----- Sort of a Fairytale
----- Written by Iris (Rainbow) Dreamer
----- DISCLAIMER: Card Captor Sakura solely belongs to Clamp. However, the plot is mine and I would like to remain it that way. Arigato.
----- AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey! This is my new fic! Bear with me here as I suffer my way through my one last stab at the SATs, through college essays, countless college searching, and college applications of my senior year. Needless to say, I'll be very busy. I'll be trying my best to update this, but I'm going to have one hectic senior year!
----- BACKGROUND: Okay! Some background here. Syaoran and Sakura have not met before. Hm. No magic in here either (as some of you might know, I'm horrible at describing magic.....). What else? Oh, the characters may seem a bit out of character in the beginning (especially Sakura), but you'll see why as the story proceeds. Hm. I think that's about it. The rest you'll have to discover yourself! And if you know me, I love twists and turns, although this chapter should have less than ADOHE if you've read that.
----- SPECIAL THANKS: To all those who have reviewed Angels Dancing on Her Eyelids. This story is to all of you readers out there!
Cheler: Heh, you're a romantic like me!
Time warp: Thank you!
Sweet baby gurl: Gomen for the late update!
Sapphire Melody: Arigato!
Avelyn Lauren: Heh, getting on Sakura's bad side would be pretty bad huh? She barks and bites! And, wow, you swim too? Hehe, I used to swim, but lately I don't have the time. Instead, I'm in the badminton team for my fourth year already. Yep!
Di: Wow! Such a long review and I can't believe what you written in it as well! It should be me who's amazed! Saying that my work is actually literature is a great honor that I don't think I've mastered yet! And that coming from a reader, you, is quite stunning! Thank you. That's one of the best compliments I have ever received! And colleges? A few I'm considering are Boston U, UCLA, and UNC Chapel Hill. Which reminds me, are you in college? If you are any tips? And once again, thanks!
Kawaii Cherry Wolf: Thank you!
Demi-kaijuu: Sakura's has one hell of a past in this story, as you will find out later. And what's wrong with drying your feet with a hairdryer? I do that when I come back from school or wherever in pouring rain and no umbrella.
Dragonstar03: Thanks.
Weirdly Yours: Heh, I kind of like the idea of Sakura a feminist, but I've mostly thought Meiling as one, at least the way I have tried to portray her in my other fics. Haha, and funny how you should mention that Asian parents have high standards..... I'm an Asian. LoL. I don't have the SAT grades to go to the Ivy Leagues, even though my GPA's great, so I'm stuck to go to schools right under the Ivy Leagues. Right, like I'll get in! And SATs in eighth grade...lol, same here!
Enchantress azure: Thanks! I'm glad you liked my story (AHODE) so much. You know how much that means to me. And as for this story, things are heading towards a wild and crazy start! Happy reading!
Safaia Hiryuu: Sorry for taking forever to update! I hope you enjoy this!
Daz: Hey man! Glad you liked it so much!
Lone WOLF: Thank you! Hehe, don't you just love that totally handsome, intriguing character of Syaoran! I love him too! And thank you for reading all my other fics as well! That means the whole world to me!
Dancer5: You always take the best line of my chapters and highlight them. Thank you!
Cheery Princess Sakura: Interesting, listening to CCS music as you read this. I love Japanese anime songs and I have loads of them. Let's see. I love Tomoyo's voice, Detective Conan songs (I mean it, they have really, really good songs!), Kenshin songs, HunterXHunter ones, Inuyasha songs, and loads of others! Lol!
Star96: Thank you!
And to all those who have read this, thank you! You guys are the absolute greatest! Enjoy!
----- CHAPTER THREE: Shattered glass
----- Syaoran ------
She never really spoke that much after the incident and she kept more to herself. The only person she was really willing to talk to was Tomoyo, and occasionally Eriol. She just ignored me.
As ridiculous as it sounds, since I've only known her for a few days, I kind of miss that feminist strong Sakura. The way she retorts cleverly at my comments and her sarcastic remarks is better than her silence. I still follow her from class to class, but she pretty just pretends that I'm not there. I even found myself waking early and waiting in front of the gym, waiting for her to practice her martial arts.
She didn't show up. After five days in a row, I was wondering what was going on. I had thought that she would go into practice frenzy to protect herself more, but I guess I was wrong. I even went through all the process with the administration to oversee Sakura's martial arts practices in the mornings. Tomoyo was quite surprised at my offer and I was to say I was the most surprised.
I wasn't like this. Coming from an Asian background, my family demanded a lot from me. I had been accepted to Beijing University, which is one of the hardest and most competitive institutions in China. Yet I had decided to go to one in Japan. Of course that did not go well with my family, but in the end they respected my wishes. Consequently, I'm working even harder here than I normally would. Me, the cold silent man who was a perfect role model and martial arts expert, was starting to actually worry about someone outside family. That was something definitely new to me. Yet it was something, something so horrid and unbelievable in Sakura's past that made me connected to her. There was something that I could not place that made me want to understand.
She was one of the few people that I have ever felt empathy for.
------
Tomoyo sighed, tossing her on her chair before falling comfortably on her bed with a contented breath of relief.
"Tired?" A familiar voiced asked from behind her. Tomoyo lazily opened her eyes to see Sakura looking at her with her hair soaking wet and a towel around her shoulders.
"Yeah. I can't believe I'm actually pursuing to be a doctor." She grinned at her best friend.
"But it's what you want to be, isn't it?" Sakura replied softly. "That dream of yours?"
Tomoyo studied her friend silently before nodding. "Yes."
"Then that's all that matters." She said simply, finishing the conversation.
"I guess," Tomoyo said uncertainly. When Sakura didn't respond, she frowned. "Saku, you trust me, don't you?"
Sakura looked startled at the question but nodded nevertheless. "Of course, Tomoyo."
"Then what's wrong?" She demanded quietly. "You can tell me anything, Sakura."
Sakura's emerald eyes softened slightly for the first time in days. "Gomenasai Tomoyo." She whispered.
Tomoyo went over and embraced Sakura tightly. "We'll get through this together. Promise?"
Finally Sakura relaxed in her friend's warm embrace and Tomoyo smiled lightly, "I promise Tomoyo."
"Good." She replied, pulling her arms away and giving Sakura a dazzling smile. "How about we go for some coffee?"
"My treat this time." Sakura commanded with a slight smile.
-----
Sakura quietly stopped her clock after the second beep and padded gently for the bathroom. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, the girl frowned. Her auburn hair was tied into a high ponytail with a black hair band. Her slightly tanned skin complemented with her green eyes; those same pair of green eyes that betrayed her emotions inside. She closed them for a while, steadying her feelings, and when she opened them again, the emerald color had turned back into it's dark green. Satisfied, she grabbed her Nike duffel bag and walked out her dorm room.
