Summary: What if Syaoran never made it back from Hong Kong? Correspondence dies off throughout the years, and Sakura finally feels she has to move on.
Disclaimer: Still don't own CCS or its characters.
Can I Say Goodbye
Chapter Three
Thursday, March 30th
"Kaijuu!"
Sakura groaned and burrowed further into the blankets on her bed.
"Yo, kidlet, it's time to get up!" Touya knocked on her door. "You've got about half an hour to drag your lazy butt out of bed and eat breakfast before you help us start hauling stuff to the van to take for storage. I suggest you get moving."
"Go 'way," came the muffled response.
"Okay, but it's not my fault if you don't eat. Or if your stuff gets left." He walked off, musing just loudly enough for her to hear. "How can someone who is such an annoying little ball of sunshine most of the time be such a pain in the mornings?"
As he headed down the stairs to the kitchen, he heard a thump and a small shriek, and started laughing. "Oh, that sounded graceful."
"I heard that!" She called after him, untangling herself from the blankets that had tripped her while trying to get out of bed. As she got dressed, she muttered to herself. "Stupid older brothers who laugh at their poor little sisters whose stupid beds just won't let go of them when they're trying to get up."
The day sort of blurred together with all of the heavy lifting. They'd rented a small moving truck to help things go a bit smoother instead of trying to use the family sedans, so there were several trips to and from the house to load up. Once all the boxes had been loaded, they headed to the local storage facility where they then unloaded everything, while attempting to keep the boxes in some semblance of order. Then it was back to the house for a thorough cleaning to get everything ready for the new renters that would be moving in that weekend. It took some time and effort, but they managed with a little extra help from Yuki.
The next thing Sakura knew, she was sitting in the back of the Daidouji family limousine, since both Sonomi and Tomoyo had insisted that they drop the group at the airport. Touya and Yuki were talking about their plans with Sonomi while Fujitaka listened. Tomoyo sat next to Sakura, head on her shoulder, periodically asking her about whether she had remembered to pack something or questions about their plans after they arrived. She was more reserved than usual, which may have been partly from lack of sleep the night before, and partly from the knowledge that she wouldn't be seeing Sakura for awhile.
"You will write, won't you?" Tomoyo asked.
"You know I will." Sakura leaned her head against Tomoyo's. "Things might be crazy for the first couple days while we try to get stuff settled, but I think 'nii-san said that his company was going to have things like internet set up for us when we get to the apartment, so it shouldn't be too hard to connect at least briefly."
"And you'll come back to visit?"
"Absolutely."
"And you'll let me know when I can come visit?"
"Definitely."
"And you'll make new friends, because our Kura-chan is so lovable, but no one that you'll love more than us, right?"
"Aww, come on, Tom! It's not like I'm moving away for good—it's just for a year, maybe two. And you know that I could never replace you guys." Sakura put her hand over Tomoyo's and gently squeezed.
Tomoyo sighed. "I know, but it's still nice to hear it from you, you know?"
"Thanks again for giving us a ride to the airport, Sonomi," Fujitaka spoke up, gently interrupting the conversation next to him. "It was easier than driving ourselves or working out public transportation the bus."
Sonomi hesitated briefly before responding. "It seemed like the thing to do. And I know Tomoyo wanted to see Sakura off."
An uneasy truce had been developed between the two family heads. While Sonomi had initially blamed Fujitaka for taking away her beloved Nadeshiko and then letting something happen to her, she had finally decided to forgive and move on, given the closeness of the girls. The two families had even started celebrating holidays together, when she was able to take the time away from her work. The Daidoji Corporation kept her as busy as ever, which was just how she liked it.
The limousine pulled up to the departure gates, and everyone filed out of the back when the driver opened the doors for them. He gave each of the women a hand out, and held the door for the men before moving to the back to pull out the suitcases. Goodbyes were made, and there were hugs all around, with a few tears. Sakura hugged her father last, and longest, and reminded him that he needed to make sure that he took care of himself while they were gone, and he told her to take care of herself and help look after for Touya.
