Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

I do not write for reviews, but I sure enjoy compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think. - Raya

WARNING: Spoilers for "A Little Snow Fairy Sugar" ahead! You have been warned. There are also some spoilers for CCS, but that has been out in the US longer than Sugar so I don't think you're at as much risk....

Cherry Snow

Part III – The Concert

Sakura stared anxiously at Kero as he hovered in the air above the main seats near the ceiling. Once again she could feel those strange auras, and they seemed to be coming from the little creatures he was talking to.

"Don't stare at him," Shaoran whispered in her ear, making her jump. "If you stare at them, you'll make someone else look to see what you're staring at."

She blinked as she realized how much sense this made and tried to turn her attention away from the floating group. It was hard, though. Her gaze kept drifting back to them. Finally, she saw Kero start and turn slowly to look at her. She glared at him, trying to convince him to go hide before he was spotted. Supi looked towards the balcony also then turned back to the creatures in front of him. Finally, they began to move away to the front of the theater. She sighed with relief when she saw them finally hide among the stage lights.

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Saga took a deep breath and smoothed down the front of her dark plum colored dress. Although most performers preferred to wear formal black sheaths or black tuxedos, she felt more comfortable in her tea-length dress. The satiny, airy, poofy skirt reminded her of Pepper for some reason, while the spaghetti strapped top was nice and cool under the hot stage lights. It also showed off the gorgeous tan she had acquired in South America and the Islands and brought out the rich highlights in her medium-dark brown hair, but she barely noticed that.

She looked over at the piano on the stage to check that all was ready. Her music was sitting neat and orderly, just as she had left it after practice earlier. The spring holder she insisted on was in place, ready to prevent her music from scattering in a stray breeze. And on top of the piano on the back stage side was a small basket of waffles. She smiled at the basket. Maybe this time some of them would disappear. They weren't as good as the ones sold in the square back home, but they were still sweet.

She looked up into the rafters above the piano and saw the boxes of powdered sugar and flower petals ready to rain down on her and chuckled. Hans never understood why she insisted on being showered with powdered sugar at the end of a performance, but had finally stopped asking when she said it was just an artistic quirk. He didn't believe it, but he stopped asking.

Hans walked up beside her as she began to shake her hands and wrists to loosen them up. He looked at the basket on the piano and the boxes up in the air above it and sighed dramatically. Her smile became a grin as she thought of the surprise she had for him.

"They should be cherry blossoms, not sugar," he complained softly. "We are in Japan after all." She chuckled, and looked at her blonde manager with shining brown eyes. "But I like powdered sugar," she said just as softly.

He snorted and looked at her, with suddenly serious green eyes. "Ready? Curtain rises in one minute." She took another breath and nodded.

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The director of Rika's piano school, Mr. Sawaii, walked out onto the stage with a microphone. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," he said in a light tenor voice. "Tonight we have a very special guest performer. This young lady comes from Germany, where she has won several awards for her skilled playing. Her performances have been described as gentle and magical. By very special request, our school was able to arrange for her first visit to Japan. Ladies and gentlemen, please give her a warm welcome." He stopped and bowed to the audience, who began to clap politely.

He turned as the curtain began to rise, and held his arm back towards the young lady standing by the piano. Sugar gasped in recognition and disbelief as he announced her name. "Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Saga Bergman."

"Saga..." Sugar whispered, eyes wide. Her friends and family smiled in satisfaction as her face broke into a huge smile. Tears began to run unnoticed down her face as Saga bowed politely to the applauding audience, smiled, and sat down on the piano bench.

Silence filled the theater as she placed her hands on the keyboard. Then, the beautiful sound of a Chopin waltz filled the air, and Saga transported her audience to another world and time.

By the end of Saga's second song, Sugar had spotted the treat sitting on the piano. With a grin she jumped up and yelled "Waho!" and flew to the stage. Pepper laughed, while Salt grinned, then yelled after her. "Hey Sugar! Wait up! Save some for me!" Soon, Sugar, Salt, Pepper, and the Elder were on the stage trying to discretely steel a waffle.

Saga smiled as she heard the rustling. At the end of her third song, she casually reached out and put a waffle behind the basket with a wink. "Welcome, whoever you are," she whispered, still smiling.

