Memories, That's All They Are

XLemonPepperx

An Card Captor Sakura Fanfiction.

Angst/Drama

Alternative Universe.

I do not own Card Captor Sakura- the Anime, Manga or characters. Only the plot and the following writing am I able to hold to my name.

Note: Please go to my profile and get my MSN address. I get so lonely on there sometimes. ; So if anyone wants to chat then please go to my profile and cling to my email. Thankies.

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Chapter One:

In Which A Bubble Floats

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Something just wasn't right, he could feel it. Syaoran felt remorse about what he said- he honestly didn't know what came over him, but after everything Virginia said to him about Sakura- he felt that she deserved it.. aye? Sighing, the brown haired boy leaned back on the chair, quickly glancing over at Tomoyo and Eriol who sat across from him. The trio shared the same glance, one of regret, but knowing that there was nothing they could do. The damage was done. Around Tomoyo's eyes were dark circled, and her normally flawless face was slightly blotchy from most likely crying the previous night. Eriols eyes were glued to the desk, clenched hands sitting in front of said boy.

"I wonder where she is…" he muttered, barely audible, but Tomoyo and Eriol just nodded their heads, agreeing with what he said. Class was going to start in no more than a few minutes, and the normally bouncy ball of energy and love for anyone- everyone wasn't there. Her desk, on the other side of Syaoran was empty. Just a useless space, waiting to be filled. Without warning, a figure filled their selves into the seat, startling the Chinese boy slightly. Automatically thinking it was the Card Captor he tilted his head to glance at the face.

Instead of bright, alive emerald green eyes, light hazel eyes met his vision. His hand, which was resting gently on his desk clenched into a fist upon seeing Virginia's smirking face. Had he really made the right choice?

"Syaoran, darling!" said girl cooed, her Japanese laced with her American accent. "Why so gloomy? That other girl was nothing but a worthless liar. You deserve better." Upon saying that- Virginia slid her chair and desk closer to the boy. Syaoran took a quick glance over at where his two friends sat; both of them had their heads down, not saying anything. An air of regret surrounded them.

-------------- Was It Really Worth It? -----------

"Oi! Get your lazy ass out of bed this minute!"

A groan emitted from a lump made within the simple single bed in which a figure loomed over, her hands placed on her hips- deep, red wine silk pajama pants clung onto her slim hips and a simple matching red singlet fell loosely over her top half, a slit down the middle of the top giving a slight show of skin, but not enough to be modest or improper. Upon hearing the response (which she was unable to translate) she growled, one that would rival your typical house dog. "Sakura, God damn you! It's already seven in the morning and you're still asleep! I mean, come on girl! You're almost 17, not flippen' 60 years old. And you went to bed at like; 10 o'clock last night! Why do you need to sleep so much! Honestly! And, you even snore, which keeps me up! Do you honestly hate me that much?! Why do you put me though this torment!? S-A-K-U-R-A!"

"Stop your fuckin' yelling would you!" An arm shot out from under the covers and threw one of the main small soft toys that were hidden within the covers at the black haired girl standing next to her bed, hitting the girl squarely in the head, "And I do not snore!"

"Like hell you don't! You're not the one lying in bed awake at God knows what hour listening to the wanna-be lawn mover doing it's rounds just across the room from you," snorted the more awake of the two, throwing the little blue elephant soft toy strait back at the lump, earning a satisfying growl as it hit the figure. "And there's no other way to wake you up. Honestly woman- this whole building could be on fire, bombs could be going off outside, that creepy dude from the Chainsaw Massacre could be sawing down the wall and you'd still be off in la-la land." Ruby eyes just glared at the girl before a smirk etched her slightly tanned face. Leaning down she gripped the dark blue comforter and pulled.

"I hate you so much," growled Sakura, shivering as the cool autumn air hit her exposed body (although she wore the same pajamas as her room mate, only her ones were a dark purple). Her body was curled up in the fetal position, face smothered within the pillow with long, wavy locks of deep auburn fair surrounded her body. Multiple soft toys framed her teenage body, all different sizes, animals and colours. They practically took up the whole bed when laid out, only leaving just enough room for the teenager, although it was noticeable that she was indeed lying on some.