She stopped a few steps before the gym, seeing someone leaning on the cold metal doors. Frowning, she tightened her grip on her bag and walked over. The young man there looked up when he heard her arriving. However, she simply ignored him, unlocking the door steadily and disappearing inside.
Syaoran sighed and followed the girl inside. She was running laps around the gym already. He quickly followed her. As they ran, he watched the back of her. She seemed out of focus yet from the rigid position of her shoulders, he could tell that she was determined. Her black tank and short gray shorts made her seem unmovable, but he knew better.
After ten laps, she stopped, breathing a bit hard. Automatically, she started to warm up, stretching her legs.
Finally she acknowledged him. "What are you doing here Li?" She asked, her voice weary, not even putting up a fight to him as she changed her position.
"You needed an overseer." He replied simply. He could feel her eyes dart over to him, yet glancing over him before looking away quickly.
"Why bother." Sakura replied monotone.
"I thought you'd rather to be looked by me than some male stranger." He answered.
He thought that she would snap at him angrily but she did nothing. "You don't know me Li." She told him quietly after a moment's silence lapsed between the two. Her simple comment made Syaoran look away from her gaze.
She got to her feet and Syaoran did as well. Both slid into their positions, tension rising. In a swift moment, the two collided together, a blur of punches and kicks. It was a simple spar.
However there was the lack of fun and happiness that there was on their first battle. Sakura was performing her each motion with perfect accuracy and Syaoran complemented her well. It was simply just training, like one of those of a best student with the teacher.
There were no retorting comebacks. There was no feeling of adrenaline running through their bloodstream and the excitement of every attack. The uncomfortable silence was thick, yet both being trained, and trained so well, that neither made any motion to change it.
Syaoran waited for her to come out from her shower and they walked back to the dorms in utter silence. The heavy atmosphere hung low and there was static.
-----
Tomoyo hummed a melody she had thought of in her psychology course with a slight smile on her face. Right when she got inside her room she planned to write them down and perhaps add lyrics. She stopped by the mailboxes on her floor that she shared with everyone else. Finding a white envelope addressed to her, Tomoyo picked it up as she frowned, looking who had addressed the letter. There was no return address or stamp.
Opening the door to find Sakura gone, then remembering that her roommate had an extra course in education, Tomoyo locked it after her. She slid behind her desk and stared at the letter before her. Finally she leaned over and opened the letter.
She shrieked loudly, dropping the letter as if it were hot coals. She vaguely heard a door open and someone rush in, but she was staring at the letter in fear. Backing from the letter, she bumped into her bed and sank down into it, grateful that it could support her. The strength in her legs was long gone.
A warm pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Tomoyo, what's wrong?"
She looked up into Eriol's clam steady eyes that looked at her worriedly, "Oh, Eriol." He frowned and looked down to see the letter there. Tomoyo pulled his arms to stop him when he bent down to retrieve it.
"No!"
Eriol paused, eyeing the girl. "No?"
Tomoyo closed her eyes for a moment before looking back at Eriol. "Please don't. It's pure evil."
"Then that's why I have to see it Tomoyo." He said softly, sitting down beside her on the bed. "If this letter was sent to you, then you must be in danger as well. I'm not going to just let that go." Tomoyo shifted from his gaze guilty. Eriol placed a hand softly on his friend's shoulder and he could feel her shaking. "Tomoyo, you're one of my best friends. Please?"
Finally the girl nodded with her eyes closed with a pained look. Giving her shoulder a last squeeze of comfort, he reached over and picked up the letter.
"Daidouji, you have a losing case in your hands. More will come. As much as you want to avoid, it will be stopping nothing. One can't run from the destined." Eriol read out loud in a hushed tone.
"Tomoyo," Eriol started.
"Don't tell Sakura." She cut in.
"Sakura needs to know about this, Tomo." He said, trying to cheer her up by using her nickname. "We can take more precautions."
"With what? Lock her in a tower?" She demanded furiously. "It's not going to work, Eriol. I don't want to see her more hurt that she already is!"
Eriol observed his friend; her hair was messy and her usual peaceful face was filled with tears and worry. He leaned closer and wrapped his arm around the girl, pulling her closer to him.
"Why bear the pain alone?" He asked quietly. "You're not alone in the universe Tomoyo."
The girl sighed and leaned her head against his broad shoulder and she could feel herself slowly relaxing in his embrace. They sat like that without saying a word for a while.
"What should we do now?" Eriol finally asked. "Should we tell Syaoran?"
Tomoyo looked at the letter again. "Yet it states that the whole idea of hiring Syaoran won't stop whatever's going to happen to Sakura." She said. "Eriol, this person knows us. He knows Sakura. He knows me. He knows you and Li. He knows what we're doing. The letter didn't even come with a stamp. Whoever sent it is here already. Before letters were sent to the publishing company and then they would send it to us."
A frown replaced the usual serene look on the young man. "Then we're all equally in danger. Should we call the police?"
"Sakura and I mentioned about them briefly to the publishing company, but they just tossed it aside, saying that most likely people were jealous."
"But the police?"
Tomoyo shook her head slightly. "No. Sakura refuses. She says that the police will probably just take it like pranks since we nothing has really happened, just threat notes. Am I right?"
Eriol had to sigh. Being a police in training, in a sense that was all correct. The letters were vague and only those who knew Sakura well or was Sakura herself could have interpreted the meaning behind it all. Perhaps he should ask Syaoran about it. After all, that guy was about a police anyhow.
"I still think we should tell Syaoran though. He knows more about cases than you'll ever want to know. Besides, he is the one protecting Sakura."
"But not Sakura."
"Just not yet, Tomoyo. We'll tell her once we think of something to do." Eriol corrected. "Besides, Sakura will be extremely pissed off if all three of us kept it hidden from her."
"Alright. You'll ask Li tonight"
"Yes."
Tomoyo nodded and gave him a weak smile. "Arigato, Eriol."
Eriol smiled warmly back as he stood up. "You're one the bravest people I know, Tomoyo." He told her. Bending down he gave her a brief kiss on her forehead. "Now wipe those tears and we'll think of something from here, okay?"
Tomoyo nodded again. It seemed that whenever she was with him alone, her heart seemed to flutter on a totally different rhythm.