The fairies barely managed to avoid being crushed. "It's Sugar! Sugar!" the little snow fairy called out in a playful voice. The knowledge that her best friend had not been able to hear her for almost ten years tinged both her voice and her eyes lightly with sadness. Then she smiled up at Saga. "Thanks..."

Up in the light rack, Kero watched and mumbled jealously as Saga continued to discreetly dole out the waffles, and the fairies ate the treat in front of him. "It's just not fair!" he whined. "I want some, too!" "Shhh...." Powder said. "Do you want to be heard?"

Kero continued to grumble up to the intermission. Just before the theater lights came up, he stood. "I can't take it any more!" he cried softly, then flew off to the back of the hall.

Saga stood, and bowed politely as the curtain came down on the first half of her performance. The audience applauded loudly and enthusiastically, making her grin widely.

After the curtain was completely down, she turned to look at the basket. "My, either there are a lot of you, or you're really hungry," she said with a smile. The basket was more than half-empty. "I have some more in my dressing room. Feel free to help yourself, and I'll fill it up before I start playing again. Oh, and do please stick around. I have a special song at the end that I would really like you to hear," she whispered as Hans walked across the stage towards her.

"A special song?" Sugar asked curiously. "I wonder what song that is?" The four fairies pondered a moment, then Sugar's face lit up. "Maybe... Her mother's song?"

"Yeah, that must be it!" Salt said, as Ginger, Turmeric, and Powder joined them on the piano. "What song could be more special than that?" Pepper asked, smiling and nodding in agreement. Saga and Hans walked off the stage to rest.

"Ginger-chan! You really must try this waffle," the Elder said, breaking off a piece and offering it to the red-head with hearts in his eyes. She blinked at him a moment, uncertainly, then accepted the gift. "Mmmm... This is pretty good," she said with a smile. The Elder flew on his back over the side of the piano in rapture, only to drop when she offered part to Turmeric. "Here, try some."

Sugar contemplated the sheets of music that Saga had finished playing. Pepper saw her expression, and waited to see what her friend was planning.

A smile blossomed on Sugar's face, and she flew up to the top of the paper. Very carefully, she grasped the very first page and tugged gently. When it refused to budge, she pulled harder. Pepper flew up to help her with a curious expression on her face. Finally, the two women were able to get the page free without disturbing the rest of the stack. Quickly, Sugar guided it to the piano bench, where she began to fold it. The other fairies munched on the waffles, and watched curiously.

As she finished her project, Salt and Pepper gave an exclamation of surprise. "Mr. Bear!" Pepper said. "That looks just like those little bears you made out of napkins in the coffee shop."

Sugar wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, then flew up to the top of the piano again. "Do you think so? That's what I was trying for, but it's harder with a bigger piece of paper."

The group started as the lights dimmed and brightened three times. "Eh? What's going on? Is the power trying to go out?" Sugar asked worriedly.

Ginger and Turmeric laughed. "No," the cloud fairy reassured her. "It just means the show is going to be starting again soon." His smile widened at the uncertain looks that the younger fairies gave him. "Ginger and I have been to see several plays, and they do that sometimes. Really, it's ok." The Elder fell down over the side of the piano again at the thought of his beloved Ginger-chan going on several dates with Turmeric.

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As the tones sounded indicating only three minutes left in the break, Sakura turned to Tomoyo uncertainly. "Should we continue to wait?" she asked, indicating the long line for the bathroom in front of them. Tomoyo studied it a moment, then responded. "It seems to be moving pretty quickly. I think we'll make it."

Sakura bit her lip, and looked back at the line uncertainly. "I don't want to miss anything...." she said softly, shifting a silver bag from one hand to the other.

"So, Sakura-chan, what did you buy?" Tomoyo asked trying to distract her friend.

"Hu-e? Oh, I bought a program and a CD." Sakura opened the bag and pulled out the white souvenir program book. "Look. Isn't it so pretty?" The two friends ooo-ed and ah-ed over the program until their turn finally came.

As they were rushing out of the restroom, the lights flickered once and the final tone sounded. "Hu-e.... I wanted to get a drink, too. Oh well. We'd better hurry, or we'll be late!" Tomoyo nodded in agreement and the two hurried toward the curtained entryway.

