Chapter 1,

Card Captor Sakura,

By Angel Stardust

Who Are You?

Beeeeeeeeep! The alarm clock sounded obnoxiously, taunting, forcing the earliness of a Monday morning upon its owner. Sakura Kinomoto reached her hand out and slammed the snooze button. She then promptly fell asleep with her head buried under the pillow.

"SAKURA! WAKE UP!"

Sakura's head shot up from under the pillow and she banged her head on the bedpost. Rubbing her head, she sent a death glare at Kero, her stuffed animal/minion thingy, flew excitedly around her head, his sunset-yellow body a faint blur.

"HURRY UP!" Kero shouted excitedly, hovering in midair as Sakura pulled on her school uniform, the plaid skirt rustling comfortably around her legs. She gave her messy auburn hair a quick brush and then turned to her desk.

"What's the rush?" Sakura asked calmly, stuffing her books and pencils into her backpack. "I usually get up ten minutes later."

Kero gurgled happily, his words inarticulate with happiness. His beady, black eyes were twinkling and his little ears were quivering. After a long pause, Kero's words finally became understandable.

"Today's the teachers birthday…" Kero managed to say, before his words blended into all the small noises he was making. He began flying around madly as Sakura grabbed her hat (which was part of the uniform) and began hauling her backpack out of the room.

"So?" Sakura asked, completely nonplussed. Kero usually didn't care about 'the stupid teacher' or 'dumb school' in general.

"SO, THEY'RE SERVING CAKE AND TAKOUYAKI BEFORE SCHOOL!" Kero boomed, his furry face shining at the very mention of a scrumptious meal.

Sakura rolled her eyes and chuckled, grabbing the excited little animal and shoving him into her bag, warning him to stay quiet. Kero simply gurgled, going gaa-gaa for takouyaki.

Rolling her eyes again, Sakura giggled and slowly opened the door of the kitchen. The sight of her brother, Touya, and her father, Fujitaka, making breakfast happily was too much for Sakura. Her heart threatened to burst at the sight of the happy little scene. It made her feel so happy that her family could get along so well. If only Nadeshiko was still alive…

The rice cooker was steaming the kettle chirping, the eggs in the pan sizzling, and the smell of breakfast was everywhere. Sakura simply stood at the door, her eyes closed, breathing in the sweet smell.

"Well, good morning Sakura, you're up early."

Sakura's eyes snapped open at the sound of her father's cheerful voice and grinned, nodding her head in agreement with her father's statement, until she heard Touya snickered.

"Oh, the kaijuu finally woke up early for once," Touya said, his voice mocking.

Sakura stomped on her brother's foot saying, "It's not funny!"

Fujitaka simply smiled and shock his head knowingly at his children's behavior, both disapproving and amused. He simply continued spooning rice into a bowl as his children bickered loudly.

As the threesome settled down for a delicious breakfast, Sakura wished that her family would stay like this forever.

o o o

"…And I never knew it would taste better than your fathers! I mean…"

Sakura groaned as Kero chattered on and on about the takouyaki and layer cake that had been served in the morning. She admitted the food had been quite delicious, but the way Kero talked about it, it could be something to obsess over.

As the pair walked home from school, Sakura gave a sad sigh. Being a junior in high school was so difficult. She had never thought the homework load would be so heavy, plus the pressure to get good grades. Tomoeda High was an advanced school.

Along with the gigantic amount of homework, Sakura was also in the Cross Country Club. Though it proved to be tiring, Sakura found herself looking forward to the daily practices. She wasn't quite sure what had attracted her to running. Perhaps it was the fact that she was actually good at it…or maybe it was the feeling she got every time she ran.

(flashback)

As the coffin was lowered into the ground, Sakura struggled to restrain the sob that was halfway up her throat. Nadeshiko had always hated it when she cried. The sob came out anyways and Sakura collapsed to the soft grass, sobbing.

As the grass absorbed Sakura's tears, the poor girl felt a pair of gentle hands on her back. Sakura looked up and her eyes met Fujitaka's sad brown ones. His eyes showed immense pain at the loss of his beloved wife, but he gently comforted his daughter.

Unable to bear seeing her father in such pain, Sakura wrenched herself from her father's warm, comforting arms and ran away.

Her thin, seven-year-old legs pushed against the cold concrete. As Sakura ran, she could feel her body rejecting the strain the running was pressing against her body. Sakura ignored it and continued to run.

Suddenly, the pain and exhaustion lifted. Sakura couldn't feel her legs, but she kept running. All she knew was that she wasn't tired anymore, and continued to run. A soft, spring shower pelted raindrops at her, but Sakura didn't feel them. She couldn't see anything. The objects around whizzed right past her. Everything was a blur of green and black. But Sakura didn't care.

The feeling of this running…this exalting feeling…this…freedom. It was one she had never felt before. Her heart raced and for a second, just for a second, Sakura could have sworn she wasn't running anymore. Her body felt completely detached, but for one split second, Sakura could have sworn she had been flying.

(end flashback)

Sakura shook her head as the memories came back to her. The first time she had felt that flying feeling was the day of Nadeshiko's funeral. It had been such a good feeling though. It had pushed away all of Sakura's seven-year-old pain. No wonder running had been Sakura's sport. It just…just…took all the pain away.

