Behind That Smile
By: behindthatsmile
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Author's Notes:
Thanks for the reviews! Please continue reviewing and I hope you'll like this chapter!

To those who reviewed:

Mi Mi … I didn't really mean to make the title of this story the same as my pen name. I just thought that my pen name is an appropriate title. I'm sorry for linking Sakura with Eriol. I just don't want OCs (original characters) that will be paired up with either Sakura or Syaoran…

Lionessmama … I'm planning to make this a heart-breaking, tragic story so sorry if I will make you guys cry or whatever. But I will put some happy moments of course and let's all hope I will end up with a happy finale!

Kitsune Vampire Girl ... Man, I wish you gave me a review under your author's name. I would love to read your stories. And that's what I do anyway - I tend to read the stories of those who review mine, becauase sometimes, I'm too lazy to browse.

… Thanks for the reviews!
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Chapter 2: Her Angel
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Everyone had a tough life. He did too, and then he died without even fixing it, without even knowing why everything that happened to him happened.

Now he knew what everything about his life meant and he could not stop thinking about it.

He was an angel. He was not supposed to be disturbed but he was. Something was bothering him. Something that he didn't find while he was still on earth.

Syaoran was sitting on one cloud with his eyes closed. He chose not to look down and look at people's sufferings. He could feel it anyway—people calling for angels. He wondered if there was another heaven in heaven where he could see his co-angels working.

He laughed at the thought.

"Angel Syaoran," came an echo to his ears. Someone was calling him and it was probably the chief of all angels.

Syaoran ignored it. He would probably be scolded yet again. His name was called for another three times and then the next he knew, his world was spinning.

He was being teleported to the chief.

"Have you not heard me calling your name?" said the angel.

Syaoran stood in front of the middle-aged angel. He was wearing a white robe unlike himself. Syaoran seemed not to be an angel. He was wearing casual clothes like a normal, living human being would wear. He could change anytime he wants and he could change into his white robes anytime he wants but he didn't want to.

"I did," Syaoran replied.

"Then why didn't you come?" asked the angel. "Do I always have to bring you in my presence every time I call for you? Can't you just come here by yourself?"

Syaoran did not reply.

The angel sighed. "Anyway, I have a mission for you. And please behave yourself. Let people do it themselves. Don't make them depend on you, alright? No repeats of last time. Got that clear, Syaoran?"

Syaoran nodded, without even making an eye contact with the angel.

"This girl had everything tough - it was all planned out, of course," the angel continued, hoping that Syaoran was actually listening. "She's different, Syaoran. She would be able to see you."

With that, the angel got Syaoran's full attention. "Why?" Syaoran asked.

It was not the first time he had questioned the chief of angels so it was not surprising.

"No, she doesn't have any powers to see any supernatural things," the angel replied. "She's just different. And a word was sent that she should be able to see her angel which would be you."

"Why me? Why make me her angel?" Syaoran kept asking. "Who was her angel before?"

"I think you know by now that angels would remain anonymous towards the rest of the angels. She's different, that's all you need to know," the angel said. "Don't mess this up, ok? You know the rules, off you go!"

Syaoran knew that he would not get answers so he decided to go. He never got his answers on first-time questioning. He always needed more time than that to get answers. He spent so much time getting answers about his life and yet again, he would be spending so much time getting answers about his new mission.

Syaoran spread his wings and flew down to earth. Oddly, he knew where he was going.

It was dismissal time at last - what Sakura had been waiting for. Her day could go down the drain because it was totally crappy.

Her usual daily routine of going to her locker then sitting down on the floor and doing her homework was not at all a routine that morning. Sure, she did open her locker, she sat down on the floor and she did prepare herself to do her homework but then she could not concentrate on her homework.

Just one meter away from her was Eriol and Tomoyo. They were too close. They were close friends but they were utterly too close. They were not like that before. What was going on? What, did Eriol forget about her completely?

She did not ask them anyhow, no matter how many questions were building up in her head. If something really was going on, she wanted to know it from them.

Sakura snapped close her locker and gave way for Tomoyo because her locker was under hers. "I'm going home now," she told Tomoyo. "Why?" Tomoyo asked her. Sakura was not looking straight at her. "It's too early!"

"I'm sleepy," Sakura answered quickly. "I want to go home early."

With that, she waved her good-bye to Tomoyo and the others including Eriol. Sakura completely ignored Eriol calling her back and walked quickly to the parking area to wait for her car.

As soon as Syaoran had landed on the ground, he settled his wings and made them disappear behind him. He found himself in a room -probably the girl's room.

He looked around the room and became interested with the pictures in the room. There were pictures in her dresser, picture frames on her nightstand and frames up on the wall.

He stared at the pictures posted up in the dresser.

Then, he saw her. He knew it was her. The girl that the chief of angels was talking about. He just knew it. Syaoran then noticed that there was always a difference among the pictures even though the girl was always there in the picture.

The girl was with two girls in the picture. She was in the middle and they were all smiling.

Her smile was content in that picture.

The next picture was her and two guys - probably her brother and her father. She was smiling as well as the older man while the other guy had a straight face but did not look angry nonetheless.

Her smile seemed like it will last forever.

Next picture: she was with a guy and the two girls in the previous picture.

Her smile was sad.

He then looked at the pictures on her nightstand. The rest of the pictures showed nothing but sadness in her green eyes and smile.

"What was planned out for her?" he asked himself. He loved asking questions and hated not getting answers. He noticed that it was late in the afternoon outside the windows. "Why make me her angel?"

Soon, he heard footsteps. He decided to sit on the couch by the bed. And waited.

When Sakura got home, her father was not there. She made her driver eat dinner first before dismissing him for the day. She decided not to change yet so she stayed downstairs.

While watching TV, she did her homework and since it was a Friday, she did not have much to do. When she became finally bored, she made sure all the doors were locked and went to her room.

She did her routine before going to sleep: go to the bathroom to take a shower, change into her pajamas, pray.

Sakura lied down on her bed and covered herself with her blanket.

"Lord, it had been a horrible day yet once again," she prayed silently with her eyes closed. This time, she wanted to make sure that she would not cry again.

She wouldn't..

"Please help me survive tomorrow," she continued. "I seriously need your help. I need someone to help me. Lord, where's my angel?"

She opened her eyes at how stupid it sounded even though she was actually just praying mentally - she was not really speaking out the words.

She sounded so demanding but then—

"I'm right here," a voice said.

Sakura turned around where she had heard the voice and saw him. Her angel.

To be continued…