Wow, I just realised, this is the seventh chapter, and I haven't publicly thanked my reviewers yet. THANKS! You guys rock my socks! ^^

Daidõji Tomoyo perched herself by a large windowsill, gazing at the rain drizzling down forlornly on the lacklustre grass in her courtyard as she cradled a warm mug of chocolate in her hands. It was a bleary day, a literal reflection of her own feelings. She sighed. How did things get so complicated?

A lightning struck, illuminating up the whole courtyard in an instant. Tomoyo's azure eyes widened. For a moment she thought she saw a silhouette in the patio. But that was impossible, no one would be insane enough to wander out into the open under such precarious weather. No one…

Another lightning struck. This time, Tomoyo clearly made out a figure crouching on the grass. She gasped, the cup in her hands plunged to the ground with a thud and chocolate seeped into the mat. But she was too shocked to notice.

"Sakura-chan!" she screamed out, dashing at full tilt towards the nearest door and out into the garden, heading straight for the shivering girl in the rain. Rapidly, she flung her arms around the girl of the late and practically carried her back inside, a miraculous feat for someone of her own size. Once inside, she placed Kinomoto Sakura on the chaise longue, threw a towel around her and wrapped her up hastily.

"Sakura-chan, what were you doing out there?" she inquired, kneeling down before the trembling girl and wiping her drenched hair with a handkerchief. Sakura gave her a reassuring smile – which – seemed so forced in Tomoyo's eyes.

"I… I like the rain," Sakura elucidated simply, shrugging as if she was just taking a leisurely walk in the garden. "Don't worry about me."

Sakura held out a hand to convince Tomoyo further, but only succeeded in grasping a handful of thin air. Tomoyo immediately caught the groping hand in hers.

"Sakura-chan…" she murmured, staring at Sakura's face desolately. She could not believe that the cheerless girl in front of her was the vibrant, vivid girl she once knew. Her silky auburn hair was sodden to the skin, clinging to her face limply as water dripped down to the couch. Her cherry lips had lost their natural vivacious beam, and her eyes… Her eyes…

They no longer shone, like a pair of emeralds which had grown dusty over time. However, what saddened Tomoyo most was that they could no longer fix themselves on something, behold it with appreciation.

Kinomoto Sakura was blind.

Tomoyo cringed as tears stung her eyes, but she hurriedly blinked them away.

"Well, don't do that next time, okay? It's dangerous to stand under lightning," she admonished, careful to eliminate the concern in her voice. She knew that Sakura would not want to worry her.

Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Sit here, I'll get you something warm to drink," Tomoyo said and straightened herself, going towards the kitchen. She glanced back for a second, and abruptly stopped. She could see water welling up in Sakura's eyes, water that had nothing to do with the rain. And the way Sakura's exquisite eyebrows quirked up in the middle triggered a pang in her chest.

"The first card you and Li-kun caught together, was Thunder, wasn't it? That's why you ran out into the storm…" she muttered, a hand muffling the sob threatening to escape her mouth.

Shutting out the heart-rending image of Sakura's dejected stature out of her mind, she entered the kitchen.

*

*

*

Sakura huddled the coat around her closer, shuddering uncontrollably. It wasn't because of the surrounding temperature; it was because she was sitting unaccompanied in the waiting area of the hospital. The hospital was a place she had started to loathe ever since she received the shocking news.

"Kinomoto-san, it… it's a brain tumour."

The last two words changed her life forever. The abnormal growth snatched away her serene sleeps, filled her dreams with nightmares, rendered her sightless and took away the love of her life.

"Syaoran-kun…" she murmured quietly to herself. She felt immensely alone. With all her heart she wished Tomoyo would quickly complete the procedures for her surgery tomorrow and take her away from this infernal location ironically designated to rescue human lives.

It was her own decision, really, to leave Syaoran without so much as a note. Sayonara, Syaoran-kun, was the last thing she said to him before leaving him infinitely. There was no explanation, nothing at all for him, and she could guess that he must be furious at her right now.

