Love Everlasting
t.w.o тнз.мчѕтзяіουѕ. aρρзaяaηсз
"How is he doing?" Master Shukoni questioned. Sakura saw that most of the crusted blood had been washed off, thanks to the young couple that had taken care of him all of yesterday night. They were now resting in another room from their lack of sleep the other night. His pulse was faint and hard to detect. Sakura silently prayed for his life.
"It doesn't seem likely that he would live to see tomorrow's sunrise. If he does, he would probably get better." Sakura sighed, "Some of his bones are broken, but that's not what I'm worried about. His internal organs are bleeding from the harsh punches that were given to him. Our humble village has no medicine that could cure him of that. It's either he stops bleeding by himself, or he would…"
Sakura trailed off. Fujitaka and Master Shukoni both sat quietly, sipping their tea.
Master Shukoni stood up abruptly.
"This boy is of good build. He is obviously a good fighter—it makes me curious to wonder who could have beaten him up this badly. And why…" He shook his head, as if to rid of such thoughts at a time like this. "It doesn't matter. I have to go now. My wife and family are probably waiting for me to start dinner."
Fujitaka nodded and Master Shukoni left without further discussion. Sakura stretched, and then yawned. It was true; they had stayed the whole afternoon just taking care of this stranger.
"Come on, Sakura. It's time for dinner." Fujitaka got up to leave, but Sakura stayed put. Usually, she obeyed her father in every command, but this time, a strange feeling was overcoming her and urged her to wait.
Wait for what? A miracle?
"No, father. I'll stay. I don't think he's someone that would give up life that easily. Besides, I'm not hungry" Sakura turned to Fujitaka and smiled reassuringly.
"I'm not about to leave you here alone with him. What if he suddenly wakes up?" Fujitaka pondered for a while before finally sighing.
"Tell you what, I think we should bring him back to the house and nurse him there."
Together, they hoisted (taking care not to provoke any of his injuries) his body onto a cart, and wheeled him away to their house.
Dinner that night was silent and brief. Even the usually chattering Touya didn't say a thing; keeping his thoughts about the stranger private.
"I'm done! I'm going to go see how he's doing," exclaimed Sakura, sliding her chair back.
Upstairs in the quiet of the guest room, Sakura spent more time washing the blood off of Syaoran.
Knock. Knock.
Fujitaka entered when Sakura called out permission. He handed her a cup of hot chocolate, to calm her nerves a bit, he joked.
"He's not any better, is he?" Sakura stopped the cup of hot chocolate half-way to her mouth. That was the question she had feared. It was an unanswerable question.
"I don't know. He doesn't seem to be getting any better. But for that matter, he doesn't seem to be getting any worse either." explained Sakura.
Fujitaka only nodded. After a few more seconds, he left the room.
Sakura tried wringing water out of the towel to wipe off more blood, but she was simply too tired. Sighing, she dropped the towel back into the basin of water, and stepped over to the window and gazed out.
Outside, a storm raged. Droplets of rain splattered across the window. Sakura leaned against the window-sill, facing and observing the sleeping stranger.
A hand clamped Sakura's shoulders, making her scream. Spinning around, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Tomoyo, grinning widely. Sakura hadn't noticed Tomoyo enter the room.
"I haven't seen you this worried ever since Eriol left. I hope this stranger isn't taking Eriol's place in your heart." It was more a question than a statement.
"Tomoyo, of course I'm not having any second thoughts about this boy! I don't even know him!" Sakura laughed at her friend's suggestion. It was just absurd.
"Well, I have good news for you, Sakura! You're going to be so happy when you hear this!" squealed Tomoyo.
Sakura's heart beat accelerated. Tomoyo giggled at Sakura's obvious excitement.
"It's a letter! From Eriol!" exclaimed Tomoyo. Out of her pocket, Tomoyo produced a letter and handed it to Sakura.
By the time Sakura had ripped open the letter, Tomoyo had wordlessly gone back outside.
Dear Cherry,
Sakura, although it was only 6 months, it seems like years since I've seen you. This bloody war's finally taking a toll on me. I'm always so tired nowadays. I'm guessing that you haven't learnt how to play a song on the flute I gave you yet. I'm still waiting to hear it.
