The Fading Horizon

By Clever Insanity

Disclaimer: Do I really have to put a stinking disclaimer on every single chapter? O.o Well, whatever. Fine. I will. I don't own CCS. I don't own that stupid movie ("Till There Was You") either. Okay, so it's not a stupid movie. I was squealing so much during said movie…okay…enough ranting, yes?

A/N: The dividers that you can normally do while editing the story won't work on my computer for some odd reason. If by chance I can get it to work, I'll replace all the (---) lines. So until then, scene changes are marked by (------) these. Just making it clear…

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Chapter Two: Fate's Twisted Sense of Humor

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Why the hell can't I do ANYTHING right?

Kinomoto Sakura thrashed around in the bathroom stall she was in, emerald eyes ablaze with pent in anger and frustration. Why was she such a loser? What did she do to make the heavens unhappy with her? Everything she had ever done was for the sake of others and now, she was beginning to wish she could be a normal, selfish, twenty-five year old. She wanted to be busy with life after college, worrying about office outfits, and…actually be excited for the bright future that lay in store for her. Did that really make her a bad person?

Unfortunately fate had a wicked sense of humor and sent Sakura towards another way of life. At the age of sixteen, when she was finally old enough to get a job, Sakura had dropped out of high school to help her parents in supporting the family. At the time, the Kinomoto family didn't even have a cardboard box to their name.

Now, nine long years later, the family was able to buy food and pay the rent without having to be behind on the rental payments. Okay, so things were actually better than that, but Sakura was in a bit of a mood at the moment. In reality, they finally managed to live in a decent house not too far from the train station. Yes, one had to walk a fair amount of blocks to get there…but at least it wasn't like she was walking out of somebody's roach infested basement at five o'clock in the morning so she can make the seven o'clock train into downtown Tokyo. Not that she ever had to, of course.

But the scarcity of living arrangements, food, and basic necessities of life were not the things that were bothering Sakura at the moment.

It was her boss.

Fine, so she wasn't the smartest girl to ring up totals. So she wasn't the most graceful waitress and perhaps she wasn't the most skilled of cooks. She was clumsy and forgetful, but did they really have to hold it against her?

"Don't be such a child," Wantanabe Ryuu, the restaurant's owner, had scolded her. "Come back to Moonlit Lily when you can actually make yourself useful."

Sakura almost threw the tray of food that she was bringing to table twenty-four (or was it twenty-six?) at Wantanabe-san. Instead she simply bowed and delivered the food, albeit having to ask around for a couple minutes who had ordered what. As she had ripped off her white apron, Sakura was informed that she'd receive her last paycheck in the mail. Splendid.

Sakura buried her head in her hands; tear drops slipping from her pools of emerald. How was she going to tell her parents that she was fired…again? As much as she held her parents mostly responsible for the debt they were in, she still loved them very much. She couldn't feel ill will towards them no matter how hard she tried. Sakura worked to become an asset to the family, not a burden. But it seemed like every time she tried to work on her own two feet, she'd be pushed into a corner where she only stumbled down again.

"Sakura-chan? Hey, Sakura-chan, are you in here?" came a pleasant voice from behind the stall. Sakura didn't have to think twice to know who it was.

"H-hai, Tomoyo-chan. I was…ano…I just didn't feel well so…"

"Eh? Well, I do hope you feel better. Should I call in and tell them your sick? I'm sure they'll understand if that's why you're so late…"

"Huh…oh. Iie, Tomoyo-chan. Arigatou, but you don't have to worry about Moonlit Lily. I'm sure they'll find someone to cover for me," Sakura frowned. "Permanently," she added in a whisper.

Whether Tomoyo had heard Sakura's hint towards being fired, she showed no sign of acknowledgement. "No, no, no. I was talking about your shoot in the commercial for Heavenly Ice Cream! I hear it's for a new flavor…or something…"

The bathroom stall door flew open in a millisecond and Tomoyo was smart enough to know to move away before Sakura had a chance to whack her unconscious.

"NANI? That's today!" Sakura cried in surprise.

Tomoyo simply grinned. "I see your doing better now."

