Starrie: thanks to all those for review!! Here's the next chappie, hahaha didn't take long this time! –grins-

Chapter 3

"Sakura"
Tomoyo called out softly as she entered Sakura's room. Since Kenshin's death, Sakura had moved back to father's house. Everyone felt she would be safer there, they didn't want her alone in her apartment. Sakura was sitting on the small couch near her windowsill, Her eyes were puffy from crying and a picture of Kenshin was close by. She slowly turned to look at Tomoyo but didn't utter a word. She hadn't said much since the funeral a week ago. She turned her head to her right and stared out into space aimlessly. Tomoyo let out a soft sigh as she walked up to Sakura and sat down next to her.

"Sakura please, at least look at me"

Sakura obliged and turned back to look at her. Her green eyes looked lifeless, something that Tomoyo had never seen. Tomoyo gave her a small smile and took her hands.

"Are you hungry? Want me to bring something up for you?"
Sakura shook her head slowly.

"Would you like to talk about...something in particular?"
Sakura didn't respond for a few seconds but in the end just conformed to shaking her head. She turned away and turned to look back outside. She drew her knees close to her chest and hugged them with her arms, lying her head ontop of them. The two girls were quiet for some time.

"Why does the sun shine Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo looked at her, somewhat confused.

"I-I-I don't understand"

"Why is it that the sun shines even when it shouldn't?"

She let out a bitter laugh,

"It's as if it's celebrating something. What is there to celebrate? The fact that I'm not getting married?"

Tomoyo rubbed small circles in Sakura's hands.

"The sun is here to remind you that even after the worst of storms, it will always be there. A new day brings a new beginning."

"I don't want a new beginning!"

"Sakura, I know it may be impossible to see it right now, but life does go on. Time heals even the deepest of wounds."

"I'm never going to forget Kenshin, never!"

"I'm not saying you will, nor do any one of us expect you too."

Sakura began to cry as she hugged her knees tightly. She looked up at Tomoyo through tear-filled eyes,

"I don't know what to do without him Tomoyo. I feel so lost"

Tomoyo pulled Sakura into a hug and rocked the girl gently in her arms,

"You're not alone, we're all here for you..."

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"I wonder why he suddenly decided to move here"
Eriol wondered out loud as he wrapped his arms around Tomoyo's waist from behind. Tomoyo shrugged as she leaned back against him,

"I'm not sure, I didn't ask when he called me"

Eriol raised an eyebrow,

"And why out of all people, did he call you?"
He asked in a jokingly jealous voice. Tomoyo let out a laugh,

"Because he doesn't know anybody that was close to Kenshin here in Japan. He knows my name because I told it to him at the funeral."

Eriol nodded as he leaned his back against his car. He looked up at the apartment in front of him and frowned,

"We should've thought of emptying out his apartment a month ago, it's gonna be hard to do it all in one day"

Tomoyo turned around to face Eriol and kissed him lightly on the lips,

"That's why, smart one, I called Syaoran to help us out. He told me to call him if he was ever needed. Plus he was one of Kenshin's closest friends, he can help us sort his stuff out."
Eriol had somewhat of a hesitant look on his face,

"I think you should have said something to Sakura. Maybe she would have wanted to be here"

Tomoyo shook her head quickly,

"No, that would only end up hurting her. Honey, she's distressed as it is. If she comes back here, it won't help the healing process."

Eriol nodded,

"You're right I guess."

"Ms. Daidouji?"
Tomoyo turned around as Syaoran cautiously walked up to the couple. She smiled at him warmly,

"How many times have I told you Syaoran, just call me Tomoyo"

Syaoran gave her a nervous smile,

"Sorry, Tomoyo"

"Oh! This is my boyfriend Eriol. Eriol, this is Kenshin's friend from Hong Kong, Syaoran Li"

Eriol smiled back politely,

"Hi, nice to meet you. So, ready to get to work?"

Syaoran let out a sigh,

"Well, let's get to it."

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(SN: Sorry to be speeding up like this, but I really need the time gap)

One year and a few month later...

Sakura pulled a box from underneath her bed and laid it ontop of her bed. She dusted off some dust that had been collected on the top and slowly slid the lid off. She smiled at the sight of the objects inside it and pulled out a blue shirt that was neatly folded to the side. She held it close to her face and inhaled deeply. Her eyes saddened as she came to the realization that the scent that had once engulfed the shirt was now gone. She folded it back up and put it in its place. She then pulled out a teddy bear she had once given Kenshin on Valentine's day and hugged it tightly. She smiled as she remembered how he joked around that when he missed her, he would hug his bear. She placed the bear next to her and reached in to pull out a picture frame that had once been on Kenshin's nightstand. It was a picture of them both on a sailboat; it was taken during the last vacation they took together.

