Love for All Seasons
A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
By Wallpaper
Season 1 : Spring
Her senses were at it's peak, her concentration intense. The air was still around her; silent. She unconsciously held her breath, contemplating her next move. Her eyes were fixated on the object that held her attention. If she made a move and it was the wrong one… she let out an involuntary shudder. She did not want to contemplate the consequences.
Her way out came to her as clearly as the glaring morning sun shining in through her glass windows. She finally rewarded herself with a small grin and tighten her grip on her ticket to victory. She glanced at her opponent and her eyes twinkled mockingly at him, causing her opponent to bare his fangs at her and growl threateningly. She could see, no matter how much her opponent tried to hide, a waver of insecurity in his emotionless eyes. She smirked to herself. This could be -was- her daylight, her breakthrough, her final chance. She would survive this, and emerge victorious!
Lifting the victory piece painfully leisurely, she watched in morbid delight as her opponent traced her piece's movement with unmasked concentration. As she led it closer to her intended landing spot, she saw his face pale intensively. That was all she needed as a confirmation to her choice.
It was the right one.
With a victorious chuckle, she flicked Syaoran's black king off the chessboard and firmly placed her white Knight in its place. She raised her eyes to her opponent and let out an insolent grin.
'Checkmate.' she announced in a sing-song voice.
Syaoran's indifferent expression fell into disbelief, then it sank in. His face expressed 'devastated'.
'Nooo…' he groaned and rested his heavy head on his folded arms which were propped on the coffee table. 'How could I lose to an opponent who had just learnt how to move the bloody chess pieces one hour ago! I've been playing chess -and winning- since I was three!'
Sakura let out a shout of victorious laughter and stretched languidly, enjoying the luxurious pull of her muscles.
'Yokatta!' She stressed every syllable happily, playfully provoking the wounded animal lying beside the chessboard.
'Just admit it, Syaoran, I'm a lot better than you at learning things. I pick these kind of stuff up easily,' she boasted. Syaoran finally peeked at her from under his folded arms, narrowing his eyes playfully at her.
'You were just lucky.' he growled. 'When we get to the next round, I bet with my property that I will beat you then, and make you run to your daddy with your delectable tail between your legs.'
'Ooh…I wouldn't if I were you; you'll end up having to sell your nice little apartment just to pay me! And I'm really rather fond of it, if you ask me.' Sakura teased. Syaoran winced.
'Alright, spare the rest of my ego, would you? Mine's feeling a little battered right now. I was beaten by a girl.' he whined.
Sakura laughed and patted him on the head, ignoring his ominous growl.
'You poor little thing! Now, now, would you like some nice cup of hot chocolate? I've got a whole tin of it!'
Syaoran looked torn between wanting to jump up, demanding for another round of chess with her to settle the score, and settling on the nice, comfortable couch with Sakura's killer hot chocolate.
Needless to say, the latter won.
Syaoran pounced into the kitchen and Sakura followed, shaking her head at the thought of brave, strong Syaoran, resorting to whimpering, just for a cup of hot chocolate. She smiled and propped herself onto the kitchen table as Syaoran excitedly bustled around the kitchen, the tin of crushed chocolate flakes already lodged in between Syaoran's hands.
'Are you sure you don't want another round of chess?' Sakura tried weakly as Syaoran proceeded to lump two spoonfuls, rounded spoonfuls, of her precious chocolate flakes each into two cup. Syaoran reached for the metal tin cover and hesitated.
He looked into his cup.
He looked into her cup.
He looked into the tin.
He looked back into his cup.
He shrugged and then added one more rounded spoonful of chocolate flakes into his own cup.
Sakura sighed in resignation. It looked like she had to go shave more chocolates.
'Nope! I'm rather happy with the Hot chocolate!' Sakura blinked in confusion and then realized that he was answering her question. She laughed and jumped down from the table to join him at the kitchen counter.
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Syaoran took a tentative taste of his hot chocolate and sighed with pleasure as the warm, sweetly thick liquid slid down his throat to settle in a warm pool in his stomach. He closed his eyes and leaned back against his sofa, aware -very aware- of Sakura's presence beside him. She was sipping her hot chocolate pensively; sipping, but not really tasting. Syaoran frowned and cleared his throat softly to startle her out of her unusual mood.
She did not even stir.
The frown between Syaoran's eyebrows deepen, and he absently set his cup onto the coffee table.
Sakura did not even notice his movement, continuing to stare at the wall.
Syaoran sidled closer to her and followed her gaze, hoping to find what was it that captivated her attention.
He continued to stare with intense concentration at the wall, hoping to find what she was staring so intently at.
He found nothing but the endless pale cream wall.
'What are you staring at?' he murmured.
Sakura sat up with a jolt, almost spilling her cup of hot chocolate.
