Disclaimer: BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH
… I don't like History. I HATE history… not really… the teacher just forgot to tell us that our test was TOMORROW until today… study… study…. Snore.
Need… caffeine… Starbucks… Mocha… Frap…
Ice Queen
Chapter Twenty-Six
Syaoran's POV
What's taking her so long?
The sudden honking a horn made Syaoran turn and stare at the street. It was Tomoyo.
"Tomoyo-san!" he ran over. "What's going on? Do you know where Sakura is?"
The woman raised her eyebrows and her amethyst pupils looked bemused, "Sakura-chan? No… did she skip school again? Really. I'm… here to see Eriol."
"…oh… he should be inside the teacher's lounge then."
"Thank you… oh! And before I forget. Here. Sakura called earlier telling me that you forgot to bring a lunch," with a wink, Tomoyo skipped into the school building, causing many heads to turn and stare.
Sakura called her? Then… where's Sakura?
About to dash towards home, Syaoran stopped and was reminded of where he should be as the deep, hollow sound of the bell rang throughout the courtyard.
Shoot… Sakura…
Even during class… during the test. Syaoran couldn't shake off the uneasy and… strangely lonely feeling he had because of Sakura's absence.
Stop thinking about it. You're acting so silly. Your stupid nightmares are getting to you, Li Syaoran! Concentrate! You have to pass through high school! Sakura probably just needed an excuse to ditch the test!
But it wasn't working. His hand fidgeted constantly. A trickle of sweat rolled down the back of his neck and his throat gasped for water…
"Li-kun?" It was Eriol and he was walking over, looking at Syaoran, concerned. "Are you all right? It looks like you have a fever… do you need to go to the nurse's office?"
Yes. Yes he needed to leave right now. He needed to see Sakura right now.
"The test…"
Eriol whisked the paper away and motioned to the door, winking at him, "Ah, well you already finished it! I'm sure you did fine. Go on. To the nurse's office you go!"
Syaoran shot Eriol a grateful look before dashing in the direction of the office. He was going to go home… whether the nurse liked it or not.
Thank you, Eriol. I owe you one.
"Nakamura-sensei!" Syaoran ran into the nurses office and spoke very quickly. "My stomach hurts very badly and I need to go home now." After seeing her raised eyebrows he continued, "It's urgent."
"Well… Li-kun…"
"Thank you!" he took off, running out of the room, leaving poor Nakamura-sensei to piece together what had just occurred.
His breathing became rapid… almost desperate as he dashed down the street.
"S-Sakura!" Syaoran swung the door of his home open, and raced inside. Noting that she wasn't in the living room, he went upstairs and knocked on her door. Nothing.
"… Sakura… if you're in there, I'm coming in!" hesitantly, he turned the knob and peeked in, wondering if she had fallen asleep. No one was there.
Frustrated, he turned about and began checking every room in the house, even the garage, but still nothing. "Sakura… where did you go?!"
I'm just overreacting… she probably went to the movies or something. Yah….
He plopped down on the sofa, head in his hands. Yah… maybe the movies…
Auburn hair blew gently in the wind, as Kinomoto Sakura stood there, waiting for her plane. Her emerald eyes seemed distant and a little sad. No one could have guessed she was actually Tomoeda High's fearless Ice Queen.
As people around her began getting in line to board, her grip on her backpack tightened, and she fastened it to her shoulder as she silently looked up to check whether it was her ride or not.
It wasn't.
Slightly bemused at how late the planes were running that day, Sakura checked her watch again and sighed. It was like the world was screaming at her to go back… but she just couldn't. She had a duty to fulfill.
Duty. As that word ran through her mind, her entire body stiffened, and her once soft eyes slowly became hard and impenetrable.
Yes. Now people could tell she was the Ice Queen.
"Chikuso! Where is she?" Syaoran slammed his fist on the kitchen table. He had been waiting for eight hours already. He'd finished the laundry, cleaned the entire house (save Sakura's room. She'd kill him if he touched it), and even cooked dinner. It was twelve already and she still wasn't back.
