Stairway to Heaven
Composed by : Chiaki Nozomi
Step 02 - A Dream's Story, part two
Ever look at the sky and see no stars? Doesn't it fill you with a void of hopelessness? Sakura, you are my star. Without you, my world is all black. . .
"Hey, Sakura," Meilin said one night, turning on her stomach to face Sakura, "Who is that guy in the picture?" Sakura turned on one side and propped up on one elbow, pleasantly surprised. This was the first time Meilin had initiated conversation.
"He's Syaoran Li."
"Oh," Meilin replied, an unidentifiable sound, "Are you together?"
Sakura blushed, "N-no, but-"
"Good," Meilin replied, smirking, "Then I'll just have him for myself." Sakura's eyes widened in horror. 'No!' she wanted to reply, 'You can steal him!' she wanted to scream, but she bit her lip and shut her mouth. Meilin arched an eyebrow, "No reply?"
"Syaoran will pick who he loves the most," Sakura said softly.
Meilin laughed. "Syaoran will pick who he loves the most? Aren't you romantic! Let me tell you a secret. Men pick who gives them the most."
"Syaoran's not like that," Sakura retorted, voice raising slightly. However, due to her nature, this was equivalent to a yell, a remark rooted in extreme offense. Meilin laughed again and turned away. Sakura stared at her motionless figure before deciding to go outside, away from the stuffy room and cold hearted girl.
The crisp cold air greeted her, and she rubbed her arms, trying to warm them up a bit. The city lights drowned out the stars and no moon hung in the sky. Sakura sighed and leaned forward. She looked down at the garden, which looked otherworldly in the night. Funny how the shadows spoiled any beauty.
She took a deep breath and started coughing. The city air lacked the rejuvenating aspects of her beach. "Are you happy," she whispered softly, "Are you happy?"
Eriol listened to Sakura's movements keenly. The girl confused him. She always acted so sweet, even when he was sure she was fuming. Her acting skills rivaled his mother's. Of course, the only way they saw their mother was on television and magazine ads as a child. Her plump, smiling face always taunted his starving stomach, laughing at his misery. . . .
Was that girl. . . what was her name . . . Sakura. . . . did she mask cruel intentions? Or was she genuinely kind? Did such people exist? Eriol looked at his painting and frowned. The ethereal quality of the garden could not be replicated. He sighed and picked up a musky white and began dotting the canvas. The night had a way of revealing true nature, and he wanted to capture the essence of it.
"Are you happy," Sakura asked suddenly, and the sound startled him, sending a white streak across the left corner. Eriol scowled and opened his mouth to protest, but Sakura asked it again, this time with a shaky voice.
So she was about to cry? Oh, poor darling. Did Meilin hurt you again? Eriol grinned at his thoughts and silently laughed. Each night he heard Meilin curse Sakura, be it her looks or her talents, her luck or her popularity. Granted, his sister was the preference among the boys at school, judging from the snippets of conversation he heard, but whenever Meilin cursed Sakura's popularity, the name Syaoran always found a way out as well.
Even though he despised Sakura as much as Meilin, a small part jumped for joy at the fact his little sister could not get everything she wanted. Gods know she wasn't already spoiled enough. But two weeks ago Mother went from treating Meilin like a rotten apple to a precious diamond. Her sickenly sweet cruelty was being cast upon Sakura, who always seemed about to cry.
As for the father . . . . Eriol could not analyze the man. Both Kinomotos were rather complex. Perhaps it was the Japanese blood. Eriol sighed and struggled to find a lone star in the sky. The deep blue paint was indeed a gorgeous color, but to have a night without stars . . . simply insulting . . . .
Sakura woke to the sound of birds and sunlight bathing her face in pure light. She groaned and shifted her weight and looked toward Meilin's bed. Nobody there, of course. Sakura yawned and got out of bed.
"Good morning Mother," she whispered, a daily ritual, and gave a soft greeting to the picture of Syaoran as well. She went through her morning demands like a robot, eating quickly and leaving quickly.