'What the- Syaoran! Don't scare me like that!' she chided anxiously as she quickly set the cup beside his. He turned to Sakura and raised an eyebrow at her.
'You went AWOL on me back there.' he explained. Syaoran leaned back into the sofa they both were sitting on and folded his arms. His expression was one of someone bracing himself for a something big.
'Alright. Bring it on.' he invited. Sakura frowned in confusion.
'Bring what on?'
Syaoran looked incredulously at her.
'You're girl problem of course! You're 18 this year, Sakura, and as I noticed, girls this age are usually emotionally unstable as they reach the peak of puberty. So, they usually need someone to listen to them. This is what you get for being best friends with a girl.' he muttered.
Sakura continued to stare at him.
Syaoran sighed and held out his arms. 'If you need to cry, I'm here.'
If you need to cry, I'm here
For some strange reason, a unexplainable warm glow spread through Sakura all the way to her toes. Her expression soften and she found herself crawling into his lap and reaching out to him, letting him wrap her in his warm embrace. Syaoran smoothed down her hair and rested his chin on top of her head.
Sakura closed her eyes, savoring his warm and comforting scent.
Nothing was said between them for a few moments, and they just held each other. Sakura did not know whether she felt awkward in her position, but she knew that Syaoran's embrace was nice.
Very nice…
'Syaoran?' she murmured after a few moments.
'Hmm?'
He touched her hair and ran his fingers through them gently. Sakura sighed dreamily and snuggled closer to him.
'Thank you.'
'Hmm…'
'Syaoran?'
'Yes?'
'There's nothing wrong with me, actually.'
Syaoran pulled away gently, frowning at her. Sakura immediately missed his warmth and pulled herself back into his embrace with a small pout. Syaoran chuckled softly and held her closer.
'I was actually thinking about what I was going to cook for dinner, since onii-chan's coming back today with Yukito-san.' Sakura sighed happily. 'It's been awhile since I saw them, and I kind of miss them.'
Syaoran remained silent, just stroking her hair gently.
'Ever since Otou-san left to join Okaa-san in heaven, I've been really lonely. Onii-chan and Yukito-san left for college and I was left alone here.' she whispered softly. Syaoran quickly pulled her away from him.
'But you had me when they all left. That's why your brother let you stay here alone. Because he knew that he could trust me to take care of you.' Syaoran frowned. 'Speaking about that, I always wondered what made him trust me so much. I thought he always hated me.'
Sakura laughed and lay a soft hand against Syaoran's cheek. 'Onii-chan never hated you, Syaoran. He just didn't like the idea that I was always hanging out with you, a male. But seriously, he trusted you enough to take care of me, and that's saying quite a bit, considering the fact that he never trusted anybody of the male gender with me, besides my father and Yukito-san.'
Syaoran raised an eyebrow.
'That's because he likes Yukito-san.'
Sakura laughed. 'Yes, that too.' She let out a muffled yawn and lay her head on Syaoran's shoulder.
'I'm really sleepy…' murmured Sakura drowsily as she closed her eyes. Syaoran leaned his head against hers and tightened his hold on her.
'Then sleep, Sakura. You need your energy to glomp your brother later.'
Sakura laughed softly.
'Yes… I…think I…should sleep.'
Syaoran stared at the wall as Sakura dozed softly on his shoulder.
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When Kinomoto Touya reached home, he immediately noticed two pairs of shoes at the doorstep.
He scowled.
'That gaki's here,' he scoffed.
'Yes, and if he weren't, you would have been storming your way to his apartment and asking what the hell he was doing away from your sister, when he was supposed to be 'taking care of her' ne?' reasoned Yukito, who came into the house after him. Touya sniffed indignantly and stepped into the house without answering him. Yukito chuckled in amusement at him and stepped in after him.
'Tadaima, Kaiij-' Touya stopped in mid-sentence, staring violently at the couch in the living room. Yukito looked at him curiously.
'What's-' he turned his gaze to the couch and immediately broke out into a soft smile. 'I see.'
Sakura and Syaoran were curled up on the couch, dozing softly in each other's embrace.
Touya's temper flared.
Yukito grinned.
Touya scanned the room and then he sniffed a waft of something familiarly sweet.
'Hmm…Sakura's Hot chocolate…' he murmured absently. He eyed the two cups on the coffee table. He eyed Syaoran whose eyes were closed. Something sparked in Touya. Yuki called it childishness, but Touya called it revenge.
Touya grabbed the cup that was Syaoran's (it was green) and downed Sakura's famous Hot Chocolate at one go, reveling in the fact that it was Syaoran's (and Touya's) favorite drink and that Syaoran would be very angry when he woke up to find his Hot Chocolate gone.
The hot chocolate slid down Touya's throat happily.