"TOMOYO! This isn't funny! And you're telling me I'm late…oh Kami-sama that's TWO jobs!" Sakura's hand flew to her head as she imagined the cut downs and started calculating frantically in her head. Well she didn't need any new clothes, she would have to remind Touya more often not to leave the lights on in the rooms he had already left, and…and…

"Hey! Hey! Anyone in there?" Tomoyo asked, frantically waving her hands in front of Sakura's face. Sakura was shaken out of her daze and slowly Tomoyo's flawless and smiling face came into view. A simple lavender headband pulled her long, dark tresses back making her amethyst eyes shine even brighter, twinkling with amusement.

Sakura looked away only for her eyes to come across their reflection in the restroom mirror. Tomoyo was dressed up in a beautiful black businesswoman's ensemble complete with pinstriped knee length skirt, a crisp blazer, and adorable, shining black pumps. Sakura didn't even want to see herself after gazing at Tomoyo's reflection. She knew what she had thrown on since she had woken up late yet again: her brother's hand-me-down, navy blue tee shirt, a pair of jeans that was so old (but unbelievably comfortable) that the fashionable holes that one had to pay for nowadays simply formed on them. Her light auburn hair was pulled back into a short ponytail and her feet were covered by slightly warn trainers.

Noticing Sakura's terrified gaze at the mirror, Tomoyo giggled softly before she tugged on Sakura's hand. "Well, you can't go there in those clothes can you?" Tomoyo said, leading her friend out of the bathroom. "Come on, we'll go over to my shop and then I'll give you some clothes. While you change, I'll have you go and call the company up. It's not too late; I'm sure I can pull some strings."

Sakura gasped. "Oh, but Tomoyo-chan! I can't do that. It's too much trouble and the clothes - "

"Look adorable on you. And don't worry about it, you can just pay me later!" Tomoyo interjected, eyes sparkling with delight as she complied a presentable outfit that complemented her best friend's figure.

Sakura followed uneasily, wringing her hands. "Demo…"

Tomoyo just simply turned around and winked before shoving Sakura into a changing room.

I should've known, Sakura though while fingering the cloth on the hanger, that Tomoyo would never accept payment for her 'kind acts of friendship'. I already tried…but doesn't she know it makes me uncomfortable?

Sakura glanced at the tags on each article of clothing, groaning at the price of each Daidouji Design. It must be wonderful to have one's mother promote what you like to do best. Daidouji Sonomi was the proud owner of Daidouji Toys and promptly opened a shop for her daughter to test how the public received Tomoyo's designs. Seeing the number of customers on a Tuesday afternoon alone was sure evidence that it was going well.

Sakura emerged out of the changing room shyly, her hands glued together behind her back. Tomoyo grinned and hastily pulled her towards the door. "Now, I'll accompany you to the shoot. It's very exciting to get to help, you know! I mean, Sakura, you're so kawaii! I don't understand why you don't do more of these. You'll get more money than just doing all those petty jobs that you do."

Neither confirming nor denying Tomoyo's remarks, Sakura simply remained silent while keeping her gaze on the white skirt that fell in ragged strips to her knees. Despite the uneven ends, there was still this presence of grace and poise that could only be pulled off by a Daidouji Design. Her top was an elegant, light pink, off the shoulder blouse that felt like silk against her skin. The finishing touches were the pair of white, simple, slip on sandals and pink ribbons in her hair.

Only one thing was running through Sakura's mind: why the heck was she so dressed up for an ice cream commercial?

Entering the building with Tomoyo, Sakura rushed over to the director's side and bowed repeatedly in remorse for being late. Tsukari-san simply waved it off and requested that it never happen again. Sakura glanced at Tomoyo to which she simply shrugged in return. Mou…another jerk of a boss…

Sakura, script in hand, went over her lines before her five-minute break was over. "Welcome to Heavenly Ice Cream, where your every need is simple indeed." Sakura paused for a moment before she asked herself, "What kind of line is that?" Hearing the familiar giggling from behind her, Sakura turned around to find Tomoyo leaning against the back wall. So, since she felt like saying 'to heck with it all', Sakura began to point out some lines that were particularly odd.

"Hah, listen to this: we have a flavor for your every need. Yeah, and what's that supposed to mean?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "Ito…ano…maybe it means for every craving. Like if you crave…watermelon, then there's a watermelon flavor!"

Sakura looked skeptical, "And if I wanted fish…or pizza?"

