Love for All Seasons
A Cardcaptor Sakura Fanfiction
By Wallpaper
Season 4: Winter
The town of Tomoeda was increasingly getting colder as the final season of the year approached quietly. The trees were now almost bare, and the grounds and road were littered with a variety of red and orange. The skies were gloomy and the sun hid behind the cover of the gray clouds, only letting weak rays of sunshine reach the town folks.
Kinomoto Touya landed at the Japan International Airport and took a deep gulp of the crisp air the rest of the remaining autumn left to offer. He quickly collected his luggage and exited the arrival hall with Yukito, his anticipation to see his sister growing with each minute.
'Touya!' called Yukito as he struggled to catch up with his boyfriend. 'Slow down, you idiot, she's not going anywhere.' Touya glared at him and grudgingly stopped to wait for Yukito, who caught up quickly.
'I know that.' he growled. Yukito crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow at him. Looking into Touya's eyes, Yukito frowned when he found something.
'Tou-ya,' he murmured softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'Is something troubling you?' Touya let out a sound of annoyance and frustration, running his fingers through his hair.
'It's nothing much, I think I'm just being paranoid, but...' He glanced at Yukito worriedly. 'I have a feeling Sakura's in trouble.'
Yukito, sensing Touya's distress and concern of his sister, quickly picked up their luggage and took his boyfriend's hands in his. Smiling at him, Yukito tugged gently at Touya's hands.
'Then let's get home quickly.'
---
As the taxi drew nearer and nearer to his house, Touya grew more and more nervous. The feeling of unease had been bugging him since he had reached the Japan airport, and it was growing with every second. He felt Yukito squeeze his hand comfortingly, and smiled weakly at him.
'Don't worry so much,' Yukito murmured softly. 'Everything will be alright.' Touya sighed and leaned back into the Taxi seat.
'I hope that you're right. I really hope that you're right.'
Touya jumped out of the Taxi as soon as he reached the Kinomoto Residence and ran up to the front door, leaving Yukito to pay the Taxi Driver. He searched his pocket for his house keys and pressed the doorbell at the same time.
He finally found his bunch of keys and scrambled to find the right key, uneasiness growing by the second. Sakura wasn't answering the door. He tried the doorbell again as he continued to search.
'Kinomoto Sakura.' he bellowed as he felt his uneasiness grow into fear. He sighed in slight relief when he finally found the right key and quickly opened the door.
'Sakura?' he tried again as he quickly rid his feet of his shoes.
There was no answer.
Touya tried to calm down and took deep breaths, ignoring the nagging feeling in his mind, telling him that his sister was in trouble.
'Sakura, please answer?' he pleaded as he walked around the house in search for his sister. He was afraid. Where was his little sister? Her clothes were still in her room, her wallet too, and so was her phone. Touya groaned slightly and glared at the phone. Why didn't that stupid girl bring it with her?
There was still no Sakura. Kinomoto Sakura was not to be found anywhere in the house. Touya longed desperately to see his sister appear in front of his eyes and run into his arms, smiling her usual smile. He wanted to see her and call her a monster, and laugh at her mockingly when he managed to escape from her feet stomping heavily on his.
He shuffled back into the living room, a feeling of dread settling heavy in his heart. His brotherly instincts had been right. Sakura was in trouble. Had she been abducted? Had she met with an accident? Was she safe? Where was the ransom note if she was abducted?
Suddenly, the front door to his house opened and his head snapped towards it eagerly.
'Sakura?' Touya called out hopefully, praying hard that it was his sister.
He finally snapped when he saw Yukito instead of his sister.
---
When Yukito closed the door behind him, he was shocked to find tears of anguish in Touya's frightened eyes.
'Oh my…Touya.' Yukito hurried to his side and quickly pulled the distraught man into his arms. 'Shh…Touya, calm down!' He urged as Touya struggled to move out of Yukito's embrace.
'Let me go! I have to go find Sakura.' he insisted as he fought against Yukito's hold. Yukito tightened his grip on him and pulled Touya closer to him, his heart ripping with pain to see his boyfriend hurt. Touya grabbed Yukito's shirt collar suddenly and buried his face into his shoulder, trying to hold back his tears.