Mei and Meilin left early now, leaving her and Eriol behind to catch the bus. Of course, she usually caught the earlier bus, and sometimes Sakura wondered if Eriol bothered to show up at the school.
Still, his company would probably be nicer than that of Meilin, who took every waking moment to brag about herself. . . it didn't help that she was smart as well. Sakura studied hard every night, cramming her mind with information in order to receive perfect scores on the tests.
It was fortunate her study skills were formed as a child, because Meilin had several private tutors. Her father knew nothing, of course. Lately Father had become hard to read. Sakura couldn't tell if he missed Nadeshiko so much he used Mei as a replacement, or if he truly loved Mei.
What mattered though, was that he smiled when Mei was around. She sighed and looked ahead, only to see her bus roll away slowly. Sakura's eyes widened in horror and she dashed ahead, but the bus was long gone by time she made it to the stop. She scowled, angry at herself, and sat. She passed the time humming softly to herself, a song only her mother knew…
Eriol's eyes widened slightly as he approached the bus stop. Sakura was there, kicking her feet like a child. Why was she so late? Sakura grinned happily when he approached, an innocent smile that somehow calmed him.
"Good morning Eriol," she said, but he didn't reply and sat on the bench farthest from her. She frowned and kicked the dirt, scuffing her school shoes. Normally she tried her best to look prim and proper, clean and classy, but since Meilin came and Mei turned into the evil stepmother, she stopped caring so much about her appearance and other matters. Truthfully, the only thing she had now was Syaoran. But he was almost like a distant dream, a man only seen so often to remind her of his existence.
Sakura sighed and looked over at Eriol, who looked into the distance absentmindedly. Truthfully, he looked worse off than she did. Sometimes he would disappear for hours and miss dinner, particularly when company was around, and Sakura didn't think he had so much as gotten a new pair of jeans since he arrived.
That part of Mei she couldn't understand. Disfavoring Sakura was understandable, for she came not from her, but Eriol came from her and still she cast him off. It was almost a reverse tradition.
"When will the bus get here," Sakura wondered aloud and checked her watch. "If it gets here any later the gates will close."
"It won't get here in time," Eriol replied suddenly, startling Sakura. "The bus won't get here until after the gates close."
Sakura's jaw dropped, "Then where do you go?" Eriol shrugged off her question and didn't reply. Sakura frowned and kicked the dirt, unsure of what to do. Sighing, she stood and began to walk away.
Eriol followed her movements with his eyes, and once she was out of his peripheral vision, rose and began to walk in the direction she left.
Sakura pulled out a little mini-map Syaoran gave her telling her how to get to their secret place. She had the roads memorized, but just in case….
Back alleys? Since when did Sakura take the back roads? Eriol wrinkled his nose in confusion. Something wasn't right. He followed her to a forest, then through to a lake. His eyes widened; how did she come of a place like this?
She walked along the edge of the lake, singing softly. Her voice wasn't anything special, but the dreamy look on her face, the longing in her voice made it seem special – intimate – private. Eriol found himself becoming enraptured with the pure beauty the Gods allowed him to see.
Her body longed for some sort of loving touch. Her ears longed for some sort of loving words. Her eyes longed for some sort of loving face. Her entire being longed for Syaoran, and it hurt.
"Syaoran," she murmured, and ran her fingers along a scab made by Meilin. No, life was not fair. Meilin's words haunted her, the express warning and determination to watch her back, watch her man, watch her love. Keep alert, never let her guard down… It was something Sakura never had to do in her life.
Stop, time stop. Just once, stop for me. Stop so I can run to where she lay beforehand, so I can see what really happened to her. Stop so I can catch the killer and beat him to death. Stop so I can save her, stop her, forbid her from meeting me at such a late time. Stop, so I can hold her in my arms one last time . . .
Meilin glared at the box sitting on Sakura's bed. The sloppy handwriting had to belong to a boy, and the only boy who cared about Sakura was Syaoran. If eyes could spout fire, the entire room would be nothing but ash.
Just where was that girl anyway? She skipped school, and no one in town had seen her. She looked at the box again. If the wench wasn't home by now, she would have no means of knowing that Syaoran dropped by to give her a gift… her mother did receive it after all . . .