-----
"I don't know about this, Eriol. I think we should still tell Kinomoto. She should be making the calls." Syaoran stated firmly, his hand grasping the note. It took all his will power to rip the letter and go after the guy who wanted to harm Sakura. Yet it confused him all the same, to feel that sudden rush of protectiveness.
"We should decide on what to do first."
"Look, Eriol. Here are the facts plain and clear. This guy knows us and he's most likely on campus. He knows who I am and what I'm doing." Syaoran said. "Daidouji's has to be watched, assuming that you have some capability to protect yourself. When the person said, "more will come," he definitely meant that more of us would be harmed. That would only make the three of us targets. I can watch Kinomoto any myself, no problem, but there's the rest of you."
"Makes sense." Eriol replied. "Yet I don't think Sakura would like living with a guy in the same room."
"What are you thinking?" Syaoran asked, giving his friend a weird look. Yet upon seeing the sly smile on his friend's face, he rolled his eyes. "Don't even mention it, Eriol. I don't want to know."
-----
Sakura's eyes glared angrily at the letter then at the three of them. Tomoyo winced and couldn't help but to look away from Sakura's deadly glare.
"Why didn't anyone tell me about this earlier?" She asked, her voice lethally soft.
"We were tying to think of a way to protect you, and the rest of us as well." Eriol offered, trying to help Tomoyo.
Sakura didn't even respond to his words. Rather, her eyes were on Tomoyo's. "Gomenasai, Sakura." The timid girl whispered, tears dripping down as she bent her face down.
"Tomoyo, from now on, any letter that is not written on who it's from directly goes to me, understand?" She demanded. Sakura whirled to the others. "And that goes to the rest of you. I don't care if you can protect yourselves!"
"Why are you doing this Sakura?" Tomoyo pleaded, looking at her best friend though a curtain of tears. She had changed so much, too much. It pained her to see Sakura like this. This wasn't her. This whole .... stupid thing had been breaking them apart slowly.
Sakura's eyes hardened. "Because I have to." She said tersely. Grabbing her side bag, she turned towards the door. "And Tomoyo, arigato for all you've done." She paused, her hand on the doorknob. "I'll be going now."
Without another word, the girl slipped into the hallway and out of sight. Tomoyo had completely broken down, crying and had thrown herself into Eriol's hug. Syaoran looked briefly at the two before deciding to follow Sakura. After all, she needed someone to talk to. She needed someone to watch her back.
Yet those were just excuses. As he exited the dormitories, he spotted Sakura walking down the path. Following her, he realized for the first time what attracted Sakura to him.
----- Syaoran ----
"Missing something?" I asked. Sakura whirled around, her eyes fiery and automatically had shifted into her fighting stance. Actually, she had been in that cautious mode the moment she left the dorms. Now, I could clearly see how really dangerous she was.
I managed to give her a weak grin, while all the while hiding my emotions. Heck, I never really knew that a woman could be that dangerous. Most likely it was because she was pissed off and she knew martial arts well. The glint in her eyes wasn't a joke; she was dead serious. Heck, if I weren't someone she knew, I'd be dead or close to it by now. I held out the car keys to her and she made a lunge for them and she almost got them if my mind hadn't snapped at the last second.
"Don't tempt me, Li." She spat, the glint in her eyes glowed ominously in the dark.
"Hey, if you're going to party, I'm coming with you." I shrugged, giving her a causal look.
"Fuck off."
"So, I guess we'll be driving my car since you forget our keys huh?" I continued, pretending not to hear her.
"I'm not going with you."
"You're not?" I gave her my best confused look that I use on Eriol when he wants me to do his dirty work for him. "Oh well then." I walked casually to my car that was parked next to hers and slid into the driver's seat. The car purred softly and the lights turned on.
"Since you're not going, tell Eriol and Daidouji where I left okay?" I asked, knowing that would piss her off. True to my prediction, Sakura was muttering curse words under her breath angrily as she got into the passenger's seat, slapping the door loudly after her. I wisely didn't say anything else.
After twenty minutes of just driving, Sakura finally demanded where we were going.
"Oh just around." I replied. "I thought you might wanted to get out of there."
Sakura made no move to reply to that.
"Well, do you want to talk about what happened in there?" I asked, glancing over at her.
"Keep your eyes on the road," She snapped.
I did what I was told, but asked the question again. "Do you?"
"Why even bother?" Sakura demanded. "You don't even know me."
"Because you remind me of myself." I said softly, meaning the words for myself alone, but I know she heard. I avoided her, my eyes not leaving the deserted road. I could feel Sakura's gaze on me, but I shrugged it off. Sighing to myself, I pulled the car over to the curb.
"Watch the car, will you? I'm going out to get us some hot coffee." I ambled off into Starbucks, all the while feeling her eyes watching my every step. I cursed out loud when I tripped over the ledge and I could hear a snicker from behind me. That bitch. I can't figure her out.
I returned shortly with two hot mugs of coffee and passed one to her. For a while we just sat in the car, not saying anything and drinking the warming drink with small sips while watching the steam swirl into the cold autumn evening. Yet despite the drinks, it was still cold, even in the car that we were. And as luck would have it, my heater and broken down a few days ago and I haven't had the time to fix it yet.
"Here." I tossed her my jacket gruffly.
She caught it with a questioning glance but shrugged on the big jacket. I looked at her from the corner of my eyes. She looked more vulnerable that she did before.
"Why even bother?" Sakura asked again, her voice steady and nonchalant as if she was talking to anything but me.
"You'll get a cold." I replied, avoiding answering the question.
She gave me sarcastic look. "Gee, you're the most understanding man, Li." She said with a dry voice. "My thanks."
"Look, if you're going to act like a bitch, you can get out." I told her angrily. This was one girl who didn't know how to be thankful.
"If only you stop babysitting me." Sakura replied, her chin set stubbornly. "You're hovering everywhere I go and it's just like that stalker who's out there to kill me."
"I'm doing a favor for you." I said coldly, fixing my icy eyes at her. "Frankly I don't care if you die by this so called stalker, but others do. I was practically begged and bribed to come here if you want to know the truth. I have a job and I was looking forward to be promoted. I have my life and I don't see why I have to look over yours."
"But like you said, I don't know you." I finished emotionless. I crumbled my empty paper cup into a paper bag. Not saying another word, I turned don the engine and immediately turned a huge U turn, driving back to the dorms.
Sakura glared, folding her arms across her chest as she looked at the flashing images across the window.
She slammed the door behind her as she stormed off without a backwards glance when we reached the university. I swore under my breath as I watched her go, slamming a hand down on the wheel angrily. Every time I spend some time with her, things go in the wrong way and we end up almost killing each other. There's always sparks of lightening and we're both treading on dangerous grounds.