Laughter filled the air but the two women decided to leave the lines alone. Sakura had hurried off to her spot once it was announced that everyone was to begin working again. A man dressed in all black met her at her mark giving her simple directions, pointing out how the lights and how the camera would move around her, and finally, giving her a strawberry ice cream cone. Tsukari-san simply had to say the word and the set was brought to life.

Sakura went on to say her lines no matter how corny or simply idiotic it made her look. She then went ahead and smiled for the camera where she assumed the jingle would come into the commercial the loudest. When Tsukari-san nodded in approval and called for a "cut", Sakura let out a sigh of relief and allowed herself to lean against the counter.

Taking in the appearance of the set, she marveled at how nicely they put up a convincing old ice cream parlor. Actually, it was just about a quarter of an ice cream parlor but cute and colorful nonetheless. The next take was to include Sakura licking the ice cream cone and proclaiming how wonderful it tasted. She eyed the cone for a minute, as if sizing it up. So it didn't look too bad and it was a wonder why they didn't use a fake. Well, it did have that soft served look that made Sakura's mouth water.

"Alright everyone, time for take two!"

Sakura found herself standing up straighter as the lines just flowed into her mind. She was confident it'd come out just as smoothly from her mouth. Taking a lick, her eyes brightened at the unique taste. It looked like Strawberry, but maybe it was raspberry or simply just a berry mix. Whatever it was, that ice cream was terrific.

"Sugoi!" She exclaimed. "It's delicious!"

Even after that particular take was completed, she continued to devour the ice cream not noticing the stares she was getting from the others. Tomoyo simply coughed into her hand, having looked at Sakura's script and information closely. Finally, somebody spoke up: Tsukari-san.

"I wouldn't eat too much of that if I were you…" he muttered, getting up from his chair and searching around for the nearest snack bar.

Sakura tilted her head. What was the point? They'll have to give her a new ice cream cone for the future takes and it would be a waste to just throw this one away. "Besides," she added. "Isn't this your new line of low-fat ice cream? It can't hurt any then, ne?"

Inaudible sound was escaping from Tsukari-san's voice and as it slowly grew louder she realized it was laughter. Confused and, frankly, a little bit offended, Sakura took a step forward as if it were condescending in the slightest.

"Kinomoto-san, that isn't the low-fat ice cream line," he uttered when his laughter subsided. "It's laxative ice cream. Didn't you hear the jingle?"

As if a greater force was teasing her, the jingle came on loud and clear.

"You take a scoop and then you poop…"

And that was all Sakura need to hear before her face promptly turned a lively color of green.

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Dearest Shi-chan,

How are you, my baby? Okaa-san misses you very much! You are being a good girl, ne?

I'm very sorry I can't be with you, Shiori-chan. But you know Okaa-san is working very hard right now, I hope to bring peace to the entire world. Isn't that lovely? I really hope you can forgive me for not being able to attend your birthday party. My kawaii little baby is going to be six years old! I'm so proud…

How is school coming along? I hope you're having a good time. No one's bothering my baby, yeah? Oh, of course not! My Shi-chan is so kawaii and smart. I'm sure you have a lot of friends.

So be good for Okaa-san, ne, Shi-chan? Don't give your Otou-san a hard time. Remember to eat your vegetables and brush before you go to bed.

I miss you! I love you,

Okaa-san

Shiori gazed fondly at her mother's handwriting, eyes glazing over with love and pride. Setting aside the letter, letting it get lost in the sea of cushions and comforters, she pulled the picture out of the envelope slowly. Wasn't she the luckiest girl in the world to have an Okaa-san so beautiful and kind?

The morning light seeped through her carnation yellow curtains, illuminating the whole cheerful room filled with loads of stuffed animals, toys, and pictures that decorated her walls' shelves. Yet still the girl's eyes were glued to the woman in the picture, her smile seemingly reaching her ears. The woman's auburn hair looked silky and soft while her emerald green eyes glittered with warmth. Shiori felt that was her Okaa-san's smile reserved only for her. It made her feel special and wanted.

It wasn't like she wasn't wanted at home. Oh no, she felt loved by her entire family that stayed close by and her Otou-san was always kind and gentle. Shiori loved them all so very much. Yet, in the dark of night when there seems to be a monster in the closet or under her bed, Shiori always called for her Okaa-san. She prayed every night for her to come home. Shiori was sure that she had wished on every star in the sky that she could see her Okaa-san. But it seems that Fate didn't want that to happen yet so all the little girl could do was be on her best behavior and wait.

