A/n: The final chapter and epilogue are emerged.

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-Chapter Nine-

Great Fulfillment

Misery was brought upon the room, and he could sense it. His whole body cringed with the unyielding pain that slapped him right where it was unexpected, and that was when he set foot by the door. He paused halfway, somewhat inquisitive as he observed the crowd of people clad in black garments. He stepped fully into the room, wondering what had gone on while he was living in Eriol's mansion for a period of time. The strikingly calm guardian saw the tears slip freely from those mournful eyes of the misfortunate. And a sudden pang of sadness washed over him.

Now he knew how much he missed out.

This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't left.

… So unforgiving.

His eyes narrowed and he felt faulty. 'S-Sakura…' he thought, disgusted at himself the more. 'Am I too late?'

He cast his gaze amongst the people; his eyes as harsh as rough stones, and a heart quickly deadened by the sorrowful cries from the people before him. Apart from the mixed emotions, his silver eyes softened as he saw the casket sitting a small distant from him.

Ugh… no…

But that peaceful look lasted for a second, and shortly after, his face twisted up into an unappealing grimace. He couldn't believe it. He would not believe it! To think that she was so young and precious… But why? She was his Sakura, the only happiness of his life, when he had none in the beginning.

Yue broke down silently, his shoulders drooping to complete his dejected posture. His head leaned down, allowing several strands of silver to fall over his shoulder recklessly. It hadn't occurred to him, or to anyone in the room, that he happened to be in his true form. No one seemed to notice anything, mind boggled in their own lost to have noticed the angel standing there, and open to their eyes.

And if he knew, he would not care.

Yue's emotionless eyes wandered away from the casket as he sank deeper into his brooding. His fingers dug into his palms, drawing blood, but unaffected with pain. The only pain he had was the one that settled within his heart, jarring his soul.

Because he lost his other half… His Sakura…

"We are saddened to say that one of our highly honored sovereigns had fallen ill to a disease that has been going around in this village," said the raspy voice of the preacher. "Our dearly loved royalty passed away today, and we are here to pray for the heaven gates to open. And here, we'll say goodbye to our beloved King Fujitaka-sama. Our hearts will forever commemorate his short departure."

Yue's eyes widened, his immense lavender orbs clearly strewn with lament. 'Fujitaka-sama,' he thought. A tear escaped from the corner of his eyes as the funeral mass continued. However, that did not matter at this point. Sakura was nowhere to be found within the grieving room, and so, he sauntered away, wanting to find the daughter of the deceased. She must be in such horrendous pain from the lost of her father, and therefore, he would comfort her.

He ran outside into the corridors, eyes skimming his setting. A girl had turned from a corner and came down his path. A breath caught in his throat as he recognized the girl. Those familiar amethyst eyes that used to scare and annoy him back when he first came to live with the Kinomotos. Now that he had found her, he could ask her of Sakura's whereabouts.

"T-Tomoyo! Tomoyo Daidouji!" he called out gruffly.

The girl paused in her track, a bit shaken by the voice coming from the peculiar looking man. "W-Who are you?" she asked, taking one step back nervously.

Yue took a step closer, and she continued to take a step back. "Stop it Daidouji-san. Do you not recognize me?"

Her lips wavered in fear. "Stay back! How dare you show up to our King's funeral," she shot at him, pointing a threatening finger in his direction. "Pay your respect. If you don't, I suggest you leave before I call out the guards!"

Yue gave her a forlorn expression. 'If she can't remember me, then no can…' His eyes filled up with unfailing tears. "I…" he started out flatly.

"Just tell me who are you?" she pressed, confusing Yue from the little sweet girl he had once known as Tomoyo-chan.

"I'm Yue," he finally responded.

She gasped and nearly knocked the air from her lungs as she crashed her back to the wall roughly as Yue closed in on her. "Y-You can't be. Y-You don't look the least bit like him."

"But I am," he murmured.

