A/n: Remember, SxS first, then SxY.
-Chapter Two-
Five Centuries Later
X.Deep within the Forest..ox
"Oi, Sakura!" a dark brown hair boy hollered, prancing down paths of fresh green grass while repeatedly turning his head. He couldn't find his kaijuu of a sister. "Sakura! Father HAD deliberately said: 'BE HOME BY EVENING'!"
Sakura, surprisingly, answered back, "I'm over here…" and it met his ears in sheer surprise. Her teasing laughter broke through the calm forest, and Touya nearly erupted in frustration.
"Do-ko," he roared, stomping his foot before taking in the direction of her voice.
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Sakura stared, wide-eyed, at the stone figure that stood in the distance. She breathed in excitedly as she began to slowly walk towards the statue. "What's a statue doing out here in this forest?" she murmured as the beauty of the stone drew her in closer.
When she was finally in front of the statue, she gasped at how realistic it looked. Her eyes roamed up and down the solid stone, looking at his wide-set eyes with half closed lids to his bare gray feet. Her eyes landed on his wings. It was stunning. The wings were so realistic that she could actually imagine it springing to life, fluttering its soft feathers in her view. And if she was to touch this stone man, he would jerk away from her touch, and take off into the skies.
"Hoe…" she gasped in admiration. Long hair graced his head and flowed down his back. Her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed his frozen, cold expression. A thin line drew across his face that didn't look like a smile or a frown; it showed no emotions. He looked like a tragically breathtaking angel. She wondered who sculpted this lovely masterpiece.
"You're so beautiful," whispered Sakura. "A smile will complete your perfection. I wonder why the sculptor didn't put a smile on your face. You deserve to smile, to be happy."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, an unnatural voice erupted around her.
"Happy?" it echoed.
Sakura jumped back and held onto Kero tightly, causing a squeak from the stuffed doll. Her eyes fixed back to the statue and she actually saw his expression change from neutral to confusion. Her eyes widened and she was about to scream. Tears glazed over her eyes, and her mouth merely hung open in mute. To her relief, her brother came out from another side.
"Kaijuu!" shouted Touya. "There you are!"
Sakura shot her head around to see her brother standing near the oak tree with his arms crossed and his features deathly still as he gaped at the stone. "I am not a-"
Without any possible warning, the ground began to rumble in a violent rhythmic beat from where Sakura stood. She shrieked as she fell onto her knees, letting the yellow doll slip from her tiny clutches. The statue of the angel began to quaver along with the ground and a fierce white aura escaped from all angles of the rough surface as it was engulfed in a total blur of light.
"Sakura," Touya yelled. "Get away from there!" He scampered towards his sister and grabbed her hand and thrust her to her feet. "Come on!" Touya urged firmly as he practically dragged her away from the area.
"Kero-chan!" Sakura cried. "We can't leave without him!"
"Oi Kaijuu, he's just a stupid stuffed animal."
"He's not stupid for your information and I'm going back!" Sakura shot back as she grimaced.
"No you're not," and he made sure she didn't by wrapping his arms firmly around her waist to keep her locked in place. They were already far away but Sakura managed to break away from her brother's iron grip and scurry back into the forest.
As she stepped right back into the clearing, the ground convulsion abruptly subsided, and was replaced with its usual peacefulness. The statue was no longer there, probably got knocked over by the earthquake. Her eyes searched around the lush plants and exotic flowers, but she spotted no yellow doll.
"Kero-chan, where are you?" Sakura cried, tears filling her emerald eyes. She looked some more and finally decided to her distempered Touya. She stopped midway and a smile reached her face as she saw a yellow furry thing entwined within the tall grass next to a weird looking rock. "Kero-chan!" she exclaimed. She picked him up and hugged him happily. Just when she was about to leave, a soft groan froze her in place. The hair on her neck began to stand as she slowly turned around, afraid of the outcome.
'The stone statue! Wait. No it couldn't be. Where was his beautiful long hair and huge wings? Baka! A stone statue can't be human!' Sakura argued mentally. 'But his face looks like that of the stone? No, maybe he was just a man that got caught in this earthquake.' "Hey mister?" Sakura said softly. "Are you oka-" She couldn't finish her sentence due to a bewildered scream.
"ARGH FUDGE SAKURA, GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Touya yelled angrily, "He's a killer! A rapist! GOD SAKURA, WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE?" Sakura panicked and became immobile as Touya kept on ranting nonsense at her, his voice now beginning to muffle from her ears. She looked back to the man who remained lying there, and then she looked back to Touya who was frantically waving his arms about, like a lunatic.
"He… He's unconscious!" she yelled back.
Touya raised an eyebrow as he inched forward towards the injured man. "I-Is he really?" Touya said fearfully. With a stick in his hand, he poked at the man's back. The man cringed and whimpered slightly. "He's alive!" Touya whispered to Sakura.
Sakura nodded and her features changed into concern. "We should help him, Onii-chan."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Touya responded.