As they got back to their seats, they found that Shaoran and Minoru had beaten them. Sakura felt her stomach twist uncomfortably at the look on her boyfriend's face. Shaoran was looking upset, and Minoru was watching him curiously.

"Here," Shaoran said quietly, as he handed her a lemon soda. Sakura thanked him, then shot a pleading look at Tomoyo. The black haired girl smiled in understanding, and quickly distracted her own boyfriend with talk about the recital.

"What?" Sakura asked Shaoran quietly, leaning close to him to keep the conversation private. Shaoran's eyes narrowed in irritation, but he just shook his head and looked away. "It was Kero-chan, wasn't it," Sakura said in trepidation. Shaoran's eyes widened as he looked at her in surprise. The look made her smile in spite of her worry. "You always get that look when he's done something he shouldn't."

She sighed, then looked him in the eyes. "How bad is it? Do they think the concert hall is haunted now by some sweet-eating demon? Are the employees getting fired? Did he break something? Are the police on their way?"

Shaoran smiled, and relaxed a little. "No, it's not that bad. Yet," he added with a mutter. "He got into the stores under the counter and was stuffing himself. Fortunately, I heard him and was able to distract the girl behind the counter long enough for him to escape. I had Minoru-kun buy the drinks while I chased him down and tried to convince him to go back to his hiding place."

Sakura smiled as she pictured the 'discussion' between the two males. She was probably doubly fortunate no one had caught them. They both tended to get loud when trying to make a point to the other. Shaoran's next question made the smile fade again.

"Why on earth did you bring him here anyway? You know he's nothing but trouble in a place like this."

She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again as she saw Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko panting heavily at the end of the aisle. As she quickly stood to let them in, the lights dimmed once more. "Later," she whispered to him, then settled into her seat to enjoy the second half of the concert.

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Saga smiled as she carried the napkin full of waffles across the stage to the piano. Just as she reached the bench, she heard the One Minute Warning sound.

Her eyes widened as she saw that there was nothing but crumbs left from the earlier basket. "Whoa," she said softly. "I sure hope there are a lot of you." A worried look crossed her face. "I hate to think that one of you is that hungry..." Carefully, she put the new waffles in the basket, and dumped in the crumbs.

Crumpling the napkin, she turned to use the bench as a temporary trashcan. She stopped abruptly as she spied the paper folded into a bear head lying on top of it. Her eyes went very wide, then she reached out slowly to pick it up. "Sugar?" she asked softly. "Oh, Sugar, is that you?" She closed her eyes a moment, and held the paper bear to her chest.

"Saga? What is it? Is everything ok?" Hans hurried across the stage with a worried look on his face. Saga immediately opened her eyes and gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's ok. Someone just left me a present." As his worried look deepened, she shook her head and held up the paper. "It's really ok. Nothing bad. It just reminded me of something. I'm all right now."

She saw his friend step onto the stage with a worried look. "I'm all right. Really. It must be time to start. Go reassure Mr. Sawaii that everything is just fine, and get off the stage before the curtain rises."

She shooed him off towards the wings, then turned back to the piano. Carefully, she propped the bear head by the basket. A sudden thought made her check the rest of her music. When she found it was all still in order and only the very first page missing, she sighed, then looked with a smile towards the piano top where the three friends used to sit. "Sorry. Just had to make sure," she said directly to a pouting Sugar, making her smile.

Once again, the curtain rose, and the piano and Saga were bathed in the stage lights. The rest of the stage remained conveniently dark. Kero noticed this fact from his latest hiding place up in the rafters, and a plan began to form in his golden head. Quickly, he flew off towards the stage, avoiding the lights.

The group of fairies arranged themselves in a line across the top of the piano on either side of the music, and waited for Saga to start playing again. As soon as the clapping from the audience died down, she launched into a Mozart sonata.

Sugar, Pepper, and Salt all closed their eyes, and let the music pour through them. Powder smiled tenderly at the look on her daughter's face, then turned her eyes back to Saga. Her smile grew more amused as she realized the exact same expression was on her face.

Ginger also watched Saga, enjoying the play of expression on her face. The Elder watched his beloved Ginger-chan, of course, and tried to think of a song to compose for her.

Turmeric stared off into space, images of possible clouds coming into his mind. He gave a soft sigh of contentment, unheard by the others. 'Saga always was good inspiration,' he thought.