Touya's face turned green.
Yukito frowned.
'What's wrong?' he asked quickly.
'T-the…chocolate…t-that g-gaki…IT'S TOO SWEET!!!'
Yukito quickly poured Touya a glass of water and he quickly swallowed it, calming his overly-sweetened taste buds.
'That stupid boy added more than two spoons of chocolate flakes!' Touya spat.
'Well,' Yukito reasoned, 'it was actually not for you, so he had no idea you were about to steal his hot chocolate just because he was going to be caught falling asleep with your sister on the living room couch.'
Touya glared at his partner and bared his fangs at him. Yukito only laughed and patted him on his head comfortingly.
'Yea, Yukito-san was right. You were not even supposed to take my hot chocolate.'
Yukito and Touya swerved their attention to the couch. Syaoran opened his eyes, grinning impishly.
'Hello, Kinomoto-kun, Yukito-san.' he greeted softly, not wanting to wake Sakura up. Touya never let Syaoran call him by his first name, not caring for the intimacy it signified.
'Nice to meet you, gaki.' Touya growled. Yukito promptly smacked him on his head.
'Be nice, Touya.' he chided, ignoring Touya's glare directed at him. 'hello, Syaoran. How have you been?'
Syaoran smirked at Touya and smiled at Yukito. 'I've been rather busy taking care of Sakura, but I'm happy.'
Yukito laughed and looked at Sakura fondly. Just then, Sakura stirred and opened one eye.
'What on earth-' Sakura's eyes widened when it focused onto the newcomers. 'ONII-CHAN! YUKITO-SAN!'
Sakura tore herself from Syaoran's hold and ran to her brother, immediately jumping into his arms and embracing him tightly. Touya held on to his sister tightly, and an odd sensation flowed through him.
It was then that he knew. He was finally home.
Syaoran smiled at the small reunion taking place in front of him and quietly sneaked off into the kitchen to prepare some tea, leaving them to themselves. As he set the kettle to boil, he could not help but smile heavenwards at his parents, sending his love to wherever they were.
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Sakura padded softly into her bedroom and let herself fall into her bed. Sighing happily, she curled up into a loose ball on the soft comforter.
Onii-chan was back, and so was Yukito-san. For that, Sakura was deliriously happy. She had been so lonely before… No, She told herself firmly. She might have missed them, but she had not been alone. Sakura smiled softly. She was not alone, because she had Syaoran.
Sakura sat up from the bed and watched the night sky from her window. She approached it and knelt in front of it, propping her elbow up on the window still and resting her head on it.
Yes, she was not alone. She had Syaoran. Sweet, kind Syaoran. A little rough and impatient at times, but still sweet and caring. Sakura was reminded of the earlier incident at the couch, where they both had been curled up and sleeping against each other, causing her brother to work himself into a nice little fit. Sakura giggled at the memory and sighed happily, watching the stars winking flirtatiously down at her.
Syaoran had been her best friend since she was young when they were at Tomoeda Elementary. He had been rude and mean to her at first, but he finally could not resist Sakura's charms and became moderately nice to her. Beneath that cool and hard exterior Syaoran held up at first, Sakura soon found a gentler, much more kinder side to Syaoran. Sakura could remember a time in elementary on a trip to a zoo, a mischievous monkey had snatched her bag pack away together with her lunch. During Lunchtime, Syaoran had shyly offered to share his bento with her, and their friendship grew from there.
Syaoran was very much like her brother, always over-protective, always teasing. But she did not treat him like a second brother. Sakura blushed softly at the thought. Sakura did not know since when, but she had started to like Syaoran more than a best friend and a brother. At first, she had thought it was an infatuation, nothing else, and that it would fade with time. Surprisingly, 5 years later, the feeling persisted, and even grew stronger with each passing day.
Sakura sighed and continued to watch the stars.
I wonder if he's watching the same sky as me…
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A few blocks away. Syaoran watched the night sky and nursing a hot cup of cocoa in his hands, he watched the stars and admired its beauty. He looked at his watch, and started a mental countdown.
5,4,3,2,1-
The phone started to ring violently and Syaoran reached for it with a resigned sigh. He leaned back in his chair and continued to watch the night sky as he answered the phone.
'Hello, sisters.' He murmured.
A few excited squeals emitted from the receiver and Syaoran held it away from him, an amused smile tugging at his lips. When it died down, Syaoran brought it back to his ears.
'Syaoran!!' One of them squealed into the phone. Syaoran laughed.
'Hello, Feimei. It's good to hear from yo-'
'SYAORAN BABY!!!!' Squealed another. A muffled 'hey!' at the background indicated that the next of his four sisters had snatched the phone away from Feimei.