'I can't find her, Yukito. I knew something was wrong!'
'Calm down, Touya. You can't think properly like that.' Touya refused to be calmed down and hugged Yukito tightly, borrowing his strength. Yukito murmured soft words of comfort to Touya, rocking his gently at the same time.
'I can't find her.' Touya told Yukito in a chocked voice. He pulled away and looked anxiously into Yukito's eyes. 'I cannot find Sakura anywhere. S-she's not in the kitchen, and not the living room, the balcony's empty, her room's empty, she's not here, Yuki! I have to find her.'
Yukito smoothed Touya's hair comfortingly. 'Just calm down and think, Touya. Have you tried calling Syaoran? She could be out with him.' Touya abruptly fell silent and stared at a spot over Yukito's shoulder.
'Why would she be with that Gaki?' he retorted stubbornly. Yukito sighed in relief. There was still hope! He pulled Touya to the phone and handed the receiver to him. 'Call him and ask, you silly man.' he chided. Touya glared at his boyfriend and snatched the receiver away, turning away from him as he punched in Syaoran's number. He was feeling very silly now, and he was not going to let his boyfriend know that. The big, brave and fearless Touya, crying in front of Yukito like that, he scoffed. Not fearless, he quickly amended. He had his own fears, and loosing his beloved sister was one of them.
Touya tapped his foot impatiently as the dial tone buzzed irritatingly in his ear, and he willed Syaoran to pick up.
'Hello?' greeted an unfamiliar feminine voice when the buzzing was interrupted abruptly.
'Where's Syaoran?' He barked rudely. Touya could almost feel Yukito frowning at him disapprovingly from behind, but he ignored it.
'Mr. Li is currently in a meeting right now, could I take a mistake?' the woman told him with a stern tone, apparently offended at the way Touya had barked at her.
Touya frowned. Meeting? And even more curiously, Mr. Li?
'What the hell is he doing in a meeting? Get him to a phone now. This is important.'
'And so is the meeting Mr. Li's attending right now. I can take down your message now, and I assure you that he will get back to you first thing after his meeting ends.'
Touya's anger flared brightly.
'GET-HIM-TO-THE-PHONE-NOW. THIS IS CONCERNING LIFE AND DEATH, AND BY THE TIME HIS BLOODY MEETING FINISHES, MY SISTER WILL BE DEAD.'
'Sir!' the woman cried anxiously. 'I-'
'What's going on?' asked a familiar man's voice in the background. Touya growled. He had finally found his prey.
'GET LI SYAORAN TO THE PHONE NOW!!!' he yelled to the woman.
'What the-' the man in the background quickly took over the receiver after a slight fumble.
'This is Li Syaoran here.' He barked. 'What is the-'
'LI SYAORAN, YOU WILL TELL ME THE LOCATION OF MY SISTER RIGHT NOW!!!'
'K-Kinomoto-kun!' Syaoran exclaimed in surprise. 'What happened to Sakura?'
'What do you mean 'what happened to Sakura'? Where did you take her to, you Gaki?!'
'She's not with me, you idiot!' shouted Syaoran. 'Isn't she at home?'
'Apparently not! If she were, I wouldn't be calling you now! Where is she?' Cried Touya. His uneasiness resurfaced and he raised a hand to his temple wearily as he waited for Syaoran's reply. 'Syaoran!' he barked when there was no sound.
'I don't know, Touya. I'm not in Japan.' the boy said quietly. Touya froze.
'What?!'
'I'm not in Japan.' Syaoran repeated with a frustrated sigh. Touya now had another reason to be afraid. If Sakura was not with Syaoran, where was she?
'You were supposed to take care of her! Where the hell are you now?' he asked incredulously.
'I'm in China, taking care of my father's company. What happened, Touya? What happened to Sakura?' Syaoran asked worriedly.
'I don't know,' Touya whispered tiredly, slumping against the wall. 'I don't know. You idiot, you were supposed to take care of her.' His voice broke as he felt his eyes moisten again. Touya was truly scared now, as from Syaoran's tone of voice, so was he.