"Sakura!"
She jumped as soon as she heard her name and let out a gasp. Tomoyo entered her room with a bright smile on her face. She saw Sakura was looking through the items in the box Tomoyo had brought her from Kenshin's apartment over a year ago. She smiled at her friend apologetically,

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?"
Sakura shook her head and began to put the stuff she had taken out back in its place.

"A little bit, but it's okay. I was just looking through some stuff."
She got off her bed and slipped the box back in underneath her bed and grabbed a scrunchie before she took a seat once again.

"Hey, you okay? You seem a bit sad"

Tomoyo pointed out as she took a seat on a nearby chair. Sakura gave her a small smile as she tied her now waist-length auburn hair into a ponytail.

"I'm sorry, I get like that whenever I go through the stuff in the box. I'm okay though, really. It's just that the memories are sometimes bittersweet"

Tomoyo nodded sympathetically,

"I understand."
Sakura looked around her room and frowned,

"I just wish I could get out of here already. I love my dad and all, but I miss my old apartment, I want to go back to living on my own"

Tomoyo looked somewhat nervous,

"I-I-I know but--"

Sakura nodded,

"I know, I know, dad and Touya aren't going to allow it yet. I'll do fine though, I know I will"

Tomoyo let out a sigh,

"Sakura, it's not just that but, being alone in that apartment is going to be a bit difficult, you have to admit that. There's so many memories of Kenshin there, are you sure you're ready to face that?"
Sakura looked out her window into the bright sunny day,

"To be honest, I don't know"
She answered softly. Tomoyo took hold of her hand and smiled at her,

"Give it some time okay? In a few months, when you feel a bit more sure, you can move back in"

Sakura looked at Tomoyo and smiled,

"You're right, I'll do that."

Tomoyo smiled back and got up from Sakura's bed,

"Well then, let's get going or we're never going to get any shopping done!"

Sakura groaned as she sluggishly got off her bed,

"Are you sure we have to do this?"
Tomoyo gave Sakura an are-you-kidding-me? look.

"Of course! Sakura, you have nothing but dark clothes in your closet!"
"But Tomoyo, I'm okay with that, really!"
Tomoyo shook her head as she pushed Sakura out the door,

"Nu-uh, no way. You my dear, need more color in your life!"
She frowned,

"Plus it's been such a long time since you and I went shopping! I'm dying here!"
Sakura giggled as she closed the door behind her and followed Tomoyo down the stairs,

"Whatever makes you happy."

Tomoyo stopped for a few seconds and looked at Sakura with gleaming eyes,

"What's wrong?"
Sakura asked in alert as she stopped halfway down the stairs. Tomoyo giggled as she hugged her best friend tightly,

"I missed hearing your laugh."
Sakura gave Tomoyo a bright smile,

"Well, it's hard but I'm trying to move on. I know Kenshin would have wanted it that way"
Tomoyo nodded,

"You're absolutely right! He wouldn't want you to be sad"

"Tomoyo, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"
"Can we maybe ummm...stop by the cemetery before coming back?"

"Of course, Sakura"

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Syaoran placed the flowers he had brought with him on the smooth tombstone, next to some flowers that looked a few days old. He ran his fingers along the letters on the tombstone and smiled,

"Hey Kenshin, sorry I haven't come by in such a long time"

He said as he stood up. The soft spring air ruffled his hair slightly and a few cherryblossom petals fell ontop of the dark-grey stone. Syaoran inhaled deeply, taking in the fragrance of the spring air. He had a somewhat apologetic look on his face as he began to talk once again,

"I-I-I've talked to Tomoyo a couple of times, always checking in on Sakura to see how she's been doing. I've tried to get close to her, honestly, I've tried. Yet every time, I freeze up. I don't know what to say to her, I don't know how she'll react to my presence. I occasionally take walks around her house but I can never gather up the courage to ring her doorbell. After what happened at the funeral, I'm sure she hates me."
Syaoran let out a laugh,

"Honestly, I don't know why I'm still here. I've already given up right? Then why haven't I just packed up my things and left already? I've asked for Tomoyo's advice, she just says Sakura's not ready. That her reaction towards me will still be the same."
Syaoran frowned,

"Sorry I failed you, sorry I couldn't keep the promise I made to you. Maybe, I just wasn't meant to be that person who protects her. Maybe that job belongs to someone else."
Syaoran cleared his throat,

"Good-bye Kenshin"
He said as he turned back around to leave, keeping his gaze downwards. He lifted his eyes off the ground as he got ready to walk away when he noticed a woman staring at him a few feet away. Although he was surprised to see her, he could tell the feeling wasn't mutual. She looked furious and filled with rage.