A soft beep sound awakes me from my anger and I notice that it's already past midnight and almost one. Cursing myself for being such a retard, I quickly scan the grounds for Kinomoto. As much as I hate her, I'm still under the obligation to protect her. Besides, that damned stalker should be lurking around.
I heard a few sickening sounds, suspiciously like someone beating the crap out of someone, and I hurry over, careful to stay in the shadows. Under the dim moonlight I could make out Kinomoto beating some guy. Damn. I pity that guy. From the looks of when Sakura left, she's been tenting up her anger.
She raised him by the neck amazingly and slammed him into the brick wall of the building. "Who the hell are you?" She hissed, her green eyes glinting.
"Please, I," The young fellow stuttered pitifully. "I-I don't know anything. That's the honest truth."
"Bastard." She cursed, the curse words grazing her lips easily. The guy's back made contact with the wall again, this time harder. "Now do you have anything else to tell me?"
The man just coughed painfully, wheezing hard. She must have hit him hard in the lungs. "No."
Without another word, Sakura lifted the guy and threw him over her shoulders and he fell with a sickening sound on the hard ground. "I didn't hear you the first time. Would you mind to repeat that?" Her voice was deadly and laced with poison. It made goose bumps run all over my arms just to hear, or see, Sakura like this.
A crazed laughter escaped the man's lips. "Run." Then his head fell back and he was in deep unconscious.
"Shit." Sakura cursed, kicking the guy's body on the ground. Then, suddenly, she turned around and glared. "You can get out the shadows now." She hissed.
I sighed in defeat and walked out.
"I thought it would be you," Sakura commented lightly, glancing once more at the attacker. "Do you have a phone?"
"What for?" I replied, handing it to her without question.
She shrugged and dialed a number, not bothering to answer me. "Moshi moshi? Verna?" She asked.
"Yeah, this is Sakura. I've disposed another stalker on campus for you girl. You owe me one again. He's down by the north wing by the science department." Sakura said with a slight smirk on her face. "Am I hurt? Do you think I would be? Just get down here. I need my sleep."
I looked at Sakura amazed as she talked on my cell. She talked so lightly about what just happened to those around her. She kept everything hidden inside her. I was so deep into my thoughts that I didn't even know she was done talking when the phone was thrust back into my hands.
"What happened?"
Sakura gave me a look before sighing out loud. "Well, he attacked me, that bastard did. Not very experience or smart, I should say." She laughed, but it was empty and had a tinge of sadness.
"You're not hurt are you?" I locked my eyes into her surprised green ones. I blinked when the colors of her eyes changed quickly.
"No," Sakura replied. "Anyhow, Verna, the campus police, is coming down here to check this whole thing out."
I let it go; obviously she was hurt in the inside but she wasn't going to let that on. "Did you get much from the guy?"
"No, but enough to know that he's related to the perverted stalker. Addressed me with a few lines of the last note he sent Tomoyo." She replied easily, as if none of it was affecting her. "But, I know this is one person who is loyal to whoever is supporting him. Anyone else who was working for money would of told me everything they knew."
"True. Yet you leave things dangling like this. The man can easily come back and attack you." I pointed out.
"Killing the man would have caused more problem, even if I claimed it was self defense, which it was. Deeper questioning would be conducted and I don't tell." Sakura said.
"You did not kill the man who just attacked you, which makes him indebted to you, but the mastermind behind this all will gain from this. If he is indeed loyal as he is, he may still be worth of some value."
She actually gave me a rare half smile. "You're one of most interesting cops I'll ever meet." She told me. But before I could answer to that, a woman police officer came walking to our direction.
"Verna, here's your little gift, that wanted pervert lurking around the campus town for a while if I remember correctly." Sakura told the woman cop who was tall and black hair into a bun with grave ore eyes.
"Damn, Sakura, I should stop being surprised, but hell, I can't but have a little pity for the next guy who looks at you in a romantic way." The older woman grinned, her whole teeth flashing against her bronze skin. "Or rather, in your words, crossed-eyed and perverted?"
Sakura gave another half smile, which surprised me. She hardly ever smiled and this was another person, other than Tomoyo, Eriol, and most likely her family though I've never met them, she smiled to.
"So, whose this to be unscathed?" Verna nudged her head towards me.
Sakura eyed me warily from the corner of her eyes. "Just some friend of Tomoyo's." She replied vaguely.
Verna grinned towards me. "Well, nice to meet some male she doesn't beat the crap out of. I'm Verna, the campus police here."
"Uh, Li Syaoran." I replied, taking the offered hand and shaking it.
"Yeah, well, see to this guy he's in the jail cell. And Verna, I want a special eye on him, okay?" Sakura said.
The cop looked a bit surprised at the request, but shrugged it off. "That perverted huh? Well, I'll see what I can do. Remember, I need a written account of this whole thing since you're obviously not coming to station."
"Hai. I appreciate it, Verna." Sakura walked off towards the direction the dorms and I followed after bidding the woman, who was now talking on her cell, goodbye.
She walked quickly and briskly, not even bothering to look back to see if I was catching up to her. What am I thinking? She doesn't care one or the other what happens to my anyhow. I bid her a quick goodnight and watched until she safely entered her room before I entered mine.
Yet I found myself staring into the darkness at the ceiling. Eriol had fallen asleep already and I listened to the rhythmic sound of his even breathing. I sighed and rolled over to my side, facing the door that connected the bathroom that led to Sakura and Tomoyo's room. I wondered what she was thinking, how she was feeling. She locked herself into a tightly sealed box and she was even closing herself away from Tomoyo.
This was breaking their strong bonds of friendship apart. And this, I knew, was the purpose of the crazed stalker when he sent the letter to Tomoyo. He knew.
And when morning came, I heard a surprised sob.
Yet it didn't surprise me to see Sakura and all her belongings removed from the room she once shared with her best friend.
-----
How was it? I know, it took me forever to update, but I have a lot of tests and I have midterms in a week. Also, I'm so busy with college applications and all that other junk, like filling out forms, giving envelops for teacher recommendation letters, finding midyear report forms, and all that. I don't think you'd want to hear it all. Anyhow, I'll be updating lesser and lesser as college applications pressure closer since it's a major part of my life here. I hope it'll be all right with you guys. BUT! When I'm done, I'll have loads of free time to write and update often! And write new stories! I have so many new ideas popping in my head and I have to resist writing them right now!
Anyhow, your reviews are a wonderful moral support! I thank you guys more than you think! Also, for those who have reviewed for ADOHE, thank you! My second story could only be a success because of you all!
Xoxo,
Iris Dreamer!