I know you're probably wondering when I'm going to come home. Truthfully, even I'm not sure. But I won't break my promise; I never do. I've met a lot of interesting people here and befriend a lot of them. Health-wise, I'm still living. Chichiri, however, has a shoulder wound and is still resting. He wanted me to write a letter from him to Tomoyo, but quickly dismissed that idea because he is just too ill. He can barely speak a full sentence each day. Please inform Tomoyo, but tell her not to worry. There are a lot of brilliant doctors here that will nurse Chichiri back to health.
Sakura…Sakura…The people who sleep in the same cabin as I do ask me why always mutter your name when I sleep. I miss you so much. Don't you worry, Sakura. I promised that I'll come back and make you the happiest bride in the whole wide world, and I'll keep that promise!
One particular reason I'm writing this letter is because this war is advancing, and the village of Everlasting might be in grave danger. If I have any further news, I shall write to you and you must flee.
I love you.
Eriol
Lowering the letter, Sakura caught her own reflection in a mirror opposite of her. She looked frightened. Chichiri was hurt. Eriol has no clue when they were coming back. Worse, the war might be advancing to her village! Trembling, she took a seat at the table and slowly cupped her hands around her cup of hot chocolate. Her wide eyes stared straight out, at no where in particular.
If Eriol was correct, she would have to leave her village—her life—behind.
Some time after, in the darkness of the night, Sakura fell into a troubled sleep…
Sakura awoke when she felt the slight brush of a blanket on her shoulders. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes, trying hard to adjust to the dark of the room. Thunder and lightening outside filled the room with a momentary light. Looking over to the stranger's bed, Sakura gasped. It was empty.
A cold hand clamped onto her shoulder. The sound of thunder drowned out Sakura's shrill scream. Glancing up, Sakura saw a man's reflection in the mirror, and shifted around.
It was Syaoran. He looked embarrassed, and only semi-conscious.
"I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" asked Syaoran, once the roar of the thunder died down. "I didn't mean to. I only wanted to give you my blanket. It's a cold night."
It was true. Sakura had only woken up due to the fact that she had felt the blanket drape over her shoulders. Sakura blushed as she realized how immature she must seem like, right then when she had screamed.
"Th…thank you, I think." mumbled Sakura. An awkward silence followed. Suddenly, Syaoran's legs gave out underneath him, and he collapsed to the floor. Instinctively, Sakura reached out and helped him back to his bed. This was bad; for he had started to wheeze and pant. Bead of sweat were starting to form on his forehead.
Sakura put an experienced hand to his forehead, feeling for a fever. Pulling away, Sakura gasped at how hot his forehead was. His fever must have broken out long before she was awake.
Again, Syaoran fell into unconsciousness. After that, Sakura constantly stayed by his side, slipping fresh wet towels for his forehead every half an hour or so. By morning, his fever had gone down considerably, and he was no longer uncomfortable. Now, he slept soundly and peacefully, while Sakura watched over him.
There was a faint knock on the door, and Fujitaka mutely came in when Sakura called out permission. Fujitaka settled himself to a chair at the table before asking, "How is he?"
"He woke up from his coma in the middle of the night. He had a high fever but it has gone down now. Currently, he is resting and should be able to make it through." replied Sakura.
"I see." said Fujitaka, "You should go ahead and get some sleep. If there's any change, I'll call you right away."
Sakura started to protest, but she had to stifle a yawn. Fujitaka smirked. Glaring, Sakura left the room to rest a while and maybe even wash up.
Inside Sakura's pink-tinted room, she flung herself on her bed, and fell asleep within seconds. The last thoughts on her mind were about the strange boy that had survived an ordeal that no normal people would have made through.
Who was he...?
"Sakura! Sakura!" called a distant voice. Yawning, Sakura opened her eyes…to find herself one inch away from Kamye's face.
Not being a girl that took surprises easily, Sakura screamed. Kamye leaped back, looking flustered and shoved a tray of breakfast in Sakura's face—indicating that the only reason he was in her room at all, was to deliver her breakfast.