"What are you doing here?"
Sakura demanded coldly. Syaoran didn't know what to say; he glanced behind her and noticed she was alone.

"Same reason you are."
Syaoran answered back, making sure his voice was loud and steady. He didn't want this tiny girl to know that she made his body shake with fear. Her gaze was powerful and accusing.

"How dare you even come here, don't you have any respect?! If it wasn't for you, Kenshin would--"

"Sakura!"
Tomoyo interrupted loudly as she came running up from behind Sakura, she had dropped her keys a few paces back and Sakura had gone on ahead. Sakura stopped in mid-sentence and turned to look at her. Tomoyo glanced at Syaoran and then to Sakura. She took in a deep breath,

"What is wrong with you? You're not the type to point fingers! Why are you suddenly putting this all on Syaoran? Don't you think he feels bad enough as it is?!"

Sakura grew quiet, she hadn't really thought of that. Syaoran took this time to quietly slip away. He didn't want to cause any trouble; he just wanted to visit his friend.

"Wake up Sakura, it wasn't anybody's fault, so stop blaming Syaoran for something that was unavoidable! I'm sick and tired of this! When you're not busy blaming him, you're blaming yourself! If there was anybody to blame, it was the plane! It's not like Kenshin was killed on purpose, it was an accident!"

Tomoyo's eyes began to water almost as soon as she finished talking. She felt bad for screaming at Sakura but she couldn't hold back what she had been feeling for a long time now.

"I-I-I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't mean to--"

"Yes you did Tomoyo, you meant every word"
Sakura said softly as she brought her gaze up to meet Tomoyo. She wiped away the tear that had flowed down her cheek,

"And, to be honest, you're absolutely right."

Sakura walked up to Kenshin's tombstone and placed the flowers she brought next to the ones already there. She pushed a few cherryblossoms aside to reveal Kenshin's name. She smiled down at it,

"I miss you so much, every day I think of you and what we would be doing at that precise moment if you were still here with me."

As she stared down at the tombstone, she started to get flashbacks of what Kenshin had once said to her about Syaoran,

"He's always been there for me, never once has he let me down. I'm glad you'll finally get to meet him! It'll mean a lot to me if you two get along"

Sakura bit her lip as her eyes began to water,

"I'm sorry Kenshin, I've been so selfish. All this time I've been looking for someone to blame that, I completely forgot how much Syaoran meant to you."
She wiped her tears away,

"I promise you I'll settle things with him, I know that's what you would have wanted me to do."

Sakura stood up and smiled at Tomoyo,

"Thank you Tomoyo, thank you for knocking some sense into me."

Tomoyo smiled,

"I'm glad my little outburst helped!"

Sakura looked around and noticed Syaoran was out of sight,

Tomoyo pointed towards the left,

"I think he went that way"
She said with a grin. Sakura looked at her,

"It's creepy how you read my mind like that. Well, Tomoyo I'm really sorry but--"

Tomoyo waved her hand nonchalantly,

"Go Sakura!"
Sakura smiled at her gratefully and ran in the direction Tomoyo had told her.

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Syaoran walked into the parking lot and was ready to get into his car when he heard his name being called out. He turned around and was surprised to find Sakura running in his direction. He frowned, already knowing what was coming his way.

"Syaoran!"
Sakura stopped in front of him, taking in big gulps of fresh air. She had ran the whole way there.

"Good you haven't left yet, I wouldn't have gotten a chance to--"

"To what? Keep rubbing it in that Kenshin's dead because of me?"
Syaoran snapped as he glared at her. He had enough of her accusations; he couldn't take it anymore. He felt guilty as it was; he didn't need someone to remind him constantly. Sakura winced internally at his accusation,

"No, Syaoran you're wrong."

Syaoran scoffed as he opened his car door,

"Right, whatever. Listen, I tried to apologize, tried! You have no idea how it feels to have to carry on with this guilt. For the rest of my life, I have to live with the fact that I killed one of my best friends!"