Meilin grinned. "Let's see how good he treats her," she thought and jumped over to the bed, ripping open the box. A once folded gown (her excitement had crumpled it slightly) lay inside, with a card sitting in the middle. She picked up the card and read over it the best she could. It seemed he wrote in Sakura's mother tongue. Meilin flipped the card over and smirked. Her mother tongue's translation was on the back. "Silly boy," she muttered and skimmed over it. Dinner at one of the cafés tonight, eh?
Did all their dates consist of going to that bloody mall? Meilin almost laughed aloud at the sheer ridiculousness. She threw the card to the side and picked up the dress. A long, elegant straight cut in a pearl color. The material was real silk, not like the satin traditionally used to convey it. Meilin's jaw dropped slightly; this dress had to cost millions of won.
Sure, Syaoran's parents owned the largest mall/complex ten towns over, but to spend so much on a simple girl . . .
Meilin flipped over to the size. Her and that girl were the same. She was a little taller, but not so tall she towered over the girl. She smirked, grabbed the dress, and ran to her mother's room.
Sakura sighed as she looked up. After wandering around town aimlessly all day, she found herself coming back to the mall every couple of hours. Her feet ached, her shoes were scratched and dirty, and she was sure her uniform matched the scruffiness of her shoes, but a day without Meilin felt nice. Almost like it did before she came.
She walked inside and smiled softly as the memory of her first day returned. It really was nicer to be here at night rather than day. She rode the carousel a couple of times, though it wasn't nearly as fun without Syaoran to tease her, and took to walking along the cafes, enjoying the scents of food.
Her stomach grumbled, just as she knew it would. She pulled out her change purse and found enough money to pay for a drink. She frowned. The smoothie shops weren't open at night, and many of the day vendors had already gone home. She sighed and kicked a loose stone. "Guess I'll have to sneak something from the fridge when I get home," she thought and continued walking.
A long line caught her eye and she walked over to see the grand opening of a new café. Sakura perked in curiosity. Would it be a typical café, or a themed café? Perhaps Syaoran would invite her to eat there sometime! She half skipped to the crowd and stood on her tiptoes to see the front.
Then, time stopped.
Meilin . . . and . . . Syaoran . . . Meilin in a fancy dress . . . Syaoran in a tuxedo . . . smiling . . . What were they doing together? Did Meilin steal him away? Sakura's heart nearly exploded.
Then, like magic, he looked over and saw her. Syaoran's eyes widened in surprise as he realized who stood in the back. He opened his mouth but Sakura shook her head, turned, and ran away.
This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. Why? Why was Syaoran with Meilin? She sniffled and wiped her running nose on her sleeve. She couldn't start sobbing here.
"Sakura," Syaoran called, running after her, "Sakura, wait," he pleaded, and she ignored him. She ran where her memory deemed the roads, her tears clouding her vision. Along the way she bumped into several people, but she ignored their angry cries. All that mattered was that she got out of there as fast as possible.
She still heard Syaoran calling after her, but it didn't matter. He was spending the evening with Meilin – not her. She reached the entrance and as she bounded through, a huge weight felt lifted off her shoulders. She ran faster now, letting the tears flow freely now that Syaoran's voice was out of range.
Syaoran wrestled with Kuroi, his bodyguard and advisor. "Let me go," he growled, "I saw Sakura – and she was crying!"
"You are making a scene," Kuroi stated as he maneuvered Syaoran into a hold, "And you left your date at the entrance, not to mention the press. This is not how the successor to Blue Heaven Mall should be acting!"
Syaoran stopped struggling and nodded in defeat. He couldn't chase after her now, but surely that girl. . . what was her name? Meira? Lei? Sakura's stepsister – she would tell him the truth. Sakura wasn't sick – she had been in her school uniform – and she hadn't received his gift because she hadn't been home yet. He frowned and walked back to the opening, where an angry Meilin waited.