But… it's no use if I go out to look for her…
Sulking, Syaoran decided to at least take a good look around his Ice Queen's room. His Ice Queen?
He shook his head and slowly opened the door and took a good look around. Careful not to move anything so that she would notice, he walked in and sat on her bed, looking out towards the window.
I remember when I first got here… the entire building was beautiful… but so cold. No emotion whatsoever. It's better now… I guess. Sakura isn't so lonely… I thought the sadness in the air was going to suffocate me… just like it is now. Everywhere else… the living room, kitchen… everywhere… is warmer now… it shows signs of life but…
With a small frown, Syaoran shut his eyes and just sat there.
But… the air in here still feels so very… dark… and alone. Is this how Sakura feels all the time?
After reopening his eyes, he noticed something.
Strange. The window faced… nothing really. It didn't look at other houses… it didn't overlook any gardens either. The only thing that could be seen was a small soba shop… that Syaoran hadn't even known existed.
What was even more interesting is, though the window faced the back of the house, there was no other home there, and the shop was fairly far away.
Suddenly, Syaoran realized that their house was fairly isolated. It was at the end of the street, and there were no other rows of homes behind it… just that soba shop…
A piece of white appeared in the corner of his eyes and Syaoran squinted to see what it was. There… was… a sign… on the window of the old soba shop… While wondering if anyone actually knew where the small restaurant was, he read the small words.
"SAKURA. DON'T FORGET. TODAY IS THE DAY YOU MUST RETURN. DON'T FORGET YOUR DUTY."
Sakura? Duty?
Trying to piece together exactly how the owner of the shop knew Sakura… or if it really was Sakura they were talking about, he leaned back and knocked something to the ground. "Oops… what's this?"
It was a slip of blue paper with some silver writing on it…
"Dear Syaoran,
If you're reading this, then your in my room which you should NOT be. It doesn't matter anymore though… I guess you can be here because I'm not going to use it anymore. No. We are not moving… I'm moving. You should stay here and live your life happily without my interference. I've told you before and I'll tell you again, you can be really popular, have a lot of friends, and live a great life. Don't let me ruin it for you. Thanks for keeping me company for so long, and sorry for being a burden.
Sakura.
PS I already quit my job at the institute so you don't have to worry about that.
PPS I left a bunch of money for you and it's under you pillow.
PPPS … never mind. I talk too much."
He supposed the ending was supposed to make him feel better… to not let him worry… but…
Somehow, the information just wouldn't sink in. He'd only been with her for a little while and already…
… he couldn't imagine life without her.
Turning over in her sleep, Tomoyo groaned and sat up. She couldn't sleep. Something was bothering her… something big.
"Koishii… is something bothering you?" Eriol rubbed his eyes and pulled his wife down in a hug.
Resting her head on his arm, her amethyst eyes tried to find peace, but her body would not let her, "Eriol… what day is today?"
Sensing the seriousness in her voice, the handsome teacher was instantly fully awake, "The twentieth of December… why?"
"… nothing… I just keep getting the feeling that I've forgotten something…"
"Why don't you sleep on it then? You'll remember in the morning."
"I guess you're right…"
The small note slowly slipped from his hand. Syaoran was in disbelief.
He finally processed what the note was saying but… but… it couldn't be… not really… it was insane…
"S-Sakura!!! YOU CAN'T LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Eriol's eyes flew open, "TOMOYO! IT'S DECEMBER TWENTIETH!!!!! SAKURA!"
"Oh. My. Gosh." Tomoyo was shaking. "Is it too late? We have to go now!"
"Goodbye… Syaoran…"
Sakura's cold demeanor dropped for a few moments as she looked out the plane of the window as they were taking off.
She was going… going… gone.
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To be continued…
Yes… Review… Please…
chikuso – a curse word
koishii – lover, honey, sweetheart… something along those lines