"Syaoran"

He became quiet as soon as he heard his name escape her lips. He looked at her in the eye and noticed something that wasn't there before. There was no longer hatred in her eyes, just empathy. He gulped, feeling a bit nervous and stupid after what he just said. Sakura looked into his deep chocolate-colored eyes and smiled. Something about them reminded her of Kenshin. She didn't know what it was, but whatever she had once seen in Kenshin's eyes were also present in Syaoran's. She smiled at him,

"It's not your fault Syaoran, please stop blaming yourself. Tomoyo was right, it was nobody's fault. I'm sorry for blaming you for something you had no control over and I'm sorry for the way I treated you at Kenshin's funeral. You had as much right to be there as anyone else in that room, including myself. I have no reason to hold a grudge against you, and..."
Her eyes fell down in shame,

"And I wouldn't blame you if you hate me. I treated you in the meanest way possible, I'm very sorry."

Syaoran stared at her blankly; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Sakura Kinomoto actually apologizing? He realized this was his chance to fulfill his promise to Kenshin. His promise that he would take care of the one person he had loved. Syaoran locked eyes with Sakura and gave her a friendly smile.

"How about we start over again?"

Sakura gave him a grateful smile and nodded in agreement.

"I would love that."

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Sakura fidgeted nervously with her purse as she stood in the middle of a park. Syaoran had invited her out to lunch and she had accepted. Although her first reaction was to say no, she kept on telling herself that if they were to be friends, she had to do her part.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to do something last minute."
Syaoran said as he walked up to her from behind. Sakura turned around and smiled,

"It's okay. I just got here anyway."

They began to walk together, neither of them knowing what to say to one another. Syaoran glanced at her from the corner of his eyes,

"Ummm...where would you like to go?"

Sakura shrugged,

"To be honest, I'm really not that hungry."
Syaoran let out a sigh of relief.

"Me too!"

Sakura began to laugh at his reaction.

"Then how about we skip lunch, instead get some ice cream and just stay here? It's nice out today."
Syaoran nodded,

"That's a good idea."

Syaoran went up to an ice cream stand and got two cones of ice cream and then walked to a grassy spot underneath a tree where Sakura was sitting. She thankfully accepted her cone and a silence fell between them once again. Sakura glanced over at Syaoran and noticed he had ordered chocolate ice cream for himself. She smiled,

"Kenshin loved anything that had chocolate."

Syaoran stopped eating and turned to look at her. He laughed and nodded,

"Yes, I remember that. When we were roommates we would try to hide the chocolate ice cream from each other."

Sakura laughed,

"You have that same obsession?"
Syaoran nodded,

"Chocolate is number one in my things-I-love-most list!."
Sakura kept on laughing,

"He'd say the same thing! I would ask him, and where do I stand? And he would just smile and say I shared the number one spot with chocolate."

Syaoran chuckled,

"Kenshin could never be serious, he loved to joke around. He was my opposite and yet it felt as if he was my twin. He understood me like no one had ever done before and he was always there."

Syaoran saddened a bit as he kept his gaze locked in front of him,

"Every day I think, what if? What if he hadn't gotten on that plane? What if I hadn't called him at all? What if I had gotten him tickets for a later flight?"

Sakura could sense the sadness Syaoran felt and was ashamed of herself. All this time she thought she was the only one with that guilty feeling, and yet she was shutting away the only person who she could relate to.

"Yes, but what ifs aren't going to bring him back."
Sakura moved her cone to her other hand,

"He's gone, neither of us can change that. I too have spent months thinking about what ifs. What if I had been more firm and told him not to go? What if I hadn't asked him to come back so soon?"

Syaoran let out a sigh, he turned his body around to face Sakura.

"I'm really sorry"

Sakura gave him a puzzling look,

"What for?"
"For everything. Let's be honest, if there's anyone to blame here, it's me. I'm sorry that I ruined your wedding, I'm sorry for killing your fiancee, I'm sorry for ruining your future."

Sakura shook her head and placed a hand on Syaoran's shoulder.

"I have nothing to forgive you for and you have nothing to be sorry about. Like I said before, accidents happen. Instead, I want to thank you for allowing me to come into your life. You could have easily ignored my stupid comments and moved on with your life. I'm grateful that you're here."

She smiled,

"It's nice to know that I'm not alone, that I can relate to someone."

Syaoran looked at her and returned the smile,

"You have nothing to thank me for. It's the least I could do."

Sakura looked into Syaoran's eyes and found the warmth and understanding she had desperately been seeking for. Without thinking it twice, she enveloped him into a hug, much to Syaoran's surprise.
"Kenshin was right, you're a great friend."

Syaoran was taken aback by her words but a small smile made its way to his lips as he returned the hug,

"Thank you, that means a lot to me."

--To Be Continued—

Starrie: well that's all for now folks! But yaaaaay!!! SS are finally getting along!!! Anywho, please tell me what you think! Bye for now! –waves-