Disclaimer: I do not own CCS nor do I own the characters in the manga/ anime. The characters and events in this story are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons are coincidental and unintentional.


A Second Attempt at Love

-2-

"Ja, Sakura-chan. See you at the ball," Tomoyo bid Sakura good-bye, giving her a quick hug before walking down the stone path that lead to the front gates.

Sakura smiled and waved at her friend, watching from the doorway until the ebony-haired girl got safely into her car. She then closed the door, leaning heavily against it and allowed a sigh to escape her rosy lips. After the little dress incident, the two girls went downstairs to have their break. Since it was such a nice day, they decided to take their meals outside in the patio that overviewed the garden.

They spent half an hour discussing the preparations for the ball, but for the remainder of the hour, they transitioned to a casual conversation. Soon it was noon, and time for Tomoyo to place all but one of the dresses back into their proper bags; the cream gown would be left in Sakura's closet until the next night when it would be needed. Tomoyo would take care of the shoes and other accessories that would complete the outfit. Other than that, there was almost nothing else to take care of that day.

"Sakura-chan? Are you alright?" a soft voice interrupted Sakura's thoughts.

Chidori wore a concerned look on her gentle face. "Why don't you go sit down—I'll go brew some tea to soothe your nerves." She turned toward the kitchen, but Sakura shook her head, a wan smile forming on her lips.

"It's ok… I'm just a bit tired, that's all…"

Chidori nodded and instantly became her happy self again. "I bet!" she exclaimed excitedly, "There must've been over a hundred dresses in those bags!"

Sakura smiled wearily, bidding the happy-go-lucky maid good-bye as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. It was quite a morning and even though this wasn't the busiest of days, Sakura felt unusually tired and stressed. She decided to freshen up in the baths, taking her cell phone along, just in case.

The hot bath was relaxing; she could almost feel all her worries and stress stripping away as she soaked in the water. The moment was perfect… well, until her phone's melodic ring tone suddenly broke the silence. The young woman groaned, reaching for the phone. If she wasn't feeling so weak and tired, she would've given whoever ruined the moment a mouthful.

"Hello?" she muttered, too tired to use the formal greeting. The person on the other end seemed to have noticed her weariness because there was a brief pause before they replied.

"Hey," the low voice rumbled. "I was going to invite you to lunch with me and Otou-san, but I guess you're too tired to come… So maybe another time?"

Sakura jerked awake at the comment and quickly replied, "No! I mean—I'm not too tired. What time do you want me to come and where?"

The man on the other end chuckled at his sister's reaction; he always knew how to perk her up. "Get ready in an hour, alright? I'm coming back to the house to pick you up, so no need to take the car," Then he added as a precaution, "Try to be prompt this time, too, Sakura."

She hissed. She could practically see the smirk on his face as he said the last sentence. He could perk her up, alright, but he had also mastered the art of ticking Sakura off.

Sakura hung up, her temple throbbing in annoyance at her brother. On the other hand, she was happy; soon, she would be able to see her father again.

For the past month, Sakura was unable to contact her father because of his work schedule. His corporation had flourished incredibly in the last four weeks and even though there was an advantage to that, there was also a downside. Yes, his company would be expanding into other branches in the world, making it more successful than before, and yes, more profit would be brought in… BUT! (There's always a "but".) But, that would mean a larger workload and a tighter schedule, meaning there wouldn't be time enough for family and friends.

It was a difficult decision to make, of course, but this would only be temporary until everything gets taken care of. Then, with hope, they would, once again, become a family.

---

An hour later, Sakura was ready. She wore a white, short puff-sleeved lace blouse and a light pink, satin-lined chiffon skirt with a pair of flat-heeled sandals to match. The weather was sunny and mild, so there was no need for jackets and coats.

A pair of azure eyes watched as the auburn-haired girl paced around the living room repeatedly, stopping now and then to glance at the grandfather clock set at the far wall. It was half an hour after noon now and for the millionth time, it seemed, Sakura would be late for a planned meal. But this time, instead of it being her fault, it was her older brother's.

"Oi…" moaned a certain blue-eyed maid, who was now busy rubbing her temples, "You're making me dizzy, Sakura-chan…"

Sakura immediately stopped her pacing and apologized quickly. If it wasn't for her stupid, late brother, she wouldn't have acted this way. What happened to his policy on promptness? Half an hour late and not even bothering to make a quick phone call home to let her know what was going on. Oh, he would get the biggest foot-stomping of his life when he gets home…

At that moment, the previously mentioned man burst through the door, trying to catch his breath and explain at the same time.