"Kamye! Oh my god! I am so sorry! You scared me; so close to me like that!" apologized Sakura, "Why are you delivering my breakfast? Where's Tomoyo? She's usually the one who does things like that."
"Actually, this is more like your lunch. You slept through breakfast. Tomoyo's downstairs cleaning your share of the living room." explained Kamye. It was Saturday—their weekly big clean up of the house. Everyone participated; even Touya, her sly and grumpy brother.
Kamye, even though everyone treated him with respect, was not related to anyone in the Kinomoto household. In fact, as Fujitaka retold everyone as a story, Kamye was found on their doorstep on Christmas day. Obviously, Kamye's family had abandoned him (for a good reason, Fujitaka believed) and had hoped that someone would take him in. Probably because of his childhood, Kamye was especially hardworking and dependent, but still as sweet as ever.
"Tomoyo's going to kill me for making her work extra," fussed Sakura. As Sakura dug into her breakfast, Kamye excused himself and left Sakura with her own thoughts.
Pushing away her finished breakfast aside, Sakura suddenly jumped up as a thought shot through her mind like a bullet. Syaoran…
After finding the guest room empty, Sakura raced down the stairs, not stopping in time to avoid colliding with Touya.
"You monster! I honestly think the Boogeyman replaced my sister with a monster when she was small." teased Touya, "What's your hurry anyway?"
"I'm going to find Syaoran! Where is he anyways? And quit calling me a monster!" Sakura stuck out her tongue.
"Oh, that guy? He just went out for a walk and a "talk" with father. By the way, I wouldn't worry so much about him if I were you—there're more serious things to worry about."
Before Sakura could question her crazy brother about what he meant, Nadeshiko had bustled in, and ordered Sakura to help Tomoyo with the laundry outside. Was it just her, or did Nadeshiko look especially tired today? And what were Syaoran and her father possibly talking about?
I'll find him later.
"Ah! Fresh air!" sighed Sakura, lying down beside Tomoyo while she worked.
"Didn't Auntie Nadeshiko tell you to help me?" teased Tomoyo. Sakura made a face and went right on relaxing, ignoring Tomoyo.
Sakura's skin soaked up the warmth of the sun. The songs the birds chirped swirled in her mind. Song? Notes? Flute! Eriol!
Sakura jolted back to reality. She sat up, her chest heaving up and down as she remembered the letter she had read last night.
"What is the matter, Sakura?" asked Tomoyo. She looked genuinely concerned. Sakura inhaled a shaky breath, and spilled out everything the letter had said.
Splash. Tomoyo had dropped the bucket of water she was holding. Trembling all over, Tomoyo appeared as though she would fall over any second.
"Tomoyo! What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?" Sakura hurried to her friend's side; supporting her weight.
"Oh Sakura! You don't know, do you? You were asleep when we heard about it."
«§ïlνεя§τaя»
Thanks to:
Sadame X- I'm so glad you enjoyed the first chapter!
dbzgtfan2004- I agree! Syaoran and Sakura forever!
AnonymousT- Your review helped me the most! Thank you so much, and I hope this story doesn't bore you
Well, first, before you all scream and yell and kick at me, I'd like to clear a few things up. While writing this story, my mind totally blanked out. In other words, I had writers block. I changed this chapter more than, like, 6 times. I swear! I hope that in the end, you all enjoyed it T.T
Another thing, I was going to allow Sakura and Syaoran to have a decent meeting with each other in this chapter (apart from the one where Syaoran suddenly wakes up and scares the living shit out of Sakura), but I decided not to. I don't want a fanfic where S&S meet each other in the first chapter, fall in love in the 3rd chapter and make out in the 5th chapter. I want a strong relationship between them. Plus, I haven't sorted out how I want Syaoran's character to be. Oh yeah, just in case you're wondering why I described so much of Kamye's past in this chapter, it's because he plays a major role in the later part of this story—if I'm going to write what I planned.
I have a LOT of surprises for you guys in the next chapter…so stay tuned!
to be continued…