'Hello, Fanren, and I am NOT your baby.' Syaoran insisted firmly. Fanren let out a musical laugh and handed over the phone to the next sister.
'Did you miss me, my little brother?' asked a kind voice form over the phone. Syaoran smiled and laughed softly.
'Yes I did, dear Sheifa. Now, I love you a lot, but could you please pass the phone to Fuutie?' Syaoran asked gently. Sheifa laughed and passed the phone over to his oldest sister.
'Syaoran.' stated Fuutie calmly. Syaoran grinned into the phone.
'I missed you too, Fuutie.'
Syaoran could almost see his sister grin back at him.
'I missed you more, you rascal. Now let me put this stupid phone on speaker. Your sisters are diving for the stupid receiver."
There was a soft click and he was suddenly engulfed in a loud 'SYAORAN!!!' by four voices. Syaoran winced at the volume and started to laugh.
'Hello everyone.'
'We missed you!' exclaimed Feimei. 'Yea!' agreed Sheifa. 'It's been so long since we've spoken.
Syaoran rolled his eyes. 'It's only been 48 hours since we last spoke, girls.'
'But 48 hours is such a long time!' whined Fanren. 'And we miss our baby brother,' added Fuutie.
'Oh, girls…I miss you too. I think of you all everyday.' revealed Syaoran honestly.
'Oh, that's very nice Syaoran,' said Sheifa, seemingly pleased. 'SO! How's Sakura?' she asked with a hint of Playfulness.
'Is she well?' asked Fuutie.
'Is she happy?' Fanren bounced
'Is she still as Kawaii as ever?' Feimei sighed happily.
'Have you been bullying her?' asked Sheifa sternly
Syaoran processed their questions for a moment. 'Yes, Yes, Yes and No. Not a lot, that is.' He added as an afterthought.
As expected, his sisters started to squeal in delight.
'Sakura must be happy because of our dear Syaoran!'
'And he thinks she's Kawaii too!' added Fuutie.
Syaoran was very grateful that his sisters could not see his face turn into a crimson red.
'Stop it, She was always Kawaii.' Syaoran defended himself weakly.
Syaoran quickly realized his mistake as he instigated another onslaught of squealing. Syaoran shook his head and sighed as he listened to his sisters chatter excitedly at him, occasionally answering their questions. Even though it had only been two days since they had last spoken to each other, Syaoran missed them terribly. It had been what? Three years since he had seen them? He made a mental note to go back home to Hong Kong soon, and if she wanted, bring Sakura along with him.
Syaoran had moved to Japan to study under his parents insistence together with his butler/guardian, Wei. He had came to know Sakura, and he was grateful that his parents had not listened to his objections and forced him to come to Japan, as they unknowingly led him to her. Three years ago, though, his parents had died together in a car crash, and he had returned with Wei to attend their funeral. Sakura had called every night he was there, and they would just spend hours talking on the phone about random things, and it helped Syaoran through his grief more than Sakura could ever comprehend. He had also decided that he was old enough to live by himself despite his sisters objections, and went back to Japan alone. (They then proceeded to call him once every two days to ask about his well-being, much to the irritancy and delight of Syaoran)
His parent's funeral was in the winter, and Syaoran had called Sakura when the first snowflake fell in Hong Kong. During their first winter together during elementary school, Sakura had made Syaoran promise during the annual winter festival that they would meet at the penguin park when the first snowflake fell, as they could not decide on what time to meet for the festival. Since then, every time the first snowflake fell yearly, they would meet at the penguin park to go to the winter festival together.
Even after the winter festival was discontinued a few years later, they still kept to the practice.
'Syaoran! Did you hear what we said?' yelled Fuutie. Syaoran was jerked out of his thoughts.
'Yes! Yes! I'm here. What did you say?'
'We asked you when you were coming back home. You're graduating this Autumn, aren't you? You can come home then! We're planning to start training you to take over mom and dad's company, since you're almost at the legal age to take over…'
Syaoran could not hear anything else. Coming back home. That meant…that meant that he would be going back to Hong Kong, leaving Sakura here…and he would only return a long, long time later, maybe even never!
Syaoran's heart froze. He did not want to leave Sakura! He…He wanted to stay here, in Japan, right where Sakura was! With that in mind, he calmed down and shook away those negative thoughts. It was only spring now. Autumn was so far away.
'We'll talk about it later, Da Jie.' Syaoran said firmly, dismissing Fuutie's concerns about his future. His eldest sister sighed and changed the topic, while Syaoran gazed at his parent's picture beside him.
I really should not be feeling this way about Sakura…Right? She is my best friend only after all…I should not be liking her more than that, ne? Otou-san, Okaa-san?
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The Spring breeze passed through the night, silently and comfortingly.
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A/N: This is one chapter down, four more to go! I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought about it!