would have woken before sunrise for her usual morning stroll, happily met Mr Tsujitzi during his daily milk- delivery and bounded back inside the house with the day's fresh carton.
Touya stared at Sakura's still- closed door and sighed again, his brow furrowed with worry.
Just then, the front door of the house swung open; a fresh blast of icy air blowing flecks of snow into the living room. Fugitaka stepped into the house, removed his coat and hung it on the back of the door. He was carrying the morning's milk.
Touya frowned.
"Haha, since Sakura didn't get the milk this morning it almost turned into ice cream out there!" Fugitaka smiled, attempting to crack a light joke. When his son's frown merely deepened, he sighed.
"Don't worry about Sakura, Touya. She'll come out and talk to us when she's ready."
"But she's been like this for three days!" Touya cried exasperatedly, "She won't even talk to Tomoyo!"
Fugitaka gave Touya a reassuring pat on the back and smiled kindly. "It's alright. Just give her time… Sakura has a way of sorting things out herself."
Fugitaka gave his son an affectionate rub on the hair and stepped into the kitchen. Touya nodded silently and followed him.
Fugitaka lit the gas stove and pulled out the frying pan. He had his head stuck in the refrigerator searching for the eggs when he murmured, "Still…I don't know what could have caused this change in her..."
Touya merely glared down at the fork in his hand. He stuck the pointed end forcefully down into the top surface of the kitchen table. It made four tiny dents in the wood grain.
"Bet I do," he muttered.
…
In the semi- darkness of her small bedroom, where, for once in her life, the warm sunlight was not permitted entry through the single window, Sakura lay silently beneath her bed- covers. Her entire body, through general lack of activity for the last three days felt numb, as though she would never walk again. Her eyes had become puffy and heavy from crying and felt as though they had been swollen eternally shut, and though she knew the whole world outside her bedroom was zooming by and that people who loved her might be worrying about her; she honestly didn't care.
In the beginning she had felt heart- ache. It tore through her chest, devouring her from the inside-out until all that was left was a shell; empty, hollow and void. Slowly but surely, as the days wore on and Sakura had no more tears to cry, heart- ache and self- pity were replaced with something darker, more destructive. Resent.
But it was not only resent toward him.
It was resent toward everyone, though she didn't really know why. All she knew was that she felt a bitter yet immense sense of satisfaction yelling at each and every person to walk through her door in the last seventy- two hours, shutting them down.
Today would be no different.
Sakura opened her eyes ever- so wearily that moment and stretched a thin hand from beneath her blanket, toward her bedside table. It groped around clumsily until her fingers closed around what she was looking for.
Sakura placed the photo- frame gently down on the pillow beside her face. It was only a simple, unpolished wooden frame holding a small photograph of her mother, Nadeshiko. It was however, Sakura's favourite picture.
Her mother had only been eighteen years old when Sakura's father had taken the photo. Nadeshiko was wearing a light blue cotton sun- dress and was smiling her dazzling, beautiful smile in the brilliant light; her turquoise eyes sparkling and her silvery- charcoal tresses fluttering gracefully in the wind.
Sakura's mother had passed- away when she was only three years old but as Fugitaka and Touya had always told her about the person Nadeshiko was, "The gentlest, most kind, beautiful and compassionate of people" she lived- on in Sakura's heart, forever cherished.
Sakura ran a finger delicately over the cool glass of the photo- frame, a single tear rolling down her already soaked cheek. She leant over and placed a soft kiss on her mother's smiling face.
"I miss you so much, mother…" she whispered.
Sakura closed her eyes and fell once again into weary, dreamless sleep
…
Sakura heard voices, somewhere in the distance in the all- consuming darkness of her mind.
One called her name, a girl perhaps…
"Sakura…."
Who was that?
"Sakura!"
Where was it coming from?
"SAKURA!!!!!"
Sakura felt a dull weight land on her head and jolted awake in bed.
Tomoyo stood at the foot of it with her arms crossed, looking very annoyed. It seemed she had thrown a pillow at Sakura's head in an effort to wake her up.
"Good. Glad that got your attention." Said Tomoyo grudgingly.
Sakura was initially startled by her friend's crisp tone, especially as she was usually a gentle- natured person. But then she remembered…she didn't care.
"Go away." Sakura muttered. She withdrew inside her bed-covers once more, pulling them completely over her head and clenching her eyes shut.
Another soft object landed on Sakura's head with a thud. Tomoyo had found another pillow to throw.
"No. Not until you get your behind out of bed, right this instant." Stated Tomoyo with determined finality.