"Why not? He did save Kero-chan from danger."
"Well, you know what father thinks of bringing strangers into our kingdom."
"Please Onii-chan." Sakura eyes grew large, "Pwease."
Touya sighed inwardly. "Alright! Alright! I'll see what I can do," Touya said, giving in.
Sakura jumped up and down. "I lub you!" she shrilled.
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'Uh… W-Where am I?' He shifted his position on the bed and turned onto his back. He scowled as his muscles contracted. They ached terribly as if he hadn't been moving for a long time, possibly for centuries. 'Why do I feel so strange?' His eyes opened to a strange, unfamiliar environment. The windows were bizarre looking, made of glass…?
"Is the room too hot," a voice asked, reaching his sensitive ears. He glanced at a ten-year-old girl; his gaze somewhat calm and curious, yet he offered no reply. Sakura smiled brightly. "Well, you were staring at the window, so, I'm guessing that you were." She skipped towards the window and unlatched the lock as she opened up the window to let fresh air pass through.
Yue gasped slightly. He had never seen a window that could open like that before. All he remembered was the window being made of rice paper and you slid them open.
Sakura turned around, flashing her emerald orbs at Yue as he tried to avoid the intensity of her gaze. "My name is Princess Kinomoto Sakura," Sakura said with a grin. "You can call me Sakura since it's easier. I get confused a lot because when someone calls me by my last name, I would think that they're talking about my dad or brother but if they say Princess with the rest of my title, then that's another story."
Yue raised an eyebrow at the girl who continued to ramble on. "My name is Yue," he whispered and stooped over. He turned his silvery gaze in another direction as he looked around the large room.
"You don't have a last name?"
Yue shrugged as his calm gaze fixated back to Sakura. "All I know is that I am Yue."
"You have a nice name."
Yue dropped the blanket, ignoring the girl's comment, as he stood up and walked in front of a mirror. He jumped back as he saw his reflection. A tall, slender man looked back at him with blankness in those pools of starlight blue.
"What is this?" he hissed as he glared coldly at himself.
"That's a mirror," Sakura said with a puzzled look to her face. "How could you not know?" Yue puffed angrily at her as he stormed out of the room. "W-Wait," Sakura said, not noticing that he was distressed. "You might get lost…"
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Yue was walking down the hall, at the same time, admiring the paintings on the wall. He sighted a picture of a man with a woman and their two children. The man looked familiar though, with his rimless frame and mass of dark brown hair. He also noticed the little girl dressed in a ruffled pink dress with her auburn hair pulled back with a pink ribbon. His eyes looked back to the gentle face of the man.
"He looks familiar…"
"You bet he is! He's our king!" Sakura exclaimed from behind Yue.
Yue narrowed his eyes at Sakura's sudden outburst. "Please young Sakura, I wish to be alone."
"I can't," Sakura pouted. "You have to meet my father so you can stay. I mean if you don't have anywhere to go."
Yue glared down at the girl who only stood as tall as his hips. "Okay…"
As they neared Fujitaka's study chambers, Yue's heart would skip a beat and butterflies would play in the pit of his stomach. Why would he be so nervous?
"Come on, Yue-kun!" Sakura hailed joyously. "Stop lagging behind."
Yue crossed his arms at the girl's ear-piercing childish antics. He had been with her for a few hours and she was already irritating him. Sakura turned the doorknob and Yue felt the panic rush through his veins again. She opened the door and tried to push him in but he stood at a standstill like the stone he used to be. She couldn't bulge him but kept trying anyway.
"Y-Yue-kun," Sakura struggled, "go in-inside. M-Meet my f-father."
"Ah, Sakura, my dear daughter." Fujitaka chuckled as he turned his armchair around at the sound of his daughter's voice by his doorway. Sakura gave up and stood in front of Yue to greet her father. However, Fujitaka was eyeing Yukito with such wonder in his eyes. "And who is this man here?"
Sakura pointed at Yue to start to explain but Yue beat her to it. Yue flushed as he dropped to his knees. "My name is Yue, King Kinomoto-sama."
"With no last name," Sakura added.
"No last name? How strange?" Fujitaka mumbled. He ushered Yue to stand back up as he began to study him. He observed the young man's strange strands of silver hair and strange eye color. Its silvery bluish color fazed him and made him very curious at the same time, wanting more information out of him. "So Yue-kun, are you from around here?" Fujitaka rubbed his chin as he continued his intense stare.
"I'm not sure. I don't recall anything except being found in the forest by your daughter," Yue replied quietly, staring down at Sakura through sly eyes as he spoke.
"Do you have a family?" Fujitaka asked.
"No, sir. I'm alone."
Fujitaka rested against his wooden armchair as he thought of what to do with Yue. A light bulb shot over his head and he smiled brightly. "If you have nowhere to go, do you want to stay here and become my assistant?" Fujitaka gave an unrestrained smile, taking a hand out in front of Yue.