"You have wings. Yue-kun does not have wings, or any humans that I know!" she shouted deliriously.

"Well… uh…" Yue froze and began to take a look at himself, now embarrassed as he realized he was mindlessly standing in his true form, scaring the daylights out of Tomoyo. He flushed a pink pigment, and in a split second, he changed back into his false form, to clarify more on Tomoyo's part. The girl felt weak in the knees, and she clasped her head to contain herself from growing faint and insane.

"You are Yue. But you're also an angel… the one Sakura's always talking about…"

"I'm sorry to have frightened you earlier, but I wanted to ask you about Sakura's whereabouts. I want to find her because I have something important to tell her. That's all I came here for."

"Oh Sakura…" Tomoyo gasped. "She might still be outside up in the roof's balcony."

Yue's heart swelled, knowing that Sakura was somewhere in the castle, and not the one sitting lifelessly in the casket. "Hai," he responded contentedly, and then took off to the top story of the castle.

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Yue practically flew up the stairs that several people nearby questioned if a white light had just zoomed by or not. He entered through a dark hallway and opened the doors to the balcony of the rooftop. As he opened the doors, soft snowflakes fell through. It was definitely cold outside; the coldness being bitter to his skin.

Snow was piling up, making the door difficult to open from the inside. However, Yue was able to thrust the door open with ease. Even if he was now a mortal man, he still had his powers intact, but with a shorter life-span instead. Moments before he stepped into the snow, he heard an ear deafening screech breaking through the airy sky and entering into his eardrums in a type of disturbance. He suddenly grew more alert than before and came bustling through the doors and feet flat onto the balcony.

"Sa-kura…" he called out frantically.

He swirled frequently in many directions, scanning the snowfield for any sign of his Sakura. His eyes wearily closed, and when he opened them, they were misty. His nose had reddened with the frigid cold, and it contrasted terribly with his normal skin tone. And as he was screaming out Sakura's name at the climax of the moment, he saw a faint outline of a figure in his panorama view tripping over the icy ridge.

Yue scampered quickly down the snow-white path and leaped off his feet. His wings opened up briskly, pushing back air as they spread, and he twinge from the numbing feeling circling the nerves of his wings. Regardless of that, he jolted together with gravity, punctuating through the scattering snow, and catching a frail being within his clutches just in time, breaking her fall.

Slowly yet carefully, he made a move to float upwards, gaping at the rousing adolescent in his arms. And even in her own desolation, she was as divine as anything else in the world; at least Yue saw it that way. Now that she was in his arms, he could never let go, not even if they were already planted safely on the balcony. She was too precious to ever let go. And Yue still remembered what he had promised Fujitaka, years before the old King died.

And that was to protect Sakura… And he would, no doubt, put his life on the line for her sake. It was always for her. He transformed back into his false form, careful not to frightened Sakura as he had to Tomoyo. "Saku-chan," he whispered lovingly, his half-lidded gaze watching her stir, inwardly amused.

She smiled faintly, eyes barely open, but in some way, she recognized that affectionate voice almost immediately. "Yue-kun," she whispered back, equally as loving. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

He grinned, pulling her tighter into his hold so that her body heat warmed him. "About a year…" he replied as calmly as he could, resisting his own excitement at seeing her again.

The snow continued to fall, as it did this morning. The snow was reaching above their ankles now, but they paid no heed, preoccupied with each other at the moment. Yue placed an index finger below her chin and gently lifted up.

Her shimmering green orbs locked with his icy ones. "Yue… you have returned," she stated the obvious, still dazed at seeing him, his seemly ghost-like form present in front of her. She leaned into his chest, taking pleasures in touching the smooth fabric adorning his body, and his breath softly rolling against her cheek.

Yue's jaw clenched, even with her playful touches. A weird sense of déjà vu was hitting him in the face by surprise. He felt a bad outcome divulging from their togetherness, and strangely, he just stood there gaping, unable to decide on how to handle the situation. He could feel Sakura trembling in his arms, yet, he did not know what to do.