"Hey—sorry—lunch rescheduled--" he rasped, grabbing ahold of her arm. "We go now!"

With that, he whirled her out of the mansion and plopped her into the passenger seat, ignoring her complaints and sped out of the driveway. The sports car raced through traffic and stopped in front of a popular diner in record time. After stopping in front of the building for valet parking, the dark-haired man turned to look at his sister. She wore a horrified look on her face and her mouth was slightly agape. He chuckled, breaking her out of her trance. Sakura glared at him, the flames in her eyes promised him great punishment when this was all over.

"Touya, you jerk! What were you trying to do—kill us!" the emerald-eyed woman fumed, stepping out of the car after the valet opened it for her. She walked alongside her brother, one hand clutching her handbag and the other wrapped his arm in a death grip. There was a long line of people waiting outside the restaurant and they didn't look too happy, either. Loud groans and curses were heard as the two V.I.P.s made their way into the entrance of the building.

Once inside, the Kinomotos were greeted by the hostess, who immediately recognized them and led them down a brightly lit corridor. They passed by many doors, all of which were shut tightly, and didn't stop until they reached a door at the end of the hallway. The door was slightly ajar, so they could hear a mixture of laughter streaming out from the room. Sakura raised a brow at Touya, and gave him a look that seemed to say 'I thought it was only us three?' He only shrugged, and knocked on the door before pushing it open.

Sakura peeked over her brother's shoulder, trying to get a good look at the people in the room. There was only one other person aside her father—Ken Kunishiro, the eldest son of her father's business partners. She glanced from her father to Ken, realizing they had stopped their conversation and were now inviting the two newcomers in. Sakura could feel the hair prickling the back of her neck. Ken's dark eyes had been fixed on her image the whole time and it was making her very uncomfortable. She almost wished she wasn't here, but she reminded herself that it was her selfish desire to see her father that had gotten her here.

Out of formality, Touya and Sakura bowed, and then seated themselves on the cushions around the low table. The emerald-eyed girl sat herself as far away from Ken as possible and kept her eyes only on her father and brother.

'What is he doing here!' she thought, narrowing her eyes slightly, but brushed that aside for the moment.

She rejoiced at seeing her father, but was sadden to see the traces of stress from work left on his face. His eyes were darker than usual and he looked as though he hadn't slept in days. At that moment, she worried for him and his health, and promised that as soon as they were home, she would do as much as she could to help him relieve the stress.

"Otou-san," she began slowly. "Have things finally slowed down at work?"

But, when she asked that question, Sakura really meant 'when are you coming home?' She was ashamed at herself for not expressing her true thoughts, but there was an outsider in the room, and one that didn't make her feel comfy, too.

Fujitaka smiled at his young daughter, knowing ahead of time that she would ask him that. Before he could answer, though, the dark-eyed man next to him stood up and bow, bidding everyone good-bye.

"I'm sorry to make this such a short visit, Kinomoto-san, but I really must get going," he said, then added as he headed for the door. "I hope to see you there, Sakura."

She gave him a false smile, but was secretly hiding her disgust. How dare he call her by her first name? Any other person, she would've allowed, but definitely not him. But enough about Ken, the 20-year-old was here to see her father.

The room felt much lighter and more cheerful now that they were alone again. A genuine smile spread on Sakura's face and her heart felt like bursting with happiness. She knew her father's answer would be a positive one because of his smile. For the first time today, Fujitaka Kinomoto would come home from work and, hopefully, be able to do that every day again. The three celebrated with sake (except Sakura, who substituted with tea) and other foods in the short lunch hour they spent together. Then, it was time for Sakura to go home and back to work for her father and brother, though they would all see each other again at the evening meal.

A bad day turned into a good one in hours. Even though all the little inconveniences made it annoying and frustrating, Sakura was glad to get through the day. She didn't mind modeling the hundred dresses that Tomoyo had brought over, or even Ken's appearance at the restaurant—well maybe a teensy bit, at that, but you can't blame her for it—but she really hoped that tomorrow's events would be somewhat better than the ones of today's…

A/N: I'm almost scared to ask. How was it?

Whyte Lilac