Paradoxically, she was the most powerful person living, the owner of the Sakura Cards, but there was nothing she could do regarding the malignant lump in her brain. All things must come to an end, Clow Reed had said. Even the life of the cards' possessor. Which, Sakura deduced, was probably why there was never a card created to ensure health and longevity.

Suddenly, her ears pricked up as she detected the familiar shuffles of feet on the ground. It wasn't Tomoyo's.

Masaka…

Her heart thumped, and her palms began sweating profusely as the footsteps grew louder and louder until it ceased altogether.

"It's you," Li Syaoran said. It wasn't a question nor an indictment; it was just a simple statement. Yet, the words gripped her heart tightly, like a blast of cold wind as a chill travelled up her spine. Sakura clutched the coat nervously.

To-Tomoyo-chan… Hurry up...

"What? Too shocked to see me here you can't even speak?"

Sakura opened her mouth but her throat suddenly went very dry.

W-What should I do…?

"You left me without a word and now you can't even look at me in the eye?" Syaoran growled, anger almost tangible in every syllable.

No, that's not it, Syaoran-kun, I-

"I see. You have nothing to say to me."

Mouth, move!

"Well then, shitsurei shimasu," Syaoran tossed out, the coolness of his tone enough to freeze Sakura's blood.

Sakura heard his steps stomping away, and crumpled down altogether. She was right, he was irate, and Syaoran had never been angry at her more than an hour before. That was to be expected, after all.

What she didn't anticipate was how much it hurt.

It's really over between us…

And for once, she didn't care that eyes were on her as she let the dams of tears burst.

*

*

*

The setting sun extended its golden fingers all over the sky, painting it a glorious mixture of crimson, magenta and orange, reflected roughly by the coarse land beneath. At least, that was how Sakura pictured the sky, now that she could no longer see, all she could do was imagine it.

The lone stature in Penguin Park strolled around, hands outstretched as she felt her way around. The place held many memories for her, it was where she practically grew up, made friends, had fun, laughed, cried and…

This was the place where Syaoran and Sakura shared their first kiss.

The tree… Where's the tree…

She fumbled around her, feeling amazingly lost without her sight, shrouded in nothing but darkness. An anxious step followed by another, and then a trip over something, sending her pummelling onto the ground with a smack. She struggled up, wiping the dirt absently away from her cheeks, before standing up again, her legs so wobbly they looked like they would collapse any moment.

The tree… I want to find the tree…

Determination renewed, she flailed her arms around again when she slapped against something smooth and cool.

The King Penguin! The tree is just straight ahead…

Fingertips adhered to the King Penguin, she made her way ahead until the distance between her and the penguin-shaped slide spanned more than her arms' length. Reluctantly, she let go, feeling very lost again without anything as her guide. Yet she progressed ahead, resolute to get to her destination no matter what.

A couple of stumbles and falls later, her hand finally disembarked on the long-hunted-for tree. Fingers traced the wrinkles in the wooden bark as reminiscence flooding her mind.

It was Christmas.

Snow fell incessantly in the Penguin Park, but it didn't dim the festive atmosphere whatsoever. In fact, the crowd of teenagers was as energetic as ever, cavorting around without a care in the world. They even managed to deck a particularly large tree in the park into a Christmas tree. Shimmering bells dangled from the tree branches, ribbons sprucing up the green of the leaves, the colours complementing each other. A large silver star sat proudly atop the tree – how they got it there was another mystery.

"Kirei!" Sakura exclaimed at the sight, green eyes gleaming as radiantly as the lights embellishing the tree.

"Hontõ da," Syaoran concurred, flabbergasted at the job well done as well.

There conversation was interrupted by shrill whispering and giggling, and it wasn't long when they both noticed the giggling faction pointing not-so-subtly at them from time to time.

"What's so funny?" Syaoran asked, irritated.

Yamazaki Takashi flung an arm around Syaoran shoulder, engaging him in a headlock and said, "You know you're standing right under the mistletoe hanging on the tree?"

Syaoran and Sakura glanced upwards in unison, and sure enough, mistletoe was swinging over their heads tantalisingly. Both reddened.