----- Written by Iris (Rainbow) Dreamer
----- DISCLAIMER: Card Captor Sakura solely belongs to Clamp. However, the plot is mine and I would like to remain it that way. Arigato.
----- AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey! This is my new fic! Bear with me here as I suffer my way through my one last stab at the SATs, through college essays, countless college searching, and college applications of my senior year. Needless to say, I'll be very busy. I'll be trying my best to update this, but I'm going to have one hectic senior year!
----- BACKGROUND: Okay! Some background here. Syaoran and Sakura have not met before. Hm. No magic in here either (as some of you might know, I'm horrible at describing magic.....). What else? Oh, the characters may seem a bit out of character in the beginning (especially Sakura), but you'll see why as the story proceeds. Hm. I think that's about it. The rest you'll have to discover yourself! And if you know me, I love twists and turns, although this chapter should have less than ADOHE if you've read that.
----- SPECIAL THANKS: To all those who have reviewed Angels Dancing on Her Eyelids. This story is to all of you readers out there!
Cheler: Heh, you're a romantic like me!
Time warp: Thank you!
Sweet baby gurl: Gomen for the late update!
Sapphire Melody: Arigato!
Avelyn Lauren: Heh, getting on Sakura's bad side would be pretty bad huh? She barks and bites! And, wow, you swim too? Hehe, I used to swim, but lately I don't have the time. Instead, I'm in the badminton team for my fourth year already. Yep!
Di: Wow! Such a long review and I can't believe what you written in it as well! It should be me who's amazed! Saying that my work is actually literature is a great honor that I don't think I've mastered yet! And that coming from a reader, you, is quite stunning! Thank you. That's one of the best compliments I have ever received! And colleges? A few I'm considering are Boston U, UCLA, and UNC Chapel Hill. Which reminds me, are you in college? If you are any tips? And once again, thanks!
Kawaii Cherry Wolf: Thank you!
Demi-kaijuu: Sakura's has one hell of a past in this story, as you will find out later. And what's wrong with drying your feet with a hairdryer? I do that when I come back from school or wherever in pouring rain and no umbrella.
Dragonstar03: Thanks.
Weirdly Yours: Heh, I kind of like the idea of Sakura a feminist, but I've mostly thought Meiling as one, at least the way I have tried to portray her in my other fics. Haha, and funny how you should mention that Asian parents have high standards..... I'm an Asian. LoL. I don't have the SAT grades to go to the Ivy Leagues, even though my GPA's great, so I'm stuck to go to schools right under the Ivy Leagues. Right, like I'll get in! And SATs in eighth grade...lol, same here!
Enchantress azure: Thanks! I'm glad you liked my story (AHODE) so much. You know how much that means to me. And as for this story, things are heading towards a wild and crazy start! Happy reading!
Safaia Hiryuu: Sorry for taking forever to update! I hope you enjoy this!
Daz: Hey man! Glad you liked it so much!
Lone WOLF: Thank you! Hehe, don't you just love that totally handsome, intriguing character of Syaoran! I love him too! And thank you for reading all my other fics as well! That means the whole world to me!
Dancer5: You always take the best line of my chapters and highlight them. Thank you!
Cheery Princess Sakura: Interesting, listening to CCS music as you read this. I love Japanese anime songs and I have loads of them. Let's see. I love Tomoyo's voice, Detective Conan songs (I mean it, they have really, really good songs!), Kenshin songs, HunterXHunter ones, Inuyasha songs, and loads of others! Lol!
Star96: Thank you!
And to all those who have read this, thank you! You guys are the absolute greatest! Enjoy!
----- CHAPTER THREE: Shattered glass
----- Syaoran ------
She never really spoke that much after the incident and she kept more to herself. The only person she was really willing to talk to was Tomoyo, and occasionally Eriol. She just ignored me.
As ridiculous as it sounds, since I've only known her for a few days, I kind of miss that feminist strong Sakura. The way she retorts cleverly at my comments and her sarcastic remarks is better than her silence. I still follow her from class to class, but she pretty just pretends that I'm not there. I even found myself waking early and waiting in front of the gym, waiting for her to practice her martial arts.
She didn't show up. After five days in a row, I was wondering what was going on. I had thought that she would go into practice frenzy to protect herself more, but I guess I was wrong. I even went through all the process with the administration to oversee Sakura's martial arts practices in the mornings. Tomoyo was quite surprised at my offer and I was to say I was the most surprised.
I wasn't like this. Coming from an Asian background, my family demanded a lot from me. I had been accepted to Beijing University, which is one of the hardest and most competitive institutions in China. Yet I had decided to go to one in Japan. Of course that did not go well with my family, but in the end they respected my wishes. Consequently, I'm working even harder here than I normally would. Me, the cold silent man who was a perfect role model and martial arts expert, was starting to actually worry about someone outside family. That was something definitely new to me. Yet it was something, something so horrid and unbelievable in Sakura's past that made me connected to her. There was something that I could not place that made me want to understand.
She was one of the few people that I have ever felt empathy for.
------
Tomoyo sighed, tossing her on her chair before falling comfortably on her bed with a contented breath of relief.
"Tired?" A familiar voiced asked from behind her. Tomoyo lazily opened her eyes to see Sakura looking at her with her hair soaking wet and a towel around her shoulders.
"Yeah. I can't believe I'm actually pursuing to be a doctor." She grinned at her best friend.
"But it's what you want to be, isn't it?" Sakura replied softly. "That dream of yours?"
Tomoyo studied her friend silently before nodding. "Yes."
"Then that's all that matters." She said simply, finishing the conversation.
"I guess," Tomoyo said uncertainly. When Sakura didn't respond, she frowned. "Saku, you trust me, don't you?"
Sakura looked startled at the question but nodded nevertheless. "Of course, Tomoyo."
"Then what's wrong?" She demanded quietly. "You can tell me anything, Sakura."
Sakura's emerald eyes softened slightly for the first time in days. "Gomenasai Tomoyo." She whispered.
Tomoyo went over and embraced Sakura tightly. "We'll get through this together. Promise?"
Finally Sakura relaxed in her friend's warm embrace and Tomoyo smiled lightly, "I promise Tomoyo."
"Good." She replied, pulling her arms away and giving Sakura a dazzling smile. "How about we go for some coffee?"
"My treat this time." Sakura commanded with a slight smile.
-----
Sakura quietly stopped her clock after the second beep and padded gently for the bathroom. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, the girl frowned. Her auburn hair was tied into a high ponytail with a black hair band. Her slightly tanned skin complemented with her green eyes; those same pair of green eyes that betrayed her emotions inside. She closed them for a while, steadying her feelings, and when she opened them again, the emerald color had turned back into it's dark green. Satisfied, she grabbed her Nike duffel bag and walked out her dorm room.