A soft hissing sound soon interrupted his creative meditation. He cast an irritated glance towards the back of the stage, and saw Kero sitting just barely in the shadows.

"Hey!" Kero hissed again quietly. When he noticed he had Turmeric's attention, his eyes brightened with excitement. "Hey! Throw me a waffle!" he commanded softly, a faint pleading look on his face.

Turmeric tried to turn back to Saga and ignore him, but the Golden Beast of the Seal was not about to let him get away. He continued to hiss and beg for a waffle. "C'mon... Jus' one? Ooo... They look so delicious..." {slurp} "Hey! Hey, fairy!"

When Saga cast a curious glance towards the sound, Turmeric knew he would have to act. With an irritated expression, he stood and walked over to the basket. He flew up until he could break off a good-sized chunk, then tried to carry it discreetly to the shadows. Ginger and Powder watched curiously, until they saw his destination. Ginger's expression melted into surprise, while Powder narrowed her eyes in warning and irritation. Unfortunately, Kero only had eyes for the piece of waffle heading towards him.

Shortly after that, he had Ginger, Turmeric, and the Elder carting him pieces of waffle every few minutes to keep him quiet. Powder's expression became more and more irritated, and she soon began to float in the air above the piano to avoid accidentally freezing it in her anger.

Occasionally, Saga's gaze would track a floating piece of waffle, before she brought her eyes back to the music in front of her. She cast a worried glance at the basket, and hoped that the waffles would last until the end of the performance. She didn't think Sugar's little friend would be very happy once it ran out.

Finally, it was time for the last song. Saga's face broke into a big smile as she stood up from the bench and faced the audience. Their loud clapping and apparent enjoyment made her excitement build even more. She took several steps towards the edge of the stage, and bowed politely. Then, she held her hands up to ask for silence. It came so suddenly, it took her by surprise.

She blinked, then turned to verify that the interpreter was ready with the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for your warm welcome and response," she said slowly in German. After the interpreter had caught up, she continued. "My last song is an original composition. It is called "Friends Playing Through Life", and I would like to dedicate this performance to all of my tiny friends. Most particularly, this song is dedicated to Sugar, Salt, and Pepper, three friends from my childhood who taught me that sometimes the unplanned things in life are the best ones." With another smile, she bowed and walked back to the piano.

Sugar, Salt, and Pepper had surprised excited expressions on their faces. "A song for us?" Sugar asked, bouncing up and down in excitement. "Really? Saga wrote a song for us?"

Saga smiled towards the spot her friends usually occupied. "Feel free to play along," she whispered with a wink. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and rested her fingers on the piano keys. For a moment, all was still, including Kero.

Then, the melody that the fairies knew as "Saga's Mother's Song" began to softly fill the air. A few measures into the song, Sugar smiled widely, drew her white flute out of her holding bag, and began to play along. Saga's smile grew wider as she saw the little sparkles of fairy magic appear on top of her piano. Then she closed her eyes, and lost herself in the music.

In her head, she heard Pepper's harp, Salt's trumpet, Ginger's violin, and Turmeric's cello join and blend with her piano and Sugar's flute. The melody changed, and Saga began to play each of her friend's themes, wound around with gentle melody.

The fairies stared at her in surprised delight. "That... That's my old song!" Salt said in surprise. He pulled out his cello (he had given up the trumpet as his primary instrument when he decided to become a cloud fairy instead of a sun fairy), and followed along. The cello gave the old tune a new life, and Salt decided that he liked it. Turmeric smiled, pulled out his own cello, and began to play a counter melody.

Pepper pulled out her harp, and played along as well. When she heard her own melody coming out of the piano, she gasped, then smiled brightly. She put a little extra sweetness into her effort, making the other fairies and Kero look at her in awe.

The younger fairies, including Ginger and Turmeric, all smiled widely as the melody and tempo suddenly changed and became musically chaotic. Thoughts of the wild kids, Basil and Cinnamon, filled their heads. They could almost hear the drums, cymbals, lightening and sleet.

Then, Sugar rose and flew high above the piano as her melody came forth. Overhead, the boxes began to gently sprinkle down their load of sugar and sakura petals. The fairies started in surprise, but didn't stop playing.