"GO AWAY!!" Sakura yelled bitterly from beneath her blanket, "You don't understand!!"
"Try me."
"I LOVE HIM, OKAY?! BUT HE'S GONE! THEY ALL GO!!!"
Sakura waited for Tomoyo to retaliate, but when she only heard silence she slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head above the bed- covers.
Tears fell freely from Tomoyo's pretty amethyst eyes as she looked at Sakura.
"But I'm here…" Tomoyo whispered, "I love you too, remember?"
Sakura softened. She realised with an immediate pang of guilt just how poorly she had treated everyone since the Festival; her father, her brother, all of her friends…and now she had made her best- friend cry…
Sakura pulled herself out of bed and put her arms around Tomoyo in tight embrace. Tomoyo hugged her back gratefully.
"I'm so sorry, Tomoyo," Sakura sighed as she stroked her friend's long, silky hair, "I love you too, it's just…I'm so tired of crying…"
Tomoyo pulled- away from Sakura and gently rested a hand against her soft cheek.
"So don't." she replied simply. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and was smiling once more.
At that moment Tomoyo walked across the bedroom and pulled the thick curtains over the window purposefully open. The startling midday sunlight flooded into the room in a hot, white shaft, causing Sakura to blink a couple of times.
"W- what are you doing?" Sakura asked, momentarily blinded.
"We are going out!" Tomoyo declared with cheerful optimism.
Before Sakura could protest, Tomoyo strode across to the wardrobe and flung its mahogany doors wide- open. She began rummaging through all of Sakura's clothes, trying to pick an outfit for her.
"Now, you'll need something warm…" Tomoyo murmured absently, "Oh and extra socks are gonna help…"
Sakura sweat-dropped. "Extra- socks??"
Tomoyo stopped rummaging and stared at Sakura as though she had asked a silly question. "Of course…we can't have you getting blisters now, can we?"
"Blis- ters?!" Sakura gulped.
…
Tomoyo laughed as she pulled a very disgruntled Sakura along behind her through the bustling streets of Jas'mynn. It had taken a near half- hour for Tomoyo to decide on her best- friend's attire but at last she was happily resolved. Sakura wore her thick pale- pink tunic and trousers with her white hooded rabbit fur- lined cloak, two pairs of woollen stockings, her red woollen scarf and ox- hide gloves…Sakura had asked most bewilderedly why she needed to be wearing…quite so much, but her best- friend had merely chuckled and dragged her out the front door.
After fifteen minutes of brisk walking (or rather, jogging) to who knows where, Tomoyo finally stopped. Sakura stared at her surroundings and smiled brightly for the first time in three days.
"You mean?!..." Sakura asked Tomoyo excitedly
"You betcha!" Tomoyo sang
"Oh this is gonna be great!!" Sakura exclaimed. And the two girls ran toward the lake.
Ryannka Lake was a most tranquil, beautiful lake that was situated in a shallow valley or cradle a third of a way down the mountain from Jas'mynn. During summer, a great many people from the town as well as neighbouring shires would be seen swimming, boating or having a picnic by the lake's edge. In winter however, the lake was known to freeze and its glassy surface became an icy playfield for skaters; as was happening right at this moment.
Sakura and Tomoyo made their way to the rental stand by the edge of the lake and each hired a pair of ice- skates. Once they had laced their skates, they made their way onto the natural- rink to join the crowds of smiling people that were already skating…or hanging onto their partners for dear life or laughing and falling on their butt ^_^
Sakura glided gracefully along the ice, one arm poised delicately out in front of her as she made a perfect 360 degree spin. Tomoyo clapped and grinned. Sakura had always been very athletic and ice- skating came naturally to her.
Tomoyo needed a little practice though. She slid a few metres forward, whirled her arms erratically round and round like a windmill before she finally lost her balance and fell flat on her stomach.
Sakura giggled and gave Tomoyo a hand- up.
"Oh ow!" Tomoyo laughed, "I think you're going to have to give me some lessons, Sakura!"
"Definitely," Sakura agreed, flashing a wide grin.
For the remainder of the afternoon, Sakura and Tomoyo skated around the frozen lake, doing their best to avoid colliding into other people. Sakura skated backwards in front of Tomoyo, holding her friend's hands as she tried to keep her balance while skating forward at the same time. She was definitely getting the hang of it!
Tomoyo made one slow, careful round of the entire lake without falling over and Sakura cheered proudly. She gave her friend a tight hug. "You were great, Tomoyo!"