Though sometimes in her waiting, she got quite lonely…

"Shiori-chan! It's time to wake up, get up, and dance in the morning sunshine!" Feimei cried, running into her niece's room.

A smile filtered onto Shiori's face and she carefully slid the picture back into her envelope. "Ohayo, Oba-san!" she greeted, bowing her head. Lifting the comforters that had her covered from her waist down, Shiori pulled her legs to fold underneath her covered by her white nightgown.

"Are you ready for another exciting day at school?" Feimei asked, pulling out the crimson and navy blue uniform from the closet.

At the mention of school, Shiori frowned deeply. "Why am I going again? I already went the last two days," she asked, now off her bed and standing in front of her dresser.

"Eh? You don't like school, Shiori-chan?" Feimei asked, turning around with a surprised expression on her face. "But you always come home so happy…"

The little girl shook her head in response, turning away from her mirror to stand in front of her Oba-san awkwardly. "It's not that, demo…"

Feimei tilted her head. "School is where you learn new things and become smarter! Plus, it's a lot of fun to learn with a lot of friends! I'm sure it was a little hard in the beginning, Shiori-chan, but you're making a lot of friends now, ne?"

Shiori glanced up, her eyes wide before returning her gaze back to her shuffling feet. "Hai! Of course - "

"But you still don't want to go?" Feimei asked, crouching down to stand at Shiori's level. "You're a lucky girl, you know that Shiori-chan? All of your oba-sans were home schooled. I had always wanted to go to school with the other little girls when I was your age. Are you sure you don't want to go?"

"Ah…I'll go, Oba-san! I want to go!" Shiori said, taking hold of her uniform that was in Feimei's hands. "I'll go change now, okay?"

"Demo…"

"It's okay! Oh, will you help me and put my hair into braids again, please?" Shiori asked while Feimei helped her pull the shirt over her head.

Feimei simply smiled. "Oh…sure."

Racing down the long staircase, Shiori rushed into the kitchen to find her Obaa-san and her oba-sans sitting at the long dining table. Shiori immediately bowed and uttered a quick, "Ohayo gozaimasu!"

Yelan nodded in response and called for to eat breakfast for it was being served as she spoke. One of the maids pulled out a chair for Shiori to climb into and prepared her silverware. Just as the eggs were about to be served, Syaoran came into the kitchen, one hand carrying a coffee cup and the other fixing his tie.

"I'm late," he muttered irritably under his breath before offering the usual, "Ohayo minna-san."

"Ohayo Otou-san!" Shiori greeted happily. "You'll stay for breakfast right?"

"Gomen ne, Shiori-chan, but I've got to get to work already. I'll see you when I get home, okay?" Syaoran leaned over and kissed the top of her head before waving a final good bye and grabbing his suitcase.

Shiori pouted as the front door slammed shut.

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Jumping out of the car that dropped her off, Shiori headed towards her school building after waving as Wei drove away. Tightening her grip on her school bag, Shiori tried her best to smile at the sensei that had come to the front of the building to bring her to class.

"Shiori-chan! So nice for you to come again, let's bring you to your class, ne?"

Shiori nodded and followed Namiki-sensei to her classroom and said 'arigatou' before slowly walking in. The launch of whispers hit the little girl like a tidal wave. She curled her hands into fists, remembering that she had promised her Okaa-san that she'd be a good girl. She also promised Otou-san that she wouldn't get into any more fights.

"Oh, Shiori-chan! Come in! Come in! We're coloring right now, so go and chose a picture you want to color and go sit at a table. Take out your crayons and have fun!" Wotaru-sensei said as she led Shiori over to a table. The others already sitting there wrinkled their nose but smiled nonetheless. Once the sensei was gone, a snicker hit the air followed by more whispers.

Shiori tried to ignore it, reaching into her bag and taking out her pack of crayons. She clenched her mouth shut and kept her eyes on her picture. Then she felt a nudge.

"Hey! What are you doing back here? You're awful. Even my Okaa-san says so. You have no Okaa-san! I bet you drove her way because you're so horrible."

"I…I do have an Okaa-san. I do. I didn't drive her away. She's on a mission right now so…" Shiori responded softly, eyes closing momentarily before flickering open again.