She stopped a few steps before the gym, seeing someone leaning on the cold metal doors. Frowning, she tightened her grip on her bag and walked over. The young man there looked up when he heard her arriving. However, she simply ignored him, unlocking the door steadily and disappearing inside.
Syaoran sighed and followed the girl inside. She was running laps around the gym already. He quickly followed her. As they ran, he watched the back of her. She seemed out of focus yet from the rigid position of her shoulders, he could tell that she was determined. Her black tank and short gray shorts made her seem unmovable, but he knew better.
After ten laps, she stopped, breathing a bit hard. Automatically, she started to warm up, stretching her legs.
Finally she acknowledged him. "What are you doing here Li?" She asked, her voice weary, not even putting up a fight to him as she changed her position.
"You needed an overseer." He replied simply. He could feel her eyes dart over to him, yet glancing over him before looking away quickly.
"Why bother." Sakura replied monotone.
"I thought you'd rather to be looked by me than some male stranger." He answered.
He thought that she would snap at him angrily but she did nothing. "You don't know me Li." She told him quietly after a moment's silence lapsed between the two. Her simple comment made Syaoran look away from her gaze.
She got to her feet and Syaoran did as well. Both slid into their positions, tension rising. In a swift moment, the two collided together, a blur of punches and kicks. It was a simple spar.
However there was the lack of fun and happiness that there was on their first battle. Sakura was performing her each motion with perfect accuracy and Syaoran complemented her well. It was simply just training, like one of those of a best student with the teacher.
There were no retorting comebacks. There was no feeling of adrenaline running through their bloodstream and the excitement of every attack. The uncomfortable silence was thick, yet both being trained, and trained so well, that neither made any motion to change it.
Syaoran waited for her to come out from her shower and they walked back to the dorms in utter silence. The heavy atmosphere hung low and there was static.
-----
Tomoyo hummed a melody she had thought of in her psychology course with a slight smile on her face. Right when she got inside her room she planned to write them down and perhaps add lyrics. She stopped by the mailboxes on her floor that she shared with everyone else. Finding a white envelope addressed to her, Tomoyo picked it up as she frowned, looking who had addressed the letter. There was no return address or stamp.
Opening the door to find Sakura gone, then remembering that her roommate had an extra course in education, Tomoyo locked it after her. She slid behind her desk and stared at the letter before her. Finally she leaned over and opened the letter.
She shrieked loudly, dropping the letter as if it were hot coals. She vaguely heard a door open and someone rush in, but she was staring at the letter in fear. Backing from the letter, she bumped into her bed and sank down into it, grateful that it could support her. The strength in her legs was long gone.
A warm pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Tomoyo, what's wrong?"
She looked up into Eriol's clam steady eyes that looked at her worriedly, "Oh, Eriol." He frowned and looked down to see the letter there. Tomoyo pulled his arms to stop him when he bent down to retrieve it.
"No!"
Eriol paused, eyeing the girl. "No?"
Tomoyo closed her eyes for a moment before looking back at Eriol. "Please don't. It's pure evil."
"Then that's why I have to see it Tomoyo." He said softly, sitting down beside her on the bed. "If this letter was sent to you, then you must be in danger as well. I'm not going to just let that go." Tomoyo shifted from his gaze guilty. Eriol placed a hand softly on his friend's shoulder and he could feel her shaking. "Tomoyo, you're one of my best friends. Please?"
Finally the girl nodded with her eyes closed with a pained look. Giving her shoulder a last squeeze of comfort, he reached over and picked up the letter.
"Daidouji, you have a losing case in your hands. More will come. As much as you want to avoid, it will be stopping nothing. One can't run from the destined." Eriol read out loud in a hushed tone.
"Tomoyo," Eriol started.
"Don't tell Sakura." She cut in.
"Sakura needs to know about this, Tomo." He said, trying to cheer her up by using her nickname. "We can take more precautions."
"With what? Lock her in a tower?" She demanded furiously. "It's not going to work, Eriol. I don't want to see her more hurt that she already is!"
Eriol observed his friend; her hair was messy and her usual peaceful face was filled with tears and worry. He leaned closer and wrapped his arm around the girl, pulling her closer to him.
"Why bear the pain alone?" He asked quietly. "You're not alone in the universe Tomoyo."
The girl sighed and leaned her head against his broad shoulder and she could feel herself slowly relaxing in his embrace. They sat like that without saying a word for a while.
"What should we do now?" Eriol finally asked. "Should we tell Syaoran?"
Tomoyo looked at the letter again. "Yet it states that the whole idea of hiring Syaoran won't stop whatever's going to happen to Sakura." She said. "Eriol, this person knows us. He knows Sakura. He knows me. He knows you and Li. He knows what we're doing. The letter didn't even come with a stamp. Whoever sent it is here already. Before letters were sent to the publishing company and then they would send it to us."
A frown replaced the usual serene look on the young man. "Then we're all equally in danger. Should we call the police?"
"Sakura and I mentioned about them briefly to the publishing company, but they just tossed it aside, saying that most likely people were jealous."
"But the police?"
Tomoyo shook her head slightly. "No. Sakura refuses. She says that the police will probably just take it like pranks since we nothing has really happened, just threat notes. Am I right?"
Eriol had to sigh. Being a police in training, in a sense that was all correct. The letters were vague and only those who knew Sakura well or was Sakura herself could have interpreted the meaning behind it all. Perhaps he should ask Syaoran about it. After all, that guy was about a police anyhow.
"I still think we should tell Syaoran though. He knows more about cases than you'll ever want to know. Besides, he is the one protecting Sakura."
"But not Sakura."
"Just not yet, Tomoyo. We'll tell her once we think of something to do." Eriol corrected. "Besides, Sakura will be extremely pissed off if all three of us kept it hidden from her."
"Alright. You'll ask Li tonight"
"Yes."
Tomoyo nodded and gave him a weak smile. "Arigato, Eriol."
Eriol smiled warmly back as he stood up. "You're one the bravest people I know, Tomoyo." He told her. Bending down he gave her a brief kiss on her forehead. "Now wipe those tears and we'll think of something from here, okay?"
Tomoyo nodded again. It seemed that whenever she was with him alone, her heart seemed to flutter on a totally different rhythm.
-----
"I don't know about this, Eriol. I think we should still tell Kinomoto. She should be making the calls." Syaoran stated firmly, his hand grasping the note. It took all his will power to rip the letter and go after the guy who wanted to harm Sakura. Yet it confused him all the same, to feel that sudden rush of protectiveness.