'I know, but I had to go home.' Syaoran said in a calmer voice. He sighed in frustration and Touya could almost envision him running his fingers through his already-messy brown hair. Touya did not struggle when Yukito gently pried the phone away from his fingers and instead, slid down helplessly onto the floor.
'Syaoran? This is Yukito here.'
'Yukito-san, what happened to Sakura?' Yukito sighed and looked down at his boyfriend.
'She's missing, Syaoran, and Touya's sick with worry. Do you have any idea where she will be?'
---
Touya swerved his bicycle to a stop as he reached the Tsukimine Shrine. Syaoran had anxiously told them to search Sakura and his favorite haunts, like the Penguin playground and the Tsukimine Shrine. Yuki had gone to the Playground while Touya searched at the Shrine.
He quickly parked his bicycle and ran into the Shrine. 'Sakura!' he called out into the empty space. 'Sakura! Are you here? Answer me, please!'
With no answer, Touya did not give up and continued to search. She was not behind the Sakura tree, not inside the temple, not at the fortune teller's booth. Where on earth was she?
'Touya?' He quickly swerved around to find a familiar woman with red hair clad in white Miko robes.
'K-Kaho?' Touya tried incredulously. He was answered with a bright smile from the woman. 'You're back from overseas already?'
'Yes, I am.' His ex-girlfriend nodded with another smile. It turned into a concerned frown. 'I heard you calling for a Sakura. Are you looking for your sister?' Touya nodded furiously.
'Yes, she's gone missing. Have you seen her?' he asked anxiously. His disappointment grew when the young priestess shook her head.
'Have you tried the lake at the back of the Shrine?' she suggested. Touya's eyes lit up.
'Do you think she's there?' The young woman smiled again.
'You'll never know until you try.' Touya gave her a wide grin and instinctively gave her a peck on the cheek.
'Thank you so much.'
Mizuki Kaho watched as he ex-boyfriend ran off to find her missing sister. It had been so long since they broke up because their relationship was not working out the way they wanted it to. She smiled gently after him. Kinomoto Sakura was lucky to have a brother like him, though. He did not like to show it, but he was very protective over those he cared, and very affectionate at times.
'Good Luck!' she called after him, and Touya hazardously waved a hand in thanks.
---
Kinomoto Sakura was distraught, angry, and sad, take your pick. Despair ruled her world for the moment, and she was reveling in it. She was bitter, irritated, sad, angry, feeling pathetic, and she did not think she could go on. At the place where she had shared with Syaoran, their place. She was tired, very tired.
Countless nights where she stayed up thinking about him, whether he was safe, whether he was thinking of her, searching for him, watching out of her window for him.
Still no Syaoran.
Then Aya had came along and told her that Syaoran had left for China, without a goodbye. Nothing. His apartment was sold, his graduation certificate taken. Sakura had to face her own graduation ceremony alone. At first, she had Syaoran. But even he had left her to graduate alone.
At that point of time, she could only think of one person she could turn to.
Touya. Her beloved brother. The only person left who could understand, the only one who could save her from this misery, comfort her, chase away the demons, chase away the monsters, chase away sadness, and be the sunshine.
But he was also not there.
No one was there.
No one except Sakura.
She was tired. Really tired.
She closed her eyes and tried to shut out those depressing thoughts. She had to be strong, she had forced back her tears and moved forward, bracing herself from the onslaught of emotions, placed all her memories under lock and key. But the place where Syaoran had showed her his Capulet star, told her he loved her, and kissed her for the first time. Those memories struggled against the locked door and lingered in her mind, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste.
Sakura wanted her brother badly.
When she saw him approach her, she ran into his arms and finally let out all her pent up anguish in an onslaught of tears.
---
Li Fuutie, the eldest offspring of the Li family, was a very observant young woman, thank you very much. She was smart and devious, and no detail of anything would escape her eyes. That quality of hers made her the invaluable advisor of the current head of the Li cooperation, also known as her baby brother, Li Syaoran.