"I love you to, Sakura. Now get up. Coffee is calling! I can hear it! It's saying "Come to me, Meling. Come and drink me- and bring that wanna-be Meling with you. You are so cool Meling! I want to be just like you. I just ca-"

Another teddy, this one a pink mouse was yet again flying at her face, which shut the teen up immediately, although she let out a little laugh and dropped the duvet on the floor. Sakura, agonizingly slowly slopped out of bed, gripping her duvet and wrapping it around her shoulders as she wiped her eyes with the back of one of her hands, the other hand holding the source of warmth securely in place. Dark emerald eyes were glazed and slightly blood-shot as her body was raked with sleep. The black haired teen jumped on the bed and tied the thick locks of hair up into a loose pony tail with one of the hair ties that always seemed to decorate her wrists. You never know when you'll need one; Meling had told anyone that dared to ask.

"Oh beautiful! Simply gorgeous!" her posh voice accented her normal accent as she giggled, fluffing the pony tail lightly, and loosely pushing Sakura up onto her feet while getting off the bed you. "I honestly don't know what I'd do with you," yawned the still half-asleep Sakura, moving over to the bedside table and gripping a cigarette tin, while Meling simply held up a lighter that she'd tucked into her bra strap while trying to wake up her best friend. ( Don't ask- for anyone that smokes, sticking the lighter in the strap of your bra is a REALLY good idea, that way you always know where it is, and it's just more covenant that way. Just a personal tip. ; )

"Oh God chicky. Don't even get me started." The girls just smiled knowingly as they walked, or rather Sakura waddled, still asleep and trying to keep the blanket from falling off, towards the door to their dorm. It was a daily routine that practically went exactly like that. Although school didn't start until 9am, the girls would get up earlier just so they could make it to the coffee machine before anyone else (as there was a limited supply of the morning drug) and quickly sneak out of school grounds for a smoke. It was their way of waking up.

The girls had met about three years ago. It was a Sunday, thus the schools allow their students to go out into town and enjoy their selves. Meling had been just casually walking down near the beach when she heard crying. Curious got the better of the black haired girl as she went down to inspect. Hidden among some of the bushes at the edge of the sand was a younger version of Sakura- her clothes were dirty, scratches and cuts adored the visible skin, her hair was tangled among the branches and her blotchy face was unnaturally pale. Meling had reacted and immediately called 111 (remember, this is New Zealand. We dial 111 for emergencies)

As it turned out, Sakura Kinomoto and her father and older brother had exited the plane at Nelson ( where I live. Search it if you want, it's such a beautiful place ) airport. They'd gotten a taxi, and while driving towards the main town there was a head on collision with another car, causing in the immediate death of the driver, but unfortunately slow and painful one by the father and brother. Luckily, Sakura's brother had protected her from life threatening damage by covering her body with his upon seeing the accident act out. Sakura was able to walk away with only cuts and bruises, slightly damaged lung and a broken rib. During the commotion, Sakura freaked and ran away from the site, unknown by the people as they were distracted by the bleeding bodies. She had run until she reached the beach, where Meling had found her almost four hours later.

Sakura hardly ever spoke for almost a year, and if she did, it was just a simple one worded answer. She and Meling had shared a room, as Sakura would shy away from others, and since Meling was the one that found her- she would just follow her around like a lost puppy. Slowly, Sakura had started to warm up to Meling, who had lost her parents when she was ten, and after living with a friend of the families for almost 3 years, Meling had decided to board at the current school. ( Which is where Sakura and Meling currently live ) Although neither girl mentioned their past, it was an unwritten rule. Although sometimes, Meling would lye awake and hear Sakura cry and fight her inner demons, because throughout the day, she would never show weakness.