Yue looked at it and took it slowly, shaking it up and down, a smile gradually forming on his lips. "Hai…" he agreed.
"Now that you are my assistant," Fujitaka started but stopped when he felt a light tug on his robe. He looked down at Sakura who looked back up with innocent eyes. "What is it dear?"
"Can he become my older brother instead?"
Fujitaka smiled warmly. "You already have an older brother, sweetie. Now, go along outside and let daddy and Yue-san talk with one another." Sakura nodded and sped the room.
Fujitaka looked back to Yue with a serious face. "My son Touya constantly tells me to put Sakura on a leash, in his words of course. She tends to constantly get into trouble, just like what happened earlier this week," Fujitaka explained. "You seem stable, someone less likely to get in trouble. I have only one request from you and I hope you will do it."
"Hai…"
"Since Nadeshiko passed away when Sakura was a baby, she has no adult supervision to take care of her and keep her out of trouble. You might think, why not Touya? Well, he's old enough to only take care of himself. As for me, I've no time to be with her considering my busy schedule. For the passed three years, I've been looking for certain people to take care of my little girl but I couldn't trust any of them. As I look at you, I believe I can trust you and I'm going to go with my instinct on that. So, will you be my Sakura's protector? Will you keep her from danger; teach her what is right and wrong?"
Without any hesitation, Yue replied, "Of course I will King Kino-"
"Please, don't be so formal. Now that you made yourself like a family here, call me Fujitaka."
'Why does all of this seem so familiar?' Yue thought as the words of Fujitaka sunk into him. "Hai, Fujitaka-sama."
"If you have any problems, feel free to visit me or anyone in the castle. Everyone's friendly."
Yue nodded and bowed before exiting towards the door he came in from earlier.
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Yue stepped into the main halls of the castle. He wanted to go back to his room but he couldn't remember where it was, but it didn't bother him for now. All he thought about was Fujitaka's conversation with him. 'Why did I agree so easily to take care of that little girl?' A servant waved to him and winked seductively. He glared coldly at her and continued on his way. 'She's an annoying little brat. It's a waste of time to protect someone like her. But I didn't have the heart to turn down King Fujitaka, whatever he wanted me to do, I was willing to obey. Why though?' Yue's quiet thoughts soon drifted off by a disturbing sound. He could hear someone crying, and it entered his mind by surprise.
'Sakura?' he thought questionably. Remembering what Fujitaka had told him, he went outside and saw little Sakura sitting near a rock, with her head pressed down into her knees. Yue walked towards her, with no emotions in his eyes, since he didn't really care and only came to her because Fujitaka had wanted him to look out for her. So, he would obey.
A shadow cast over Sakura and she looked up, absolutely stunned. "Why are you crying?" Yue said carelessly.
"I am not crying. I am a big girl and big girls don't cry," Sakura managed to muster through sobs.
"But you are," Yue confirmed. He propped himself next to her, only to have his muscles convulse again. He sighed heavily as he tried to sit in a more comfortable position. "Tears don't solve anything but only make matters worse. I know that for a fact. So tell me, what's wrong?"
"Touya crushed the flower crown I was making out of cherry blossoms," Sakura hiccupped.
"That is nothing to cry about," he said coolly. He wanted to roll his eyes but stopped as Sakura continued to sob out her words.
"I made it especially for you because if you're going to be my older brother, you need a crown."
He was taken back by her words and a strange feeling settled within his chest. She wiped away her hot tears as she took out the broken petals from behind the rock and placed it in his hands. Then she got up and dusted the dirt from her dress and walked away. He sighed as he looked down at the soft pink and white blossoms in his palms, feeling something like guilt.
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Again, he walked down the same halls but was going the opposite direction this time. He passed by two servants and heard squeals from behind him. He wanted to explode. 'I can understand why everyone's friendly within this castle wall.' he though sarcastically. That was when he bumped into something, rather someone. He looked down at the frightened boy, the same boy from the picture except he was much older.
"Prince Touya-kun?"
Touya pointed his finger at him, shaking a bit as his eyebrows furrowed together and he scowled. "How do you know my name you freaky-person-you?"
"I've met your father, I've met your sister," Yue whispered sharply. "And they told me plenty about you." Yue glared at the fourteen-year-old boy who stood in a defensive poise. "And also, my name is Yue, not freaky person."
"Oh right then," Touya groaned. "Stop glaring at me like you want to kill me! I didn't do anything to you." Touya backed away uncomfortably, brushing his hood against the wall a bit.
"Not to me, but your sister," Yue said indifferently.
"What are you talking about? Dad says I'm her protector!"
"Were you protecting her when you crushed her flower crown? By doing that, you crushed her spirit."
Touya froze and thought for a moment. His face scrunched. "Okay, I'm sorry!" he hollered, immediately running right off.
Yue turned around and found himself standing outside his bedroom door. He sighed with relief, thirsting for the isolation. He had seen too many people already. He went inside his bedroom and closed the door.
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A/n: I think I could do better, but it's good as it is, I think.