All that swam in his mind was the acceptance he would never receive from Sakura. And he had to do the right thing, knowing that she was with Syaoran and all, since that was what he had foreshadowed in his dreams.

"Yue?" Sakura mouthed softly, sensing his rising trouble. "What's wrong?"

Yue's eyebrows furrowed as he broke their embrace abruptly and stood a couple of feet from her. "You," he answered coldly, turning his head to avoid her eyes, hiding his pain along with it, and missing the pain she had plastered on her face as well.

"You came back here to tell me that?" Sakura cried out fiercely, collapsing to her knees in a desperate attempt for his understanding.

The angel shifted uncomfortably on his feet, and then reverted into his true form to begin his flight. There was no need to tell her anything, now that he knew his dream revealed the truth… And the truth was… He could never be with Sakura.

He could hear a sudden gasp from behind him as he transformed, but paid no heed as he continued toward the ledge of the balcony, so that he could take off and return to Hiiragizawa's mansion. He had been a fool to ever think that he belonged here, that he belonged with Sakura, when in fact, he had no home here.

'Though I've always known… that you are the stone statue, you are still Yue to me,' Sakura thought, her glistening tears streaming down her glowering features. "Please Yue," she sobbed, clasping her hands and pushing herself into the snow. "I love you," she squeaked, but it gone with the wind, unheard.

The guardian narrowed his eyes, a silent scream erupting from inside his lonely heart, but he refrained from tearing up. 'Why am I so ignorant? How could I easily manipulate… myself?' His heart raced like a time bomb, but he didn't miss a beat. 'I won't make the same mistake again… I won't lose this chance.'

The guardian spun around all too quickly, the regret fluttering in his pools of silver-blue. He slowly floated towards her, gazing at her dramatic eyes that glared feebly back at him. His arms opened up to her as he drew closer. He picked her up off the ground, holding her around the waist with one hand, as the other folded into her auburn tress.

His head tilted at an angle and then he kissed her, letting his love flow into her by that one kiss. Her form grew rigid with astonishment as his lips pressed against hers, shyly at first. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his torso, and clutching the wrinkled cloth to keep her stable.

'Yue…' she thought tenderly, wrapped up into the immensity of all his pent up emotions that she nearly dropped if it wasn't for Yue holding her so securely, and for the very first time, she understood the angel before her. '… I had not realized how lonely you were until I finally understood you. And to make up for everything horrific that has happened to you, I'll be with you forever, as your companion…'

After all, it was all he ever wanted.

In this sentimental moment, nothing could bring the two down; not even winter's chills. Now that they had each other, the cold could do nothing but tickle their skin and cool off their heated kiss. Their passionate kiss was eventually broken, and the evident tears left over on Sakura's face were tears of happiness.

"Yue…" she said breathlessly, her mouth hanging open, still affected by the fervent kiss.

The angel blushed, looking away for a short while. "Sakura, I have to tell you this... I've waited long enough, and I think you should listen now… My heart flutters when I look at you. I feel light on my feet when I'm around you…" he trailed off, his blush deepening, diverging to his pale skin and white hair.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Eh?"

Yue stared at her hard, the intensity of his glimmering eyes causing her to blush. "I love you Sakura," he said amorously. "I know you're with Syaoran, but even as you are, I still do."

Baffled by his statement, the girl threw her arms around his neck in an act of plea, and cried her heart out. "I'm not with Syaoran. It was a stupid childish crush I had for him. It was you that I had loved this whole time. I've been waiting forever for your return. Don't doubt anything, Yue; I'm with you now because I love you. I've just been a little slow coming to realize that."

Yue took a quick intake of breath and nuzzled his chin over her soft golden hair. "I'll never doubt anything again because everything doesn't have to have a truth. Nothing is explainable… like how we first met."