Sakura opened the gate to her home, exhausted. She slowly walked to the front door and opened it. She had barely stepped inside when she heard Mei's sweet canary voice. "Where have you been?" Sakura looked at her in exasperation, but her reply was cut short with a slap. "You were out whoring yourself, weren't you," she spat out, "Don't lie to me. I can tell by those red eyes of yours. Did you think I was stupid?"
Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but was slapped again. Tears began running down her cheeks, and she yelped in pain when Mei grabbed her wrist. "You're coming with me," she said and dragged her upstairs.
Sakura stumbled, confused and shocked. Then suddenly, Mei stopped and unlocked a door, then threw her inside. Sakura sat, stunned. The room was completely dark. She groaned and began to crawl, feeling her way.
Her hand suddenly touched something soft, and she pulled it away. Then something grabbed her. She screamed, but was cut off by a hand. "What are you doing here," Eriol gruffly asked, and though Sakura recognized his voice, she still trembled in fear. Eriol pushed her away, then crawled somewhere and pushed up the shudder, letting in a bit of light from the moon. Sakura's eyes widened - their attic? Mei shoved her into their attic?!
"Don't bother," Eriol said as Sakura moved to the door, "She locked us in. Whenever she feels like it she unlock it and let us out."
Sakura ignored his advice and rose to try and budge open the door. After a minute of trying she sat and began crying. Eriol glanced at her with a skeptical eye, then after a moment picked up his pencils and papers and began drawing her crying face.
She was quite enjoyable to draw; her features were nice – although a bit plain, and she didn't cry like the movie stars or his mother. There were tears, snot, phlegm, red eyes… the shading practice was indispensable.
After he finished the drawing and Sakura's crying stopped, she tried to converse with her brother. "You're birthday's coming up, isn't it," she asked. Eriol grunted a reply – which made Sakura happy, for he wasn't ignoring her completely. "What do you want," she continued. Eriol didn't say anything to her dismay. She looked at the ground and saw papers scattered around. She reached down to pick up a piece but it was snatched away by Eriol, who glared at her.
"Don't touch things that aren't yours." Sakura nodded, a bit sad. Still, he was bound to show her them sometime, right?
Sakura sighed and debated asking something she wondered about ever since he arrived. After a moment of silence she gathered her courage and asked, "Why does Mei hate you too? I can understand myself because I'm not her own child, but you?"
Eriol laughed, a cold, bitter sound, "When her career was starting out she got pregnant by my father with me and ruined her career. At least, ruined it until she left after giving birth to Meilin. My father was a drunk gambler; we never had any money, and Mother never bothered giving us support. The only reason why we're here is because Father blackmailed Mother into letting us stay here. But," he paused, "Things are the same."
Sakura filled with happiness that Eriol opened up to her somewhat, and at the same time, sadness because he had a hard life. She smiled gently, "I'm sure if we work together things won't be so bad."
Eriol laughed again, "Together? I can just stay away from them. Why should I help you?"
"So you won't be as lonely," Sakura replied. Eriol's eyes widened – why did she care if he was lonely or not?
The door clicked open and Mei opened the door, grinning like a cat who just caught a bird, "Meilin tells me that Syaoran simply enjoyed her presence, even if he was a bit skeptical because he saw you horsing around the mall at night." She threw a bag of dinner rolls at them, "There's your dinner. See you tomorrow – maybe," she said with a chuckle and locked the door again.
Sakura felt the tears return, but refused to let them fall. Eriol picked up the bag and handed her a roll before getting one and gorging on it himself. Sakura nibbled on it, her sadness muffling her appetite. How is it, in one brief moment that your entire life can crumble into nothing?
Is it so asinine to believe that you could still be alive? I saw you, waving at me, then, as I ran down to meet you, you vanished. Nothing was there to guide me except our picture and a pool of blood. Surely you got away! They haven't found your body! I refuse to believe you're dead! Come back Sakura! Come back to me . . .
A/N: How did you like? Although the first chapter was almost directly following the drama plotline, I've started to change it a bit. By time it gets to the first climax, the story will be different plot (but still keep the basic plot elements). I love StH, but Lord was the drama unrealistic at times… # Sorry about the long chapter wait. Its hard to write this sometimes because I want to make it good!