"We should decide on what to do first."
"Look, Eriol. Here are the facts plain and clear. This guy knows us and he's most likely on campus. He knows who I am and what I'm doing." Syaoran said. "Daidouji's has to be watched, assuming that you have some capability to protect yourself. When the person said, "more will come," he definitely meant that more of us would be harmed. That would only make the three of us targets. I can watch Kinomoto any myself, no problem, but there's the rest of you."
"Makes sense." Eriol replied. "Yet I don't think Sakura would like living with a guy in the same room."
"What are you thinking?" Syaoran asked, giving his friend a weird look. Yet upon seeing the sly smile on his friend's face, he rolled his eyes. "Don't even mention it, Eriol. I don't want to know."
-----
Sakura's eyes glared angrily at the letter then at the three of them. Tomoyo winced and couldn't help but to look away from Sakura's deadly glare.
"Why didn't anyone tell me about this earlier?" She asked, her voice lethally soft.
"We were tying to think of a way to protect you, and the rest of us as well." Eriol offered, trying to help Tomoyo.
Sakura didn't even respond to his words. Rather, her eyes were on Tomoyo's. "Gomenasai, Sakura." The timid girl whispered, tears dripping down as she bent her face down.
"Tomoyo, from now on, any letter that is not written on who it's from directly goes to me, understand?" She demanded. Sakura whirled to the others. "And that goes to the rest of you. I don't care if you can protect yourselves!"
"Why are you doing this Sakura?" Tomoyo pleaded, looking at her best friend though a curtain of tears. She had changed so much, too much. It pained her to see Sakura like this. This wasn't her. This whole .... stupid thing had been breaking them apart slowly.
Sakura's eyes hardened. "Because I have to." She said tersely. Grabbing her side bag, she turned towards the door. "And Tomoyo, arigato for all you've done." She paused, her hand on the doorknob. "I'll be going now."
Without another word, the girl slipped into the hallway and out of sight. Tomoyo had completely broken down, crying and had thrown herself into Eriol's hug. Syaoran looked briefly at the two before deciding to follow Sakura. After all, she needed someone to talk to. She needed someone to watch her back.
Yet those were just excuses. As he exited the dormitories, he spotted Sakura walking down the path. Following her, he realized for the first time what attracted Sakura to him.
----- Syaoran ----
"Missing something?" I asked. Sakura whirled around, her eyes fiery and automatically had shifted into her fighting stance. Actually, she had been in that cautious mode the moment she left the dorms. Now, I could clearly see how really dangerous she was.
I managed to give her a weak grin, while all the while hiding my emotions. Heck, I never really knew that a woman could be that dangerous. Most likely it was because she was pissed off and she knew martial arts well. The glint in her eyes wasn't a joke; she was dead serious. Heck, if I weren't someone she knew, I'd be dead or close to it by now. I held out the car keys to her and she made a lunge for them and she almost got them if my mind hadn't snapped at the last second.
"Don't tempt me, Li." She spat, the glint in her eyes glowed ominously in the dark.
"Hey, if you're going to party, I'm coming with you." I shrugged, giving her a causal look.
"Fuck off."
"So, I guess we'll be driving my car since you forget our keys huh?" I continued, pretending not to hear her.
"I'm not going with you."
"You're not?" I gave her my best confused look that I use on Eriol when he wants me to do his dirty work for him. "Oh well then." I walked casually to my car that was parked next to hers and slid into the driver's seat. The car purred softly and the lights turned on.
"Since you're not going, tell Eriol and Daidouji where I left okay?" I asked, knowing that would piss her off. True to my prediction, Sakura was muttering curse words under her breath angrily as she got into the passenger's seat, slapping the door loudly after her. I wisely didn't say anything else.
After twenty minutes of just driving, Sakura finally demanded where we were going.
"Oh just around." I replied. "I thought you might wanted to get out of there."
Sakura made no move to reply to that.
"Well, do you want to talk about what happened in there?" I asked, glancing over at her.
"Keep your eyes on the road," She snapped.
I did what I was told, but asked the question again. "Do you?"
"Why even bother?" Sakura demanded. "You don't even know me."
"Because you remind me of myself." I said softly, meaning the words for myself alone, but I know she heard. I avoided her, my eyes not leaving the deserted road. I could feel Sakura's gaze on me, but I shrugged it off. Sighing to myself, I pulled the car over to the curb.
"Watch the car, will you? I'm going out to get us some hot coffee." I ambled off into Starbucks, all the while feeling her eyes watching my every step. I cursed out loud when I tripped over the ledge and I could hear a snicker from behind me. That bitch. I can't figure her out.
I returned shortly with two hot mugs of coffee and passed one to her. For a while we just sat in the car, not saying anything and drinking the warming drink with small sips while watching the steam swirl into the cold autumn evening. Yet despite the drinks, it was still cold, even in the car that we were. And as luck would have it, my heater and broken down a few days ago and I haven't had the time to fix it yet.
"Here." I tossed her my jacket gruffly.
She caught it with a questioning glance but shrugged on the big jacket. I looked at her from the corner of my eyes. She looked more vulnerable that she did before.
"Why even bother?" Sakura asked again, her voice steady and nonchalant as if she was talking to anything but me.
"You'll get a cold." I replied, avoiding answering the question.
She gave me sarcastic look. "Gee, you're the most understanding man, Li." She said with a dry voice. "My thanks."
"Look, if you're going to act like a bitch, you can get out." I told her angrily. This was one girl who didn't know how to be thankful.
"If only you stop babysitting me." Sakura replied, her chin set stubbornly. "You're hovering everywhere I go and it's just like that stalker who's out there to kill me."
"I'm doing a favor for you." I said coldly, fixing my icy eyes at her. "Frankly I don't care if you die by this so called stalker, but others do. I was practically begged and bribed to come here if you want to know the truth. I have a job and I was looking forward to be promoted. I have my life and I don't see why I have to look over yours."
"But like you said, I don't know you." I finished emotionless. I crumbled my empty paper cup into a paper bag. Not saying another word, I turned don the engine and immediately turned a huge U turn, driving back to the dorms.
Sakura glared, folding her arms across her chest as she looked at the flashing images across the window.
She slammed the door behind her as she stormed off without a backwards glance when we reached the university. I swore under my breath as I watched her go, slamming a hand down on the wheel angrily. Every time I spend some time with her, things go in the wrong way and we end up almost killing each other. There's always sparks of lightening and we're both treading on dangerous grounds.