For an hour, just an hour, Sakura didn't have to think about anything. It was that time of day, during Cross Country, that she felt happiest because she didn't need to think about the sadness that found her when she was alone, which was almost always. Maybe…

The thought wasn't new. Sakura had always known she was special. Maybe that could explain why all her fellow high school students wouldn't be her friends…was she that different? What was wrong with her?

Sakura heaved a sigh and turned her eyes to look at the road ahead of her. Life was just difficult. There was no other way of explaining it…

Suddenly, Sakura's jade-green eyes widened as she spotted something lying beside the sidewalk several hundred meters away. Curiosity burning in her chest, Sakura screamed at Kero to hurry up and ran towards the object.

As soon as she was about 100 meters close to the object, Sakura was horrified to see that it was a body lying there.

The body belonged to a boy around her age. He was lying motionless in the grass, bleeding from the deep gashed imprinted in his body. His chocolate-brown covering his face was soaked with blood, and Sakura could see how white his face was underneath the mass of messy hair. Sakura's forehead wrinkled as she realized he couldn't have done this to himself…could he?

Supporting the boy's head in her lap, Sakura pulled off her backpack and searched inside it for her cell phone. Unable to find it, Sakura yelled at Kero.

"Kero! Stop gaping at him and help me find my cell phone, dammit!" Sakura snapped furiously as he hand encircled around yet another pencil. Kero shifted uncomfortably in his position floating above Sakura's head.

"Sakura, I think we should just leave him he—"

"NOW!"

Kero gave a yelp of surprise and dove into Sakura's backpack, surfacing a few second later with her cell phone. Sakura snatched it from him and punched in the numbers 9-1-1.

Screaming loudly that there was an unconscious and bleeding young man on Cherry Blossom Lane and Crystal Fire Road, Sakura managed to get an ambulance on its way.

After she had thrown her cell phone back into her backpack and zipped it up, Sakura turned her attention back to the boy. She smoothed the messy brown bangs away from the boy's handsome face, which was pale from loss of blood.

Gently, she supported his head on her shoulder. Even though his blood was getting on her school uniform and she didn't even know him, Sakura had a sudden urge to help him. She didn't know why, but she just did. His body was so warm against hers…

"Sakura, the ambulance is here!"

Sakura looked up at Kero, who had been keeping watch. She could already here the sirens, wailing loudly as the white ambulance turned the corner and screeched to a stop right next to where Sakura was waiting.

o o o

Sakura sat patiently by the boy's bedside, waiting for him to wake. She felt so small being surrounded by so much white.

It was seven o'clock pm, but Sakura still hadn't left. She had called her house and left a message for Fujitaka to tell him she wouldn't be home till later. Sakura felt bad, because with Touya gone until Friday, Fujitaka would be all alone…

Her thoughts snapped as the boy stirred. His eyes fluttered open uncertainly. Sakura was shocked to see that his eyes were amber. They were such an intense color. Like an eagle's eyes, looking only upon its prey…

"Y-you…saved me?"

Sakura jumped as the boy spoke. His voice was deep and strong, but at the moment, it was rather shaky. Sakura wasn't sure if she was supposed to take credit for saving him or be humbled by the remark.

"Well…not really…I just…" Sakura began, blushing slightly.

"Thank you…" the boy murmured, his amber eyes closing once more as the sheer exhaustion of speaking overwhelmed him.

Sakura simply gaped at him. He had credited her with saving him! Sakura's light blush deepened to the rich color of a rose. These warm feelings in her chest…

There's a place on Ocean Avenue… Sakura almost screamed as he cell phone's ring tone rendered the silence of the quiet hospital room. A nurse thundered into the room and yelled at Sakura to either turn off her cell phone or leave.

Hastily grabbing her backpack and a limp Kero, Sakura left the boy's room and answered the call.

"Hello?" she asked, a little irritatedly.

"Sakura! I was worried about you! I wasn't sure when you were coming home, where are you?"

Sakura's heart ached as she realized who was calling her. Fujitaka. She had forgotten all about her poor father, all alone on a Monday night.

"Daddy…I'm so sorry, I'm coming home right now."

As Sakura walked out the double doors of the hospital, her eyes alighted upon the magnificent sunset. Tears sprang into her eyes as she watched the last of the blood red sun sink below the horizon. Such beauty in a painful world…

o o o

Sakura crawled underneath the warm covers of her bed. Kero's cheerful mood had returned and he was once again chattering about the takouyaki. He didn't even mention the events of the afternoon…

(flashback)

Sakura used her key to open the door of the house. Fujitaka was there in an instant, his face creased with worry. He immediately enveloped his only daughter in a hug. Sakura could feel the tears in her eyes as she hugged him back. She had worried him so much...

(end flashback)

She had never seen Fujitaka so worried before…but she couldn't have been able to do anything about it. If she had, then what would have happened to the boy? She couldn't have just left him there! The boy…

Sakura sighed as she realized she didn't even know his name. She could have had a friend for once…and the opportunity was gone. She wondered vaguely if she would ever see him again.

The last thing Sakura saw before she fell asleep were those bright, ferocious amber eyes…

o o o

a/n: Hi! Aki-chan here! Hope you enjoyed this first chappy! This is my new story and I was inspired by a dream I had…don't laugh! I know you think its stupid that I could base a story on my dream, but it was such a cute dream! So R & R and enjoy it!