Summary: Sakura and her family live in the Takarin, where it is dangerous after sunset. One night, after the disappearance of her friend, Sakura leaves to go on a journey to seek out the danger and destroy it once and for all, and she even gets some help along the way.

Disclaimer:

Rising Angel: Despite her every attempt to own CCS, Nanie-san does not... however I do... actually, I only wish that I did so that I could rub it in Nanie-san's face and such...

A/N: Hey, sorry that I didn't update for awhile... I had school, more directly Spanish class and homework(which I am beginning to deeply hate...), let's see, and I had a chorus and band concert and forensics/student congress, and I was sick for two and a half days, exct... Well, please remember to read and review. (Oh, and after this chapter I'm not gonna translate repeated Japanese words that I used in other chapters.)

Japanese words:

Kaijumonster

Previously:

"Tomoyo's been missing ever since I sent her to take Sakura's coat to her last night. I sent her before the sun set and I haven't seen her since," Sonomi quietly said. Toya and Fujitaka could tell how worried she was.

"Don't worry, Tomoyo's a smart girl, she probably hid somewhere or something like that. She's probably just fine right now," Toya said. Even he was uncertain of his words, and by the looks of everyone else, he knew that they were too. Little did they all know that Tomoyo was the exact opposite of "just fine" at the moment. Toya looked at his little sister, she had a rough night, she was innocent and didn't deserve what had happened to her. But at least they were both still alive, there was always a bright side, and in this situation it was that they were both still alive.

Chapter 3: Leaving Home

Sakura was floating in the air, watching as her best friend was being taken by a ninja. She tried to scream out to her, but she could not find her voice. "Tomoyo-chan," she mentally screamed. But all was to no avail, Tomoyo was gone. "Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura screamed aloud as she woke up. Her head was pounding and her chest and back hurt badly. Sakura looked over to her right. Toya was beside her bed keeping watch over her. "Toya-kun, what happened to Tomoyo-chan?" she asked.

Toya looked at his sister sadly and said, "Sonomi-san can't find her anywhere. She went missing on the same night as our fight."

"No, not Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said as tears began to flow from her eyes. "Toomooyoo-cchhaann," she sobbed while feeling her heart break. Tomoyo had been her friend since, well, since forever.

Toya looked at his sister as she cried. He hated to have to have told her what happened to Tomoyo. He was angry at himself to have even let her get hurt in the fight with the ninja. And someday he was gonna make that ninja pay for each and every little scratch on his sister's body.

Sakura got out of bed even though Toya said that she should rest more. Her body hurt badly, but that wasn't important now. She picked up a broom and started to sweep the restaurant, her father would need her help to run the place.

'Knock. Knock.'

"Coming! Just a minute!" Sakura shouted while throwing her broom behind the counter and wiping the tears from her face. She put on a fake smile and opened up the door. A boy walked into the restaurant.

"I'd like some juice," the boy said. He looked to be about twenty years of age and had deep red hair and piercing blue eyes.

Sakura quickly ran and got the man a cup of juice and then while he was drinking it ran and got Toya.

"Ahh, I am assuming that you are the owner of this restaurant and inn, may I be permitted to talk with this kind young lady? You see I've been needing someone to talk to and she looks like the perfect person to chat with," the man asked.

Toya looked over the boy. "Just talk, but if you lay a single finger on her you're dead," Toya said while glaring at the man.

"Okay, I just want to talk with her, that's all. I promise you that I won't touch her," the man said. He then waited for Toya to leave the room and motioned for Sakura to come over to him.

"What is it?" Sakura warily asked. Right now she wished that she had listened to Toya and rested some more. Her body hurt and she felt really dizzy and wanted to faint.

"Your name is Sakura Kinomoto isn't it? Remember the dream that you had, for it tells truth and truth is needed," the boy whispered.

Sakura tilted her head sideways. This man was really confusing her. "What dream?" she asked.

"The dream that you had! You must remember it, please don't' tell me that you have already forgotten it!" the man said while becoming more and more stressed out.

"Oh, you mean that dream," Sakura said in sudden realization.

"Don't you get it! You are one of the chosen ones! You are one of the key players in everything now! You have been chosen by fate!"

"Okay, okay don't get all stressed out. First things first, I don't believe in fate or destiny being set, I make my own fate and set my own destiny. Second thing is that I am just an ordinary desert girl, there's nothing special about me. I am not any sort of chosen one, and what do you mean by chosen one, chosen by who, yourself?" Sakura couldn't help but laugh a tiny bit upon seeing the man's reaction to her short speech.

"No, you are chosen because they indirectly chose you. You were indirectly chosen by them. Thus they don't realize that they chose you, or the power that you hold," said the now very irritated man. "Man is this girl ever stubborn and dense," he thought.

"Okay, this guy is completely insane and crazy," Sakura thought. "Hey, what sort of power is this that I hold that you're talking about?"

"Well, I'll be leaving now, and here's for the juice," the man said while tossing Sakura a silver coin.

"Wait, what's your name?" Sakura asked.

"Danius," the man responded and then walked out the door and left.

"Danius-kun," Sakura repeated to herself. "What did he mean by all that? He sure was mysterious."

"So, what did he want?" Toya asked his sister while walking in.

"Just someone to talk to. His girlfriend from another country ditched him right before he left for a major trip and he said that he would be returning to his home village shortly and needed advice on how to win her heart back," Sakura lied. She knew that she shouldn't lie to her brother, but she didn't want to repeat all that the man had said to Toya. If she did then Toya would probably freak out and go hunt down the man and kill him for confusing his sister. Sakura couldn't help but laugh at this thought. Toya getting mad at someone for confusing her and yet he himself confuses her a lot. "I'm gonna go upstairs and rest for a bit Toya-kun," Sakura said.