Bags were collected by their respective owners, and the trio headed into the airport. Touya had given Sakura a bad time about having such a huge bag, and when she pointed out that hers was the same size as his, he'd countered by noting that the size might be the same, but hers definitely weighed more. She had just sniffed and said that meant she was better at folding and packing things in.
The check in and security processes went without a hitch, so they headed for their terminal to wait for the flight, wandering through some of the various airport shops on the way before settling in at the posted gate.
Sakura found that she was getting a little nervous; while it was far from her first time on a plane, it would to be the longest flight she'd been on, with the most unfamiliar destination on the other side.
She felt the seat beside her shift as Yuki slid into it. He put his finger to his lips, nodding towards Touya, who was slouched down slightly in a seat across from them, his head resting against the back of the seat with his eyes closed.
Yuki smiled gently at her. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm getting a little nervous," she admitted, toying with the pinky ring she was wearing. "I know things will be fine, it's just a big change."
He reached over and placed his hand over hers. "I know how you feel. But I think this will be a good change, for all of us."
Sakura smiled back at him softly. "I think you're right."
It had been a difficult, busy, and rewarding week for Sakura.
The flight itself was long, but uneventful. She spent most of it trying to nap, reading, listening to music, or playing cards with Yuki.
The difficult part started when they landed, with the time difference. Washington was sixteen hours behind Tokyo, but with the different time zones their flight had left at 6pm on Thursday, and landed at 11:30am on Thursday. The worst part was that both Touya and Yuki had agreed that the best way to adjust to the change would be to stay awake until it was time to go to bed by the new timezone schedule, which meant being up for a much longer time than she was used to.
They had been housed briefly in a hotel while the apartment was set up, since Touya needed to be physically present to sign the lease and then order the basic furniture. It had arrived the day after they landed, so a lot of the weekend had gone into getting things set up.
It was a basic three bedroom apartment. Touya and Yuki were sharing the master (it was about time, to Sakura's mind), and of the two extra bedrooms Sakura was taking one and the other being converted into a home office space. Her room was a little smaller than the one back home had been, but not so much that she minded—or really even noticed. A bed, a desk and accompanying chair, a short bookcase, and a nightstand was all the furniture she needed. The first thing she did once she'd arranged the furniture to her liking was pull the couple of keepsakes—pictures and stuffed animals—out from her luggage and set them up in the room. She felt a little better with some pictures up and things on her bookshelves; the room looked a little less bare and empty, and felt a little more like it would be home.
On Monday, Touya had gone with Sakura to the local high school to finalize the transfer paperwork, including Sakura's class schedule. They'd been given a tour of the building, including each of the classrooms relevant to her schedule. The timing was a little strange, because the third quarter was actually ending that week, and the following week would be Spring Break, but she decided she'd rather have a couple of extra days to find her way around instead of waiting until after the break. She was glad she'd taken Touya's advice and started taking the English classes in junior high, because she was going to need it here.
Even though she had scored pretty well on the different aptitude tests she'd taken, the office chose to assign her five classes instead of the usual six. The extra period was being allotted for a study hall, to allow her time in the tutoring center in case she needed help with anything. She had also volunteered to help out as an unofficial (but well-qualified) Japanese tutor on an as-needed basis.
She started the next day, and while the four days had been helpful to start settling in, it was going to take awhile to get used to the changes. A couple of the changes were easily apparent; the base language being English instead of Japanese, for example, or not having to wear a specific uniform and having to swap out shoes in when you arrived.
The structure itself was also different. Instead of having an assigned classroom where the teachers rotated based on the subject, each teacher had their own classroom that they were more or less responsible for maintaining, and the students were the ones to rotate. It was a simple idea, but now she had to learn where six different classrooms were. And she had to get used to having a locker to store all her things in, instead of an assigned desk. The office had given her a map of the building with the classrooms and her locker area highlighted, which proved useful.