Saga wove the melodies of the season fairies over and around her mother's theme. She smiled as a breeze began to gently ruffle her papers, stirring her long hair and making the sugar crystals and flower petals dance. A tiny cold snowflake on her nose made her start, open her eyes, and look around. All around her, beautiful, tiny, pin-sized snowflakes were falling gently. She smiled even more in pride as she recognized Sugar's handiwork.

A swirl caught her eye, and she gasped as Salt and Turmeric managed to gather some petals together to form several small clouds.

Ginger and Powder flew towards the back of the stage to play their parts. Kero was first drenched from an isolated pouring rain, then frozen and shaped into a Kero-sized snowman. All around him, a pile of warm, but cold snow piled up. The drift was soon up to his neck. Belatedly, he remembered Powder's threat. With all the moon-influenced magic around him and his promise to Sakura to not get caught, he was unable to immediately melt the snow. He had to sit and endure the uncomfortable punishment for his gluttony and distraction.

Meanwhile, up in the balcony, Sakura and her friends watched in amazement. The magicians among them felt the powerful elemental magic flowing around the stage, and heard the fairies' beautiful accompaniment.

The rest of the audience stared in amazement at the pianist's 'special effects'. The cloud shapes drew gasps of admiration. The gently dancing sugar crystals, sakura petals and snow, brought wide-eyed enjoyment. And the beautiful song left them speechless.

In the wings, Hans gaped, then reached up to rub his eyes in disbelief. He looked again, and watched the swirling cloud of snow, sugar, rain, and flower petals. His eyes caught the long-lost sight of fairy sparkle, lots of it, and he rubbed them again. 'Season Fairies?' he thought in amazement. 'There are Season Fairies playing along with Saga?'

He shook himself, then smiled. 'Of course there are. No wonder that song sounded so familiar.' He smiled, remembering his old Storm Fairy friend and their times together in the Bahamas. 'I'll have to discreetly ask her,' he decided with a nod.

Reluctantly, Saga brought the song around to its ending: Sugar's theme, and then her mother's theme, played softly once more. As her hands stilled on the piano, silence reigned throughout the concert hall. The audience slowly shook off the spell, and began to clap and cheer madly.

Saga started, then turned to look at them in surprise. She stood up off of the bench, gently brushing off sugar, snow, and petals, faced the crowd, and bowed. The cheering became louder, making her blush. She bowed again, saying one of the few Japanese phrases she knew. "Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you." Behind her, the curtain fell to hide the stage. She blushed and bowed and said 'thank you' until Mr. Sawaii finally came and rescued her.

After two curtain calls, she was finally able to start packing up. Sparkling fairy glitter glimmered all around her, as the fairies danced about in excitement trying to help.

"Saga!" Hans called as he came out onto the stage. "Wow. That was great! Especially that last song. I don't think I've ever heard you play it quite that way before."

Saga blushed a little, turning back to her music with a smile. "I guess I was a little... inspired this time," she said giving a hidden wink towards the nearest fairy sparkle. Salt grinned back.

Hans snorted, and was about to make a comment when he noticed Kero still partially frozen in place on the stage. "Eh? What's that?"

Saga looked over, and panicked slightly. "Um.. That? Oh, um, that's another present that was left for me." She dashed around the piano and scooped Kero up. Kero went rigid in surprise and fear of discovery. "Ahahaha... I wonder how it got so wet," she said as she held him out a little bit. "I guess I should go put it in my dressing room, then come back here for the rest of my stuff."

"Wait," Hans called out. Saga froze uncertainly. He reached out and picked a few cherry blossoms out of her hair. "I like the new addition," he said with a smile. "This is Japan, after all."

Supi watched from the shadows of the stage's rafters, as Saga blushed, laughed nervously, then turned to take Kero to her dressing room.

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A/N: For those who have seen A Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar, I hope you will forgive the liberties I took with the fairies' "theme songs". I always thought that so much more could have been done with them, particularly Salt's. For those who have not, let's just say that most of the themes are very simple. I think Salt's is six notes long, with two pitches. And it would probably sound just as boring (and completely out of place) on a cello. So, if you go hunting up Sugar, expect a good story line and some good background music, but don't shoot me for the fairies' themes. Please. - Ja!