Her best- friend blushed and scratched the back of her head shyly, "You were… a great teacher, I guess!"
The glorious crimson sun dipped slowly behind the western hills; the last of its glowing rays fading in the wisps of feathery cloud that streamed far across the sky.
Most of the people that had been skating on the lake had already gone home but Tomoyo sat by the edge, contently watching as Sakura circled the frozen expanse one last- time.
"Come –on Sakura!" Tomoyo called, "We have to return the ice- skates"
"Coming!" came Sakura's voice from the opposite end of the lake.
Sakura skated forward across the centre of the rink, increasing her speed a little. She smiled brightly as the crisp cool air brushed past her face and tussled her hair. She truly felt…alive again.
Just then, Sakura swung her leg forward and flipped herself into an air-borne half- spin (I don't know any skating jargon…sorry! ^_^), landing perfectly on her feet. She grinned to herself as Tomoyo erupted into cheers once more at the opposite end of the lake.
When she finally sat down beside Tomoyo by the edge of the lake, utterly exhausted, she un-laced her skates and let Tomoyo return them to the rental stall.
Sakura gazed silently out at the now desolate frozen lake; its shiny, glass- like surface reflecting the back- drop of snow- capped mountains and the dimming crimson sky overhead.
Sakura winced a little as she rubbed her ankles in circular motions. There was a little bruising but thankfully, no blisters…apparently the extra- pair of stockings came in handy after all!
Just as she was about to pull her trouser leg down into her boot once more, Sakura stared at her wrist in dismay. The pretty gold charm bracelet that she always wore was no longer there.
Tomoyo returned from the stall at that moment and when she found her best- friend looking miserable again, decided to ask what was wrong.
"My charm bracelet! The one my mother gave me- it's gone!" Sakura wailed.
Tomoyo's eyes widened at Sakura's bare wrist and then she glanced out at the lake. She frowned. This was an item very precious to Sakura.
"Oh…well, it probably fell off when you were skating," Tomoyo said optimistically "It's probably on the lake somewhere." And with that, Tomoyo stepped out onto the lake again, wearing only her usual boots.
Tomoyo made step after tentative step across the ice so as not to slip. Sakura, grateful for her friend's help, followed carefully behind her.
At first, neither of them could spot the tiny bracelet and it didn't help that night was approaching and it was becoming steadily darker. When it seemed Sakura was about to lose all hope, Tomoyo caught a glint of gold at the corner of her eye.
"Oh- there it is!" Tomoyo cried excitedly. She slid over to the Forest- side edge of the lake where most people avoided skating.
"Be careful, Tomoyo!" Sakura called, "I think the ice is a bit thinner on that side!"
"It's okay, I'll be really quick!" Tomoyo replied.
Tomoyo reached down and picked –up Sakura's bracelet from the partially- transparent icy surface; its gold heart charm with tiny wings sparkled brilliantly. Tomoyo held it up for Sakura and jangled it cheerfully.
Suddenly, Sakura's worst fear came to fruition. The delicate layer of ice supporting Tomoyo collapsed from beneath her. She shrieked as her body plummeted into sub- zero water and disappeared under its icy surface.
"TOMOYO!!!!!" Sakura screamed as she slid clumsily over to the large jagged hole now cut into the ice.
Sakura stuck her arm into the freezing water and immediately felt its painful, biting force. Sakura gasped as she felt the length of her arm become numb but continued to desperately grope the water for Tomoyo; her arm, the collar of her shirt, anything…
When she could neither see nor feel Tomoyo, Sakura took a deep breath and leaped into the murky arctic waters.
One million icy knives stabbed simultaneously into her body and Sakura felt every part of her body should have bled if it didn't freeze first.
Sakura immediately felt heavy; in the thoughts, limbs and eyes… she fought sleep, no matter how close, how inviting it seemed…she had to find Tomoyo.
Sakura swam downwards with all the strength her aching arms could muster and it seemed a glacial eternity before Sakura finally felt the lake's sandy- bottom and her arms, by chance, came around her best friend's lifeless form.
Darkness threatened to swallow Sakura as she fought to swim upward with Tomoyo unconscious, perhaps dead, in her arms. She could see the blurry jagged outline of the hole in the ice, glimmering somewhere above her; so near and yet so far, so she willed herself forward, vowing that all would be well as soon as she tasted the cool fresh air beyond it. Just a little farther…
But Tomoyo was so, so heavy, and every inch of her body was screaming with excruciating pain. She could feel the drowsiness of her own mind clouding all other thoughts. She wanted sleep… she wanted peace….the darkness reached out to her…
And then… something…someone strong… caught her by the hood of her cloak and began to pull her toward the light. Sakura clung tightly to Tomoyo's thin body, battling the deadly lure of slumber and willing herself to not let go…
Her oxygen- starved lungs heaved violently as Sakura's head surfaced from the freezing water. Her scattered wits and blurred vision made her only vaguely aware of her mysterious rescuer whilst she struggled to keep Tomoyo's mouth above water.