"Speaking of which, do you know how the tale of kissing under the mistletoe originated? Once upon a time, there was-"

"Ta-ka-shi," Mihara Chiharu uttered between gritted teeth, "Stop your lies right now!"

"-a man who worked as a woodcutter. He-"

The rest of the story was not heard as Chiharu twisted Yamazaki's ear and dragged him away forcefully. Syaoran and Sakura stared blankly at them.

"Um… We should move," Syaoran said after a long awkward pause.

"Matte," Sakura halted him, tugging his jacket gently. Syaoran turned around to see a fierily blushing Sakura, and immediately turned the same shade of red as well. "Do you… Shall we…"

Sakura faltered off. Syaoran blinked, and suddenly Sakura found herself in his arms as his lips pressed onto hers. It didn't take her long to respond, mind thrown away into a blissful limbo.

"Syaoran-kun…" Sakura murmured, feeling hot tears flowing down her cheeks and trickling down her chin. She reached upwards, tiptoeing as much as she could to grasp the leaves. Her fingers brushed the leaves, she grabbed, when she heard the branch broke with a snap under her weight and found herself floundering backwards. She closed her eyes, expecting the hard ground to hit her any second.

"Hoe?"

Instead of the hard ground, she felt herself resting in softness. It was a person, as proven by the painful "Ouch!" he yelped.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

The person supported her into a sitting position. Sakura flinched at his touch.

"Go away!" she screamed, slithering backwards.

"Sakura, don't run a-"

"Go, away! Leave me alone!"

"How can I leave you when you can't see a darn thing?" Syaoran bellowed.

She gasped, a hand soaring towards her mouth.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. Please just le-"

"How did you know?" she demanded.

"Daidõji-san told me," Syaoran replied. Sakura caught a hint of accusation in his voice. "You could have told me."

"This has nothing to do with you," Sakura said bitterly.

"How can you say that? You're dying! How is that 'nothing to do with me'?"

Sakura bit her lower lip. "There's nothing between us anymore, so as far as I'm concerned, this has nothing to do with you."

"Oh, yeah? Then what are you doing here?"

Sakura's stomach fluttered, making her attempts to reign in her tears harder.

"This was our special place," Syaoran continued, his tenor considerably softer. "You still love me, don't you? I love you, so much more than you'll ever know, so why are you so adamant about leaving me?"

Silence.

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura began, her voice bordering on a mere breath. "I know. That's why I don't want you to ever find out that I-I'm dying."

Warmness engulfed her as she felt strong limbs around her, cradling her like she was something extremely precious. Sakura melted. Why did Syaoran have to be so wonderful?

"It doesn't matter. There's no life without you."

That was the last straw. Sakura absolutely liquefied, all her previous persistence dissolving into nothingness. Tears poured from her eyes and she tightened her embrace on Syaoran, never ever wanting to let go.

*

*

*

Syaoran watched as Sakura was shoved into the operation room, his heart tingling. A frown deepened on his brow, and he sank his teeth into his knuckle unconsciously. So absorbed in his thoughts he was that he almost jumped out of his skin at a gentle tap on his shoulder.

"Relax, Li-kun. Since it's Sakura-chan, zettai daijõbu da yo," Tomoyo comforted him, slightly worried at the escalating blueness of his face.

"Un, I know."

"It's Christmas soon."

Syaoran was rather taken aback by the sudden change in topic. "U-Un, only a few more days to go."

"Why don't you make a Christmas wish then?" Tomoyo urged, smiling softly.

Syaoran beamed. He finally perceived what Tomoyo was trying to say.

I wish Sakura would spend every moment of her life with me.

Till death do us part.

*

*

*

Omake

Timeline: Before Sakura's surgery in the Penguin Park

"Sakura."

"Hn?"

"Marry me."

A sharp inhalation.

"I'm serious."

"Syaoran-kun, I may not even survive tomorrow's surgery."

"All the more reason to marry me right now."

Another hitched breath.

"Sakura."

"Hn?"

"Say something."

…

"Yes."

I think I'm going to attract a lot of mice, this fic is so cheesy! I hope I didn't overdo the mushiness. And I sincerely apologise for boring you guys with the length. Assuming that you made it here. XD