Li Fuutie was very observant, especially when a matter was concerning her siblings. After her parent's death, the Li household was managed by her, and nothing could escape her eyes and ears. From the undercooked meat and the break ups over the phone her younger sisters experienced. Li Fuutie knew everything.
Like his father, Li Syaoran was to take over the company after his sire dies. Being the only son of the Li family, the position of CEO of the Li cooperation was willed by their father to be passed down to him after the elder Li died.
Their father's death, Li Fuutie noticed sadly, came all too soon.
Li Syaoran, Li Fuutie noticed, was not happy in China. Her baby brother was not happy at home in China. Fuutie understood that it was not the company of his sisters that bothered him. It was the fact that someone was missing in his life.
Li Fuutie knew, because of a particularly interesting phone call her baby brother had received in the middle of an important meeting, concerning a very worried brother, his boyfriend and Kinomoto Sakura, Syaoran's best friend.
Well, Fuutie thought wryly as she sipped her tea, a very dear best friend.
Of course that particular fact that her dear Syaoran loved the adorable Sakura could not escape from Li Fuutie's eyes. In fact, Fuutie was overjoyed that Syaoran had finally found someone he liked.
But as the most observant and practical person, Li Fuutie also realized that Syaoran had to leave Sakura in Japan while he stayed in China to attend to his duties as the CEO of the Li Cooperation. Fuutie had also assumed that the ever noble Li Syaoran had left darling Sakura at Japan, wondering where the hell he was, and came back to China quietly.
From the sadness and regret she saw in Syaoran's eyes whenever he thought she was not looking, Li Fuutie was proud to say that her detective skills were top notch.
Li Fuutie watched as the subject of her thoughts glared at the Li residence's phone, willing it to ring. When it finally did, Syaoran all but pounced on it.
'Hello? Yukito-san! How's Sakura? Did you find her?'
From the flood of relief dominating his face, Fuutie again assumed that Sakura was found, and was missing previously. She watched as Syaoran continued to shoot question at the other party on the phone about Sakura's welfare and where she was found, and Fuutie watched her brother thoughtfully.
She was not ashamed to admit that she had been coveting after Syaoran's position since she could remember, but was always held back because of her father's stupid rule that only the eldest male of the Li's offspring could take over.
Fuutie thought for a moment that if their father found out that a woman had taken over the company, he would turn in his grave.
Ah well, she shrugged, he would turn in his grave, and probably find a more comfortable spot than that stiff and straight position dead people usually took.
Fuutie gazed at her brother and her expression turned somber when she realized what was at stake.
But I'm more concerned about Syaoran's welfare, and that matters to me more than anything else.
Li Syaoran, whether he liked it or not, was going back to Japan, and Li Fuutie, was to overthrow him as the CEO of the Li cooperation and happily take over his duties.
Her father could roll in his grave a million times, but as much as she loved that old bat, he just had too much of a prejudice against females.
---
After chucking a very confused (but delightfully surprised) brother on a plane traveling towards Japan, the four sisters of the Li family stood by the viewer's hall in the airport and watched as their brother made his way to where he truly wanted to be.
On the plane that they were watching fly off, Li Syaoran leaned his head against the window pane and watched as the scenery around him start to shift, and then pick up speed. He braced himself instinctively as the plane started to rise vertically, and quickly redirected his thoughts to distract the ridiculous motion that the plane would suddenly stop mid-air and crash into a nameless ocean.
He was utterly shocked when Li Fuutie had barged into his room suddenly the night before, took out his traveling bag which he had chucked into his cupboard and began stuffing his clothes into it.
'What on earth-'
'You are going back to Japan.' his elder sister had declared.
Syaoran stared at her in disbelief.
'You're crazy.'
'Not really. Just passionate about my baby brother's happiness.'
Syaoran had been in the middle of typing a report in his room and was not making much progress as in between random lines, he would type out her name and had to delete it hastily every time his train of thoughts derailed. He was jerked back to reality harshly at the gracious entrance of his beloved Elder sister, and was then confused, bewildered, and in layman's terms, Shocked.
He could not help also feeling a little glimmer of hope shimmer slightly at the prospect of possibly seeing Sakura again.