One thing was certain, it wasn't a human…whilst Sakura had initially thought a hand had grabbed her hood underwater, she realised as she was being dragged out of the ice- cavity that it was in fact a kind of animal, pulling her to the safety of the shore with the hood of her cloak in its teeth. She felt its rough, hot breath panting beside her ear.
At last, Sakura felt the cool grainy sand beneath her body and for a few moments, lay on her back, heaving exhaustedly. She turned her head weakly and saw that Tomoyo lay unconscious but breathing shallowly on the sand beside her.
Suddenly, Sakura felt something warm and rough licking the small of her hand. She turned her head slowly to the other side and acknowledged her rescuer with a tiny, grateful smile.
The White Wolf gazed serenely down at her with crystalline amber eyes; its snow- white fur fluttering gently in the cool wind. If it were possible, the creature was even more beautiful up- close than when Sakura had first laid eyes upon it; the elusive, ghost- like creature that watched her from afar outside her window…
Unafraid, Sakura reached out and gently stroked the soft underside of the wolf's chin.
"It's you…" she murmured softly, "Thankyou…"
The White Wolf closed its eyes, almost as though it were enjoying the moment.
Just as it nuzzled her hand with its warm wet nose, the sound of twigs snapping in the distance caused it to look-up abruptly. Its white pointed ears pricked forward.
Someone was coming.
In an instant, the wolf had whisked away from Sakura's line of vision, disappeared once more into the moonlit semi –darkness from whence it came.
Sakura had a fleeting, distorted vision of one's elongated shadow moving across her body, before bottomless oblivion finally claimed her.
Black.
…
Tomoyo grinned happily as Sakura and her father entered her bedroom. The doctor and her mother, Sonomi were already standing by her bedside and the latter of the two was giving her diagnoses.
"Miss Kinomoto!" Doctor Mizuki exclaimed as she spot Sakura, " You should be home in bed!"
Sakura chuckled, "But I only have a cold! Besides I was more worried about Tomoyo."
With that Sakura sat down on the edge of Tomoyo's bed and gave her a quick cuddle.
The pretty doctor smiled and swept a strand long red hair behind her ear as she began to pack her stethoscope and ointments back into her leather carry- bag.
"Well, she's lucky her best- friend was there to save her, it was a near severe case of hypothermia she had…any longer under the ice and I think she might have been in real trouble."
Tomoyo gave Sakura's hand a light squeeze and Sonomi and Fugitaka observed them with pride.
Sakura merely smiled and glanced pensively out the window.
She could see the elegant pink and white rose garden laced with snow at the front of Tomoyo's house, their meandering stone footpath and dark green picket fence. Beyond that, the withering shadow of the Dark Forest loomed strangely in the startling, bright light of the morning sun.
Sakura thought again of the mysterious white wolf. She had not told anyone about its appearance the previous night.
And suddenly, for no reason whatsoever…she thought of Syaoran; whom she loved, resented and sorely missed…there was something so familiar about his eyes… beautiful shining amber orbs that were quite like the wolf's own…
Sakura shook her head as if to ward-off the bizarre thought.
Tomoyo touched her arm just then and Sakura turned to look at her.
"I managed to hold on to this." Tomoyo whispered. She dropped Sakura's tiny gold charm bracelet into the palm of her hand.
"Ohhh Tomoyo!" Sakura cried with joy. "You truly are amazing!"
…
Somewhere in the distance, concealed in the deep shade of an oak, a young man with dark brown hair and brooding amber eyes watched as two girls celebrated in their survival.
Syaoran gazed lovingly at Sakura as she danced and spun Tomoyo around the room. He longed to touch her, to feel her warmth in his arms once more…
With cool determination, he strode away from the village.
"I swear to you Sakura…I will succeed." He vowed softly.
As he disappeared once more into the Forest's shadowy veil, one thought drove him steadily forward.
Eriol.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
DM:
Ugh…*sniffle* I have a cold too! No kidding!... But you know what would make me feel much better?
Lots and lots of nice REVIEWS ^_^ Off you go then!