"Yeah! A mission to get away from you! Look, you don't even have any friends!" the girl replied, flipping her curly dark hair over her shoulder. "Sensei, can I move tables? I don't like it here!" she cried, packing up her own crayons.

"Why can't you leave her alone?" a voice spoke up. Shiori turned in surprise before her eyes lowered and a small smile went on her face.

"Kiyoshi-kun, it's okay," Shiori said in a small voice. "She's going away, see?"

Kiyoshi huffed as he sat down across from her while his twin sister, Kaedae, sat beside Shiori.

"Ohayo, Shiori-chan! Noriko-chan is so mean, no one really likes her," Kaedae whispered.

Shiori simply shrugged and continued to color her picture. As lunchtime rolled around, Shiori, Kaedae, and Kyoshi sat together, looking at each other's obento.

"Ahh…Obaa-san mixed up our obentos again!" Kiyoshi exclaimed, giving the box to his sister. "You have the one with bunny face on it, ne?"

Kaedae nodded. "Hai! Yep, she did mix them up. The teddy bear is really kawaii though. Oh, can I see yours, Shiori-chan? Ah…kawaii! Little hearts…"

"Oh…hai. Demo, your Okaa-san or Otou-san doesn't make your obento?" Shiori asked, tilting her head.

"Eh? Didn't we tell you? We lost our parents too. We live with our Obaa-san and Ojii-san."

"Oh…" Shiori frowned. "But I didn't loose my parents. You know that right?"

Kaedae scratched her head, "But on parents day, you always have your Oba-sans with you. We didn't know…"

"I have an Okaa-san! She's just not in Japan right now! My Otou-san works really hard and he can't take time off of work to come with me to school," Shiori cried, jumping to her feet.

"G-gomen, demo we've never seen them so…"

Tears were rolling down Shiori's cheeks as she shook her head and ran towards the other side of the playground. A light breeze was flowing through the ground as Shiori launched herself into the tire swing. She had thought she had made friends. At least they should believe her, right? It just wasn't fair.

Drying her tears with the back of her hand, Shiori knew that if she hadn't run away she would've wanted to start a fight with the twins. It had happened before and Syaoran had to come to her school and pick her up. Though she wouldn't admit it, she really did wish her Okaa-san would come home so she could show her off to all the class. She did have an Okaa-san.

She'd show them.

They were all wrong.

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End Note:

Okay, thanks everyone who reviewed the last chapter. In the beginning I was going crazy with all the hits I was getting but then there turned out to be people who reviewed! Oh my gosh, you guys are the greatest! Now here's some of the questions you guys asked in the reviews and some things I might feel the need to tell you. There are also responses to suggestions here too. Enjoy!

Q&A:

1. The picture Shiori was holding with the letter…that was of Sakura, right?

Mhmm. You guessed it. I wanted that particular scene in the story to focus on Syaoran's reaction to the photo. In this chapter I go into more detail. You'll notice as the story progresses, the chapters will be come more detailed. Think of it like waiting for a Polaroid picture to develop. First you see main objects but slowly the details fit into place. That's the kind of effect I'm trying to give here…

2. How fast will updates be?

I plan on having an update once (maybe twice if I'm happy) a week, at least once every two weeks. But once school starts up, I'm embarking on my toughest year of school so…the updates will come less frequently. I apologize in advance.

3. What about Shiori's real mother? What the heck happened to her?

Do you expect me to answer that so quickly? XD That's part of the mystery isn't it? This answer will probably take a while to be answered. Stay tuned.

4. Why so much Japanese? You speak English! Just chose one!

Oh I don't know. It depends on my mood, really. I'll try to make it less of a headache for you readers but it's kind of hard with all the family members that Shiori deals with… Also, there are the random words of anger that come from my character's potty mouths. XD But sometimes these things come up in my head in a mixture of japanese and english. It's how I think. I'm weird. XD

5. Why are Yelan and Syaoran's sisters in another apartment? Why not stay over at Syaoran's with Shiori?

Yes, it does seem that they spend all their time over in the other apartment and what's the point of going back and forth? Well, Syaoran's apartment isn't big enough to house all of them. It's a three-bedroom apartment (it's really big! o.o), one for Shiori, one for Syaoran, and one for Wei. In the near future, Syaoran is planning on buying a house near the outskirts of Tokyo, in a nice suburb. But we'll hear about that later, kay?

–nod nod-