A soft beep sound awakes me from my anger and I notice that it's already past midnight and almost one. Cursing myself for being such a retard, I quickly scan the grounds for Kinomoto. As much as I hate her, I'm still under the obligation to protect her. Besides, that damned stalker should be lurking around.
I heard a few sickening sounds, suspiciously like someone beating the crap out of someone, and I hurry over, careful to stay in the shadows. Under the dim moonlight I could make out Kinomoto beating some guy. Damn. I pity that guy. From the looks of when Sakura left, she's been tenting up her anger.
She raised him by the neck amazingly and slammed him into the brick wall of the building. "Who the hell are you?" She hissed, her green eyes glinting.
"Please, I," The young fellow stuttered pitifully. "I-I don't know anything. That's the honest truth."
"Bastard." She cursed, the curse words grazing her lips easily. The guy's back made contact with the wall again, this time harder. "Now do you have anything else to tell me?"
The man just coughed painfully, wheezing hard. She must have hit him hard in the lungs. "No."
Without another word, Sakura lifted the guy and threw him over her shoulders and he fell with a sickening sound on the hard ground. "I didn't hear you the first time. Would you mind to repeat that?" Her voice was deadly and laced with poison. It made goose bumps run all over my arms just to hear, or see, Sakura like this.
A crazed laughter escaped the man's lips. "Run." Then his head fell back and he was in deep unconscious.
"Shit." Sakura cursed, kicking the guy's body on the ground. Then, suddenly, she turned around and glared. "You can get out the shadows now." She hissed.
I sighed in defeat and walked out.
"I thought it would be you," Sakura commented lightly, glancing once more at the attacker. "Do you have a phone?"
"What for?" I replied, handing it to her without question.
She shrugged and dialed a number, not bothering to answer me. "Moshi moshi? Verna?" She asked.
"Yeah, this is Sakura. I've disposed another stalker on campus for you girl. You owe me one again. He's down by the north wing by the science department." Sakura said with a slight smirk on her face. "Am I hurt? Do you think I would be? Just get down here. I need my sleep."
I looked at Sakura amazed as she talked on my cell. She talked so lightly about what just happened to those around her. She kept everything hidden inside her. I was so deep into my thoughts that I didn't even know she was done talking when the phone was thrust back into my hands.
"What happened?"
Sakura gave me a look before sighing out loud. "Well, he attacked me, that bastard did. Not very experience or smart, I should say." She laughed, but it was empty and had a tinge of sadness.
"You're not hurt are you?" I locked my eyes into her surprised green ones. I blinked when the colors of her eyes changed quickly.
"No," Sakura replied. "Anyhow, Verna, the campus police, is coming down here to check this whole thing out."
I let it go; obviously she was hurt in the inside but she wasn't going to let that on. "Did you get much from the guy?"
"No, but enough to know that he's related to the perverted stalker. Addressed me with a few lines of the last note he sent Tomoyo." She replied easily, as if none of it was affecting her. "But, I know this is one person who is loyal to whoever is supporting him. Anyone else who was working for money would of told me everything they knew."
"True. Yet you leave things dangling like this. The man can easily come back and attack you." I pointed out.
"Killing the man would have caused more problem, even if I claimed it was self defense, which it was. Deeper questioning would be conducted and I don't tell." Sakura said.
"You did not kill the man who just attacked you, which makes him indebted to you, but the mastermind behind this all will gain from this. If he is indeed loyal as he is, he may still be worth of some value."
She actually gave me a rare half smile. "You're one of most interesting cops I'll ever meet." She told me. But before I could answer to that, a woman police officer came walking to our direction.
"Verna, here's your little gift, that wanted pervert lurking around the campus town for a while if I remember correctly." Sakura told the woman cop who was tall and black hair into a bun with grave ore eyes.
"Damn, Sakura, I should stop being surprised, but hell, I can't but have a little pity for the next guy who looks at you in a romantic way." The older woman grinned, her whole teeth flashing against her bronze skin. "Or rather, in your words, crossed-eyed and perverted?"
Sakura gave another half smile, which surprised me. She hardly ever smiled and this was another person, other than Tomoyo, Eriol, and most likely her family though I've never met them, she smiled to.
"So, whose this to be unscathed?" Verna nudged her head towards me.
Sakura eyed me warily from the corner of her eyes. "Just some friend of Tomoyo's." She replied vaguely.
Verna grinned towards me. "Well, nice to meet some male she doesn't beat the crap out of. I'm Verna, the campus police here."
"Uh, Li Syaoran." I replied, taking the offered hand and shaking it.
"Yeah, well, see to this guy he's in the jail cell. And Verna, I want a special eye on him, okay?" Sakura said.
The cop looked a bit surprised at the request, but shrugged it off. "That perverted huh? Well, I'll see what I can do. Remember, I need a written account of this whole thing since you're obviously not coming to station."
"Hai. I appreciate it, Verna." Sakura walked off towards the direction the dorms and I followed after bidding the woman, who was now talking on her cell, goodbye.
She walked quickly and briskly, not even bothering to look back to see if I was catching up to her. What am I thinking? She doesn't care one or the other what happens to my anyhow. I bid her a quick goodnight and watched until she safely entered her room before I entered mine.
Yet I found myself staring into the darkness at the ceiling. Eriol had fallen asleep already and I listened to the rhythmic sound of his even breathing. I sighed and rolled over to my side, facing the door that connected the bathroom that led to Sakura and Tomoyo's room. I wondered what she was thinking, how she was feeling. She locked herself into a tightly sealed box and she was even closing herself away from Tomoyo.
This was breaking their strong bonds of friendship apart. And this, I knew, was the purpose of the crazed stalker when he sent the letter to Tomoyo. He knew.
And when morning came, I heard a surprised sob.
Yet it didn't surprise me to see Sakura and all her belongings removed from the room she once shared with her best friend.
-----
How was it? I know, it took me forever to update, but I have a lot of tests and I have midterms in a week. Also, I'm so busy with college applications and all that other junk, like filling out forms, giving envelops for teacher recommendation letters, finding midyear report forms, and all that. I don't think you'd want to hear it all. Anyhow, I'll be updating lesser and lesser as college applications pressure closer since it's a major part of my life here. I hope it'll be all right with you guys. BUT! When I'm done, I'll have loads of free time to write and update often! And write new stories! I have so many new ideas popping in my head and I have to resist writing them right now!
Anyhow, your reviews are a wonderful moral support! I thank you guys more than you think! Also, for those who have reviewed for ADOHE, thank you! My second story could only be a success because of you all!
Xoxo,
Iris Dreamer!