The government had paid for Sakura's expenses to live at the boarding school, and Sakura just paid for all her little bits with the money she had gotten from the will, and the families trust money. And now, three years later- the girls were inseparable. One wouldn't think that so much had happened to either of them, but that just proves that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

As expected, the small, but livable kitchen was deserted. The girls gave a small laugh, joking about the latest gossip as they waited for the jug to boil. Upon filling their mugs they walked out of the building, silently drinking coffee as they went as to not spill any as they quietly walked down the street to the local corner store- a casual two minute walk from the school. It wasn't in the schools policy to allow their students to smoke, but a selected few- Mainly Sakura and Meling had gotten into much trouble, but that hadn't made any difference and as they had no other home to go to, and Sakura was being supported by the government they allowed by special request the girls to have the casual smoke every now and then. ( For the record, this school is based on the school I use to go to (left at the end of last year) although my school isn't a boarding school ) Few cars passed the pajama clad girls, although it didn't bother said girls- they had no shame. If anyone saw them walking down the street, they'd, or rather Meling would enthuasitally wave and catch said person out for watching.

Math's; whoever invented such a class was crazy. The minute hand just seemed to taunt her as Sakura just lazily watched as the clock slowly ticked- she could almost imagine the face laughing at her, and basically telling her- you're in hell. The class had only been active for 20 minutes, at the most and Sakura had zoned out after the first seven, while Meling- as soon as she entered the said class- slumped upon the desk and what looked suspiciously like sleeping. Science, Math's and Study were the only classes out of the six they were assigned that the girls were in together- and those classes, to put it bluntly; the teachers had gotten more flustered than what would have been healthy.

A timid knock sounded through the class as 31 pairs of eyes watched the door- that's exactly what you do. Make the 3rd Formers feel uncomphtorable. It was the Six formers job, and not to gloat, but they did it really well. The child, barely a teenager passed the teacher a note their face lighting up from the intense stare as they practically sprinted out of the class as soon as the said teacher had a firm grip on the paper.

"Sakura, the dean wants to see you in her office, now." A narrowed eye looked at the said student, who just returned the look and gathered her books, shooting Meling a confused glance, wondering what they did this time. Meling- who had just previously awoken shrugged, a worried and thoughtful look on her face as she attempted to remember what they'd done to cause one of them to go to the Deans office, but nothing came to mind. Sakura just shrugged as well in response as she made her way across the school to the office, hated by most students. The deans' office hardly ever meant a good thing.

She didn't even have to sit on the seats for to long before she was hustled into the small office and sat down on one of the padded chairs next to the Deans office. "We have been keeping an eye on you for around the last year," spoke the female dean, her glasses resting lightly on the bridge of her nose. Curly dark blond hair was tied into a loose plat at the nape of her neck and she wore a casual T-shirt and just below the knee length jean skirt. "And we have decided, with your permission of course- and Meling would be going with you, but we have a spot open for an exchange to Japan. It will only be for no more than a year, but it can be divided within three or six months- so if you don't want to stay there any more, we can bring you back. We were reading over your file while trying to decide, as this is with a new school- and since you have a Japanese background, and seem qualified for the spot, we picked you. Is that alright with you, Sakura?"

Her mind went numb, Japan... Her home. Everything she lost was there. Slowly, even though her throat felt as if it was closing up, she gulped silently. Hands clenching into fists as her nails dug into the skin of her palms. She had changed, she was no longer the weak Sakura she was three years ago. But was she ready to face the past? Could she honestly do it without freaking out?

Slowly, she nodded her head, none of her emotions showing as she spoke, "That's cool. Thank you for this chance." Her tone was indifferent, just the way she wanted it. The way she spoke when she didn't know how to express her feelings.

The dean let out a sigh of relief, holding out a pre filled form and pen to Sakura, "I'm glad you said yes, you just have to sign down here and then you will be shipped out on Wednesday. I know that's only 4 days ago- but due to trouble with the post, we received this opportunity late. Please inform Meling, and take these sheets with you. They have your information on it, and all the things you'd need. While over there, we'll still contact you as they will allow you to each have a laptop during your stay."

Sakura just nodded her head and walked out of the office- her mind, it felt blank- and her gut felt like it had dropped. A feeling like she needed to spew spread through her body as she breathed deeply, and slowly walking to dorms, as the lunch bell was due to ring in a couple of minutes, and Meling would come to the dorm to see how the dean meeting went. At least she had Meling with her, which was something she was glad about. And out of all the places in Japan, it's not as if she was going to her hometown. Probably one of the bigger cities or something.

But was she really ready for this? Could she fight her demons? Only time will tell- you can't keep running from the past, 'cause one day- it's just going to catch you.