Sakura smiled. "I think we should go inside now." She sighed and pressed her face into the crook of his neck, placing a fleeting kiss on his collarbone. Unwillingly, he released her and took her by the hand, leading her back into the castle. He put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. They entered the castle and made their way back downstairs into the warmth of the castle.

As they stroll on, Sakura felt an eerie sensation come about. She looked up at Yue, her pupils darting in confusion. "Why is it so quiet, Yue-kun?" Shouldn't there be celebration for New Year's Eve?"

'She does not know…' and having that bit of knowledge he frowned. "Come this way Sakura."

Sakura scoffed and jerked away from him, running down the halls to see what was going on; to why those people dressed in black were in her castle. Yue merely looked away, his hands digging into his pockets in dismay, with the soft heart not to come to mind and stop her. She had to know sooner or later, but he didn't want to be the one to tell her. 'Oh Sakura…'

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Sakura skidded to a halt as she spotted Syaoran and Meiling leaving the room, hand in hand no less. She narrowed her eyes as she saw them go about her castle… without her permission.

'What occasion is this for them to be here?' Sakura thought dryly. "Hey, what are you guys doing here? Uninvited if I do say myself?"

Syaoran twitched on impulse when he met Sakura's heavy, deadly glare. He came in front of Meiling, covering his fiancé from Sakura's menacing look of repulsion. He tried vainly to smile in spite of her, but failed utterly. His heart was beating unbelievably fast… because he still loved her, though would never admit it now that he was engaged.

"Sakura… Princess Sakura…" Syaoran said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I… ugh… I'm so sorry to hear about your father."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow and glared at him furiously. "My father… what of?" she barked, irrational to both of them.

An exasperated sigh escaped Syaoran's throat as he turned away, eyes directed at one random object that seemed to catch his interest for the brief extremity. Meiling growled, apparently disappointed. "How could you not know that your own father has died?" she almost shouted to the dense girl.

Sakura flinched upon Meiling's inconsiderate words, eyes bulging slightly in disbelief. "No…" she began, but she lost the heart to speak further as she thought of her own selfishness. 'I've been too busy in my own, pitiless moping that I've been absence to what really went on…' Her hands clutched the doorway tightly that her nails whitened, and she looked inside the room to see if it was all true. Her eyes stung with tears and she turned away swiftly. "Father… It can't be…" she sobbed. "NOOO!"

With that already said she turned violently on her heel and sped off. Yue came around just in time and grasped her wrist, halting her in any more motion. He bit his lips, feeling as if it was his fault for her pain. He couldn't believe how helpless he felt for not being able to help her. All he could do was hold her as Syaoran and Meiling left without another word.

"Sakura…" he throatily whispered.

"No, Yue… don't say that crying doesn't solve anything because my father's dead… and he could never be brought back to life."

Yue's frown deepened, forming creases on his face. "Then cry your heart out because I'm here."

She started to wail loudly, as if it was the end of the world. She viciously seized his collar for this mad need to rip something to shreds in repentant of her own pain. Yue was willing to let her tear up his whole outfit, the more to make her feel better. In his current situation, all he did was held her close to his chest, never daring to free her unless she calmed down. She kept on bawling and fisting her hands against his chest. He said no words, but his expression told all.

"How could I have not known…? Why didn't Tomoyo say anything about it?" she stammered, loathing herself to the point of self punishment.

"Don't blame it on anyone, not even yourself."

She started to scream out to her heart content, constantly whispering her father's name. Yue slid his back against the wall, taking Sakura slowly to the ground with him. Sakura lay inside his arms like a small child. There was no one around but the two of them. It would be best if it stayed like that for now. Yue brushed his fingers through the knotted strands of Sakura's hair. She rested against his stomach for a while as daylight was enveloped with the coming night.

Yue mused in his thoughts, unaware of the girl fast asleep between his legs as he cradled and rocked her to tranquility. The sweet scent of cherry blossom mixed with salty tears was bittersweet to his senses. It may be several years until Sakura recovered, but it would be a lifetime that Yue and Sakura would be together. And in the meantime, he would help her recover.