"Mmm..." muttered Sakura who just woke up from her two hour nap. "It's no fair that Tomoyo-chan has to be heck knows where and I am just here sleeping as if I have no care in the whole world," Sakura thought while holding back tears. She felt even worse because she wasn't thinking of Tomoyo when she was talking with Darius. "Toya-kun!" Sakura shouted.

"What is it kaiju," Toya asked while looking at his sister. She looked so fragile and hurt, he could never let her out of his sight again.

"I wanna go out and find Tomoyo-chan," said a determined Sakura.

"B-b-but," Toya stammered. How could he let his little sister go out into the dangerous world all by herself to find Tomoyo-chan. "Ha! If father agrees to you going, then I must go with you!" shouted the now proud boy. He couldn't let Sakura go by herself, so he would go with her.

"But then who will help father run the inn and restaurant?" Sakura asked. She really would like it if Toya went with her but someone had to help their father out too.

Toya was thinking about what his sister had just said. "Sonomi-san could come and help father. After all, Sonomi must be lonely living all by herself now, and father would be lonely without us around." Toya found himself to be really cleaver now. He just thought of how he could go with his sister, get someone to help his father, and he had even rigged a way that he could see his sister when she was talking with the man. He couldn't hear what they said, but at least he could see if he tried to pull anything or make his little sister cry. And to top things off, because it was Sakura's idea, he would make Sakura ask and he would just fill in the extras.

"Father, may I please go out into the world and find Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked her father. She felt anxious now. What if her father said no? Would he be angry at her for asking?

"Yeah, and I'll go with the kaiju and protect her. Also, while we're gone Sonomi-san can come and stay with you, well, what do you think?" added Toya.

Fujitaka carefully considered what his children had just said. It was true that if no one went to rescue her, Tomoyo would probably die. He thought of Nadeshikoand what had happened to her. No one knew her fate or what had become of her, only that they had taken her. He couldn't let the same fate befall upon Tomoyo, even if it meant letting his only son and only daughter leave and put themselves into danger. They deserved to leave this little desert town and see more of the world and Sakura deserved to see her friend again. "You may both go, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey," Fujitaka sadly said. He knew that he had to let them go, yet it pained his heart ever so.

Soon after that Toya and Sakura had packed up their few belongings and gold and silver coins that they had earned over the years and then the next morning at the break of dawn they put some food into a pack and then left.

Sakura looked back at her desert town, sad to be leaving, but yet knowing that she must go. She had just bade her father and Sonomi farewell just minutes ago, but it felt like it had been hours, even days ago.

Toya didn't look back, he had to be strong and looking back would only make him feel weak. He bade his father and Sonomi goodbye and silently whispered that he promised to return and that when they returned it would be after they got Tomoyo. Of course, if Tomoyo was dead they would take her body back to be buried among her other dead ancestors, but they did not want to think of that.

By noon that day Sakura and Toya were far from the little village that they lived at for so many years. They were passing by a small stream when Toya suggested that they stop and eat lunch. So Sakura then took out four slices of bread from the pack of food that they brought and spread some grape jelly over them. She licked her lips at the thought of the jelly. In the desert there was nothing to make jelly from, so only when a traveler was passing through that was willing to trade them jelly did they get it. She handed Toya his two slices of jellied bread and then greedily bit into her own. After wolfing down the first piece she slowly ate the other, savoring the taste of the jelly on her tounge. "Toya-kun," she asked, "how will we find Tomoyo, and how will we know where to look?"

"Easy, they aren't just gonna stick around here and wait for us to come. They took Tomoyo-chan and surely had enough common sense to figure that we would come after her, so they're probably long gone by now. Leastways, the ones who took Tomoyo-chan and Tomoyo-chan are probably long gone by now. They probably still are at the town waiting for the next person who comes out at night," Toya responded.

After they ate Toya and Sakura headed out again. Sakura looked forwards, but her heart looked back. She missed her father already, but she couldn't look back now, so looked off into the distance of the way they were to go. "Look forward and reflect back, while grasping the now," she thought to herself. A traveler had said it once. He had said that she should look forward and then she would be prepared for what lay ahead, but that she should reflect to the past as to not repeat the past's mistakes and remember the lessons that she had learned. He then said to remember the now, for she was moving in the present, she was not yet in the future and no longer going on in the past, she must learn the new lessons of the present.

A/N: Merry Christmas, this chapter is a Christmas present from me to you! Well, hoped that you liked the chapter!

Nanie-san: Yup, this is my present to you! So, now as a present to me you can all hit that little purple button in the corner and review! (Oh how happy reviews make me!)

Rising Angel: Merry Christmas all! I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas! -hands present to Nanie-san-

Nanie-san: Ohh, for me, thanks! -hands a present to Rising Angel- Hehe, well, guess that's it for now!

Rising Angel: Yeah, she's gotta go cook Christmas Cookies now! And I even get to be the official taste tester! (I'll eat 'em all...)

Nanie-san: No! I don't need a taste tester! Off with you! New chapter for story:

And thus Nanie-san befriended Sakura who was the newly crowned queen of Saranitin. Because Rising Angel ate all of the cookies and tried to steal her story Nanie-san pleaded and begged Sakura for her help. In response Sakura had Rising Angel made the official cook, but she would not be allowed to taste any of the cookies that she made, Nanie-san lived happily ever after!

The End.

Rising Angel: Poor me! I'm lucky she doesn't officially make that a part of the story...