Oh yes, Sakura. He might (MIGHT) be seeing Sakura again. Syaoran hastily pushed away the track of thoughts and quickly reverted to the sensible one.
'What are you doing?' he had demanded. His sister had faced him with an exasperated expression.
'Saving your love life?'
'WHAT?!"
The next day, all four of his sisters had bullied him to the airport and literally shoved him into the plane, reminding him that he still had to call back home every two days, and telling him that Fuutie had officially overthrown him as the CEO of Li Cooperation.
On the plane, Syaoran was of two minds. It was either he pulled out his hair in frustration/confusion, or start laughing aloud manically, getting himself kicked out of the plane under the excuse of being 'mentally unsound'.
Well, how does a man react when he finds out that he was finally free of any restrictions and could now pursue his true happiness freely?
It then struck him. He was not at all free from all restrictions.
There was Touya.
And then there was Sakura herself.
Syaoran did not tear his hair in frustration/confusion, or start laughing aloud manically. Instead, Syaoran sighed and leaned back into his seat.
Touya was an idiot, and idiots he could handle. But a female at the peak of puberty, and whom he had ditched in Japan without as much as a goodbye…
Syaoran fervently prayed that he could get out of it all in one piece.
---
The weather in Tomoeda grew colder, and the skies darken to a dusty gray as the first snow of winter threatened to fall. Everything was all prepared: Dinner was done, the house was cleaned, and the laundry was dry and folded.
Kinomoto Touya was in his room with his boyfriend and Kinomoto Sakura was in the kitchen staring blankly at the kitchen wall, thinking. The first snow was arriving soon. She could take her chances and run to the penguin park to see if Syaoran remembered about their promise and came back, or stubbornly stay in the kitchen and star and the wall.
Time was ticking and the snow would fall any moment. The significant first snow.
It was said that in Korea, Lovers would meet each other during the first snow fall of the season at an affixed place, and declare their love for each other. Even though Syaoran and she did not have the intention in mind, they still made the promise to meet every year at the penguin park during the first snow fall of winter, to go to the winter festival once held yearly at the shrine.
Sakura wondered if Syaoran remembered about their promise.
She steeled herself and stuck herself onto her seat. Syaoran was all the way in China. Why would he be coming all the way to Japan just to keep to a silly promise?
Kinomoto Sakura decided to stay in her kitchen and stare at the wall, and no one could change her mind.
---
She wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and shut the door silently behind her. Sakura did not want to wake her brother up, and give him the chance to realize that she was about to do one of the most stupid things in her life: hoping to meet a person who was actually a thousand miles away from where she was.
She was immediately greeted by a cold blast of wind as she stepped out into the street, and slowly made her way to the park. She welcomed the cold. It numbed out her anxiety, her stress and made her too cold physically to think. Sakura continued to walk on, trying to block out her thoughts. Sakura had decided. If Syaoran was not there, she would put him behind her forever, and not think about him ever again.
One part of her was resigned that he would not be there, but another part of her was still hopeful. What if he were really there?
She did not dare to go there. Not yet.
The penguin slide in the park loomed heavily in front of her, and Sakura closed her eyes to calm her racing heat. She took in the sharp cold air and it cleared her mind. She opened her eyes slowly, and looked on ahead, not daring to look around.
Just then, she felt something cold and wet touch her nose. She looked up.
The dark clouds were dusting the white snow onto the earth, and it fell prettily all around her. Sakura steeled herself.
It was time.
She closed her eyes briefly again and quickly darted her eyes around the park. The white snow fell onto the empty spaces around her.
No Syaoran.
Sakura looked around again, this time slowly.
She felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach, and had the sudden urge to cry again. Her knees felt weak and Sakura closed her eyes again, this time to hold back her tears. A soft whimper tore from her throat and Sakura slowly sank onto her knees.
Syaoran had forgotten.
He was really gone.
Sakura held her stomach where her heart felt like it was and bent over from the pain that surged through her body. Tears had escaped from her eyes now and were flowing down her face freely.
Sakura cried silently into the night, and felt totally helpless.