Midnight was soon surfacing in a matter of seconds. And the countdown began… 10…

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

And almost halfway through the countdown, he kissed her gently across the brow, nuzzling his nose into her matted hair, wet with her tears. He began whispering soothing words into her ears.

3.

And that one sentence that Sakura caught was… "Someday….when all this commotion simmers down, we will both share an everlasting happiness together, okay Sakura?" She moaned and offered a ghost of a smile.

1…

Happy New Year!

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X.Five years later..ox

A child with silver green eyes and light brown hair pointed curiously at an old picture hanging on the bedroom wall that she was positively sure had once belonged to a little girl until left abandoned. "Hoe…" the child crooned, wary of the art. "Aunt Tomoyo-san, do you see that picture right there?" she said in a squeaky tone.

Tomoyo laughed, and picked up the child, twirling her around in her arms. "Yes, and you'll be surprised who drew it that picture!"

"Then surprise me!" the child responded enthusiastically.

Tomoyo chuckled once again. "This exceptionally masterpiece was drawn by your very own mother."

"Hoe… no way!" the child retorted, studying the artwork as if it was something worth looking at. "Who's that drawing of, Aunt Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo smirked, tapping the tip of the child's nose teasingly. "Well… none other than your father!"

The little girl guffawed. "Daddy?" the child repeated, surprised no less.

"Yes. Now wasn't your mother such a wonderful artist?"

The little girl nodded feverishly, offering a smile when Tomoyo giggled at her childish gestures. Young Suki broke from Tomoyo's arms and shrilled suddenly. "Visitors, Aunt Tomoyo!"

Startled, Tomoyo turned around and spotted an elegantly clothed man standing by the doorway with a ravishing woman by his side. Tomoyo smiled courteously at their guests. "Welcome to the Kinomoto Castle. My name's Daidouji Tomoyo and this here rascal is my niece, Suki Reed. Are you guys looking for the King?"

The man stepped further into the room, his rimless frames accenting his defined face of great knowledge. He smiled at the young woman and took her hand. "Hiiragizawa Eriol. And that's Nakuru standing over there."

"Nice to meet you all," Tomoyo said; blushing as the man kissed her hand, his mysterious eyes acknowledging her with a wink.

"The pleasure's all mine," he said and then straightened himself to collect information. "Well… Nakuru and I came here looking for Yue, just to check up on how he's handling life."

The young woman frowned slightly. "Oh… Yue has gone on a week long vacation with his wife," she told him, an apologetic look to her sweet complexion.

"Then I guess there's no need to hang around. But I can't help but ask… Didn't Yue hate going out in public?" Eriol asked, leaning a hand against the wall as he spoke.

The woman before him giggled. "'Used to' is the key word; nonetheless, please stay. We can have tea together."

Eriol sighed, turning to Nakuru for her own words in the arrangement. With a plain look, she nodded, not saying anything important in particular. "I guess there wouldn't be any harm staying," she whispered, even if it drove a hole in her heart to stare at Yue's daughter.

"Then we will stay," Eriol finally answered, in spite of Nakuru. With everything said, they began to follow the woman with the small child out the door and into the backyard where tea was already set.

Nakuru sighed, deep in her own thoughts to see where she was going until she actually bumped into someone. She heard a masculine 'hmpf' and quickly looked up to see who it was. She gasped to see it was his royal highness himself, and immediately averted her eyes in respect.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry King Touya-sama," she instinctively cried. There were no response, and puzzled by that, she looked up, gasping at once. He was smiling at her, those rich brown eyes having somewhat interest in her. A hand was lifted towards her and she grabbed it without question.

She smiled back, a blush emerging from each cheek.

Happiness and joy can be achieved…

Even if it takes a long time, it can be achieved.

X.The End..ox

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A/n: Yay for SxY. I'm not sure if I'm ever writing one again. Maybe I will. Review!