The other thing that struck her as different (and odd) was the lack of emphasis around after-school activities. In Tomoeda, most students had some form of afterschool club they participated in, though that varied based on someone's interest. Here it was explained that while there were sports teams or clubs available, it was more common than not that students simply left when school got out.
On her first day, when she checked in at the office they told her they had assigned her a peer, which ended up meaning someone who shared most of her classes and could help her get the hang of the schedule and layout. Her name was Meilin Rae, and she told Sakura that she'd actually been a transfer student herself several years back.
Meilin shared four of the six classes with her, including the same lunch period; the only classes they didn't share were art and Sakura's free period. She liked having a friendly face who could help her navigate the hallways and rooms, and someone to sit with at lunch. On her first day, she had walked into the cafeteria with her homemade lunch and been hit by a wave of homesickness, only to be flagged down by Meilin, who must have been watching for her. Meilin had gently herded her through the crowded tables over to the one she was sharing with her friends, who all made Sakura feel welcome.
When they got to the table, Meilin shoved her way back onto the bench, demanding room be made for Sakura as well, admonishing them for not remembering she was bringing a plus one back with her.
Meilin quickly introduced her to the group at the table.
"This is Kyler," pointing at a young man with blue eyes and slightly wavy short black hair. She vaguely recognized him, which made sense when Meilin followed up with "He's in our math class, so you've at least seen him. He's quiet, and rarely has an opinion about anything." She made a face in his direction, and he just laughed, so Sakura had to assume this was some kind of running joke.
"That's Silas, our resident group clown." She was pointing to a young man to her immediate right with short, dirty blonde hair, and was built tall and lean, sort of like Touya had been in high school. "He doesn't shut up very often; about half of what he says is some kind of joke, and half of the remaining content is him sticking his foot in his mouth, so don't take him too seriously."
"That's Mika," a small, delicate girl with long brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail waved. "She's our resident library enthusiast, so if you need any help finding the library, or anything in it, she's your girl. She and Silas are also in your art class later, so you'll see them both again."
"This is Mackenzie—"
"Mac," corrected the young woman in question, who shared Mika's olive green eyes and light brown hair, although hers was cut just above her shoulders.
"—who prefers 'Mac,'" Meilin continued, as if the girl hadn't interrupted, giving her a look which made Mac laugh. "She and Mika are twins, in case you're wondering about the resemblance, but she prefers more active pursuits than books. She's one of the best players on our softball team."
"Hey," Mika protested the description "I run cross country in the fall. That's active!"
Meilin just waved the comment away, pointing to the next young man. "This is Trevor, and he's in several advanced classes, so the most you'll see him is either at lunch or in the halls." The young, light-skinned African American man laughed, and Sakura decided she liked his laugh, and the way his dark brown eyes danced. It was almost like he was inviting her to laugh along with him. "He and Silas boy play on our soccer team, so we sometimes go to their games to cheer them on, or jeer at them."
"And lastly, this beauty here is Trystyn." Meilin winked at the last young woman, who rolled her eyes. Her light-blonde had was cut in a short pixie style, with a bold blue streak along her right temple that matched her blue eyes. "She's got the best sense of humor—by which I mean she and I find a lot of the same stuff funny. She's also dating that loser—" she pointed back at Silas. "And we still haven't figured out how he talked her into it."
"It's called 'persistence,'" Silas chimed in, winking in Trystan's direction.
"Everyone, this is Sakura Kinomoto, the new transfer student I told you all about."
Everyone else said some variant of hello, while Silas looked at her somewhat surprised. "Are you really Japanese?"
Sakura blinked at the question. "Ano?"
"I mean, I didn't think that Japanese people had light brown hair and green eyes like yours." He looked honestly confused—while most of the rest of the group looked stunned at the presumptive statement.
Trystyn recovered first and sent Sakura a rueful look. "Remember what Meilin said about him doing the whole 'foot in mouth' thing? Perfect example." She then reached over and smacked him in the back of the head. "Don't be rude, Silas!"