She did not make a noise. Sakura did not want to give up. She did not want to give Syaoran up. All her life, she had been giving up her happiness for other people's sake, but she could not do it any more. She did not want to let go. She longed for Syaoran to appear before her eyes. She wanted him to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was alright. It did not matter if he was lying, but she wanted him there. She wanted him to be with her.
She wanted to see the beauty of the snow that was falling around her.
Sakura opened her eyes and let out a soft wail. She did not want Syaoran. She needed Syaoran. She loved him, and he betrayed her like he did. But she still loved him. She had tried to let go, but it did not work. Everything reminded her of him.
Sakura did not want to be as dependent on Syaoran as she was, but she needed to know. Did Syaoran truly love her? If he did not, Sakura wanted to hear it from his lips.
Then, probably, she would finally learn to let go.
She wanted to see him, badly.
---
Syaoran ran to the Penguin Park frantically as the first snow of the season fell around him. He prayed hard that he was not too late. He could have had been at the park earlier, but his flight was delayed and there was a massive traffic jam at the airport.
His hair was askew, his tie was left in the car, his shirt was unbuttoned, and his sleeves were rolled up. Syaoran was very afraid. What would he do when he saw her? What would he do if she were not there?
Syaoran seriously did not know.
As he ran, he felt his heartbeat increase steadily as he neared the park. Was she there waiting for him? Had she remembered their promise and came to wait for him? Why would she come? Syaoran was supposedly a thousand miles away from her. Why would she still be at the park?
Syaoran continued to run.
At first glance, he thought that no one was there and held back a yell of frustration as he turned to make his way to her house, but then a lone figure crouching over as if in pain a few meters away, caught his eyes.
The honey brown hair, the soft voice that was sobbing, the pure white snow falling around her.
'Sakura…' He breathed. He saw the figure stiffen and look up ahead of her. He slowly approached her and collapsed beside her from both relief and exhaustion. When she finally turned to look at him, Syaoran held back an urge to cry. He had not realized how much he missed her. He wanted to hold her, but he was afraid; afraid that she might reject him.
He watched as she took in his appearances. His lips were blue from the cold, and he was shaking uncontrollably. His eyes were sparkling from his unshed tears and his breath was coming out in unsteady gasps.
'S- Syaoran…' Her eyes started to glaze over from the tears again. 'Is that you?'
Syaoran nodded his head quickly. 'Yes…' When Sakura finally registered his words, her eyes lit up momentarily but then she remembered something.
'You hurt me.' She bit out painfully. Syaoran felt his heart clench and balled his hands into a fist.
'I know and I'm sorry. Sakura, I'm really, really sorry. I didn't want to do it. I thought I was doing it for your own good. I didn't want to see you hurt.' He whispered. Sakura just stared at him and Syaoran bit his bottom lip.
'Sakura…' he tried again. 'I love you. I'm sorry I hurt you, and I swear that I will never, ever, do that again. Please, don't shut me out like that.' He pleaded. When Sakura raised her hands to his cheeks, Syaoran shivered slightly from the chill and placed his own over hers.
'Don't cry…' Sakura whispered. Syaoran blinked in surprise and felt Sakura swipe away the tear that ran from his eyes. He did not realize that he was crying.
'Please forgive me…' Syaoran closed his eyes and leaned into her palm heavily, shoulders shaking slightly from his tears.
When Sakura launched herself into his arms, he fell back into the snow in surprise and held on to her tightly.
The couple cried in each others arms as the snow fell around them, and both of them realized the beauty of the snow.
The snow graced the night, gently blessing the two reunited lovers under its blanket of white.
I'll be the rain in your summer
The chill in your fall
I'll be what you want, anything at all
I got a love for all seasons
A love for all times
I'll be the fire in your winter
The sun in your spring
I'll do what you want, give you everything
I got a love for all seasons
A love for all time
-Love for all Seasons; Christina Aguilera
A/N: I am terribly sorry that I couldn't get this out earlier, but seeing that it is only the 6th day of Christmas, HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY 2005!
I want to thank all my reviewers for all their valuable feedback, and i hope that this fanfiction had met to your liking. Please know that I am truly gratefull for all of you, and THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Please tell me what you thought of this chapter!