The interchange was so much like that of Chiharu and Yamazaki that Sakura just burst out laughing, to everyone else's surprise.
"Of course I'm Japanese," she said in her native tongue. "Did you think that all Japanese had dark hair and eyes?"
Meilin snorted, stifling a laugh before giving the group a brief translation. "I know basics, but no more than that—enough to get the gist of your comment, you know?"
Sakura smiled, before pulling out her cell phone and opening up the photo gallery, pulling up a photo of her father, her brother, and Yuki before sliding it over the table to show Silas. "My hair comes from my dad, and my eyes came from my mom. Not everyone looks the same there any more than people do here."
Silas took a look at the picture, and seemed suitably embarrassed. "Ah, I'm sorry—I really didn't mean that in a bad way I was just... surprised. Sorry."
She then found herself fielding all the standard questions faced as 'the new kid.' Where was she from? Why had she moved? Did she like it here? What were the differences she'd noticed between home and here? Finally Meilin interrupted, reminding everyone that she still needed to eat, so chatter turned to other things.
Before the lunch bell rang, Meilin had recruited Mika to escort her to their art class, since that was one of the few classes she didn't share with Sakura. They'd agreed to meet at her locker between fourth and fifth periods for a 'warm handoff,' as Meilin called it.
The group sort of adopted her after that first day. She and Meilin had swapped cell phone numbers, and all the gals shared her number amongst themselves, each texting her a short welcome message with their name so she could save their numbers. Meilin had also snagged her phone to take a group selfie that made Sakura laugh whenever she looked at it (partially because both Trevor and Trystyn were giving Silas bunny ears without him knowing it). She had a feeling she was going to like these people.
Sakura was grateful to Meilin and her friends for welcoming her; it helped ease the sting of homesickness, and missing her own friends. When she'd made a comment along those lines to Meilin, she'd just grinned and said "That's the point, right?"
Slowly she was settling in, even while it seemed all of the other students were stressing out because of end-of-quarter deadlines.
Meilin had made it clear that she was available to help Sakura with most of their shared classes, but had also made it clear that math was not her favorite. Thankfully, Kyler had agreed to help her with that class if/when she needed it, which she very much appreciated. It was still the subject she dreaded most, even if she wasn't exactly bad at it anymore.
The art class also seemed like it was going to be a lot of fun. The teacher, Mrs. Monahan, seemed to believe in encouraging her students to practice their skills in very hands-on ways. There were no assigned seats, unlike most of her classes, so she stayed close to Mika since she at least sort of knew her. Mika had explained that they had three big projects due throughout the year with a portfolio at the end, and most students were working feverishly to put the finishing touches on their third quarter project submissions during class. Mika's submission was a seascape sunset that included quite a bit of skill with the reflective colors that Sakura envied.
Sakura had also noticed that Silas seemed a little different in art class; much quieter, and working in a corner by himself with an intense focus that seemed absent in their lunchroom gatherings. When Sakura mentioned it to Mika, Mika had shrugged. "That's not unusual for him in here. Everybody's got some kind of unexpected talent, right? He's been working really hard on his submission, but he's been pretty secretive about any of the details. He said that when it's ready, he'll show it to the group, so I've mostly left him alone."
Mika also reiterated Meilin's invitation to join them Friday night to celebrate the end of the quarter and the beginning of Spring Break. She said they didn't know what they were doing yet, but assured Sakura that she would be welcome. "We tend to be pretty chill; it'll likely involve getting food of some sort, and then hanging out at someone's house for games or a movie."
Sakura agreed to at least think about it, since she should talk with her brother before giving a definitive answer, and Mika accepted that as reasonable.
Author's note: Thank you to any readers for your patience! The move is over and done... and next chapter, we'll see what Syaoran is up to in all of this. As always, let me know if you see any errors or mistakes that I missed so I can fix them! -Firalyn Tiatra