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1 Author’s notes: Hello! ^-^ I’m sorry this took so long. ^^;; I’d
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2 wanted to write this for a while, so I’m glad to have finally written
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3 it. ^-^ It’s basically a chance for me to show two ideas that have
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4 been on my mind a lot lately. The first is that Tomoyo would love
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5 Sakura no matter what, because her love is so sweet and pure. I think
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6 she’s a lesbian, yes, but I think she would love Sakura even if
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7 Sakura were a boy. Her love isn’t just a trivial thing. And the
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8 second thing is that I think most of Sakura’s denseness about Tomoyo
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9 lies in the fact that she plays into her gender role. Sakura can be
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10 incredibly naïve about things, especially Tomoyo’s feelings for her.
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11 For Sakura, she knows that boys get with girls and girls get with
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12 boys. Because it’s just the way things work. She has no problem with
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13 it when it doesn’t work that way like with Yukito and Touya, but she
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14 doesn’t realize that she could love a girl, hence why she never
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15 realizes Tomoyo’s perfect for her. ^^;; But anyway, I think that
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16 would be different if she were a boy because she would see very early
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17 on that Tomoyo was a potential love interest. Anyway, that’s enough
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18 of my rambling. ^-^;; I’ve been having a lot of trouble lately, so
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19 I’ve been writing this in the meantime. If you have any comments, I
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20 would love to hear them. ^-^ Thank you! Oh, and I modeled the end
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21 after the episodes of the series, right down to the Kero-chan’s
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22 Corner and the Next Episode spot. ^-^;;; I just thought it would be
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23 fun to add. ^-^
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24
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25
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26 What is Love
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27 by the Amazoness Duo
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28 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
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29
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30
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31
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32 Cherry blossoms swirled about above the ground as if dancing to a
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33 tune that only they could hear. A single auburn haired boy moved
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34 along to the silent music as he made his way to school, skating along
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35 gracefully. Skidding in a slow circle, he continued backwards for a
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36 moment. There was something about the morning that made him feel
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37 peaceful inside. School couldn’t dampen his spirits any. How could it
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38 when it meant he’d get to see his friends and play soccer that
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39 afternoon? And, of course, she would be there. A light blush crossed
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40 his cheeks at the thought. He tried to force it away but he couldn’t
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41 help it. “Hanyaan...” he sighed happily to himself. She always made
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42 school worthwhile. She made everything seem worthwhile. Even the
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43 crazy costumes she made him wear. But if it made her happy, he’d
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44 gladly wear whatever she wanted.
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45 Smiling to himself, Sakura hurried with renewed determination to
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46 reach school, ignoring his dancing namesake along the way. School was
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47 a much more pleasant experience when a pretty girl was waiting for
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48 you. His hands on the straps of his backpack, Sakura skidded towards
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49 the large gates. “Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura called brightly,
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50 slowing to a stop near his friend.
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51 “Ohayo, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo replied, smiling her trademark smile.
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52 “A perfect arrival, as usual. The girls must all be thrilled with
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53 Sakura-chan’s cute and cool arrival.”
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54 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura blushed and rubbed the back of his head,
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55 averting his gaze. Why did she have to say so many embarrassing
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56 things all the time? He should get used to it, but she always managed
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57 to embarrass him anyway. Ignoring that for the moment, he glanced
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58 back at the pale girl to see what hairstyle she had for the day. Her
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59 hair was done up in two highly decorated pigtails, blue ribbons
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60 adorning them. One pigtail fell in front of her while the other lay
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61 draped over her backpack. Absolutely beautiful. Smiling and blushing
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62 faintly, Sakura slowly skated alongside his friend towards the front
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63 doors.
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64 “Sakura-chan looks so cute like that,” Tomoyo said with a sigh, a
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65 hand resting on her cheek. “I got some more videotape last night.
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66 Would you mind letting me videotape you some more later?” she asked
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67 eagerly.
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68 Sakura sweatdropped at his eccentric friend’s enthusiasm. “Sure, I
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69 guess. But I don’t know why you’d want to videotape me. You should
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70 really videotape something a little more interesting.”
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71 “But there isn’t anything more interesting or more handsome than
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72 Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo smiled brightly, a slight blush on her cheeks as
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73 she looked off distantly. She could see Sakura looking around in
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74 embarrassment, but that only served to spur her on. He looked so cute
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75 when he was embarrassed. If only she could catch that on video. Oh
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76 well, there was always next time. “I have the cutest costume for you,
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77 too. I can’t wait to see you try it on. My inspiration for this one
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78 was seeing you waving at those penguins at the zoo.” Seeing Sakura
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79 blink in response, Tomoyo continued. “Sakura-chan will make the
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80 cutest penguin.” ‘There,’ the pale girl thought to herself happily as
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81 Sakura shook his arms, his embarrassment growing. Tomoyo simply
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82 sighed delightedly as she continued towards her locker.
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83 “Hoe... A penguin?” Sakura sighed in defeat. He had learned long
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84 ago that it was pointless to argue about the costumes. Tomoyo knew
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85 him far too well. The pale girl easily got him to wear whatever she
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86 wanted him to. Besides, he’d worn worse than a penguin costume
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87 before. And at least he wouldn’t be capturing Cards in this one. And
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88 Tomoyo would be the only one to see it, so it wouldn’t be that big a
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89 deal. “When do you want me to come over?” he asked, getting over his
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90 initial shock swiftly.
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91 “After soccer practice would be nice. You’ll probably be tired
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92 after that, so I’ll call and make sure the limousine’s ready. I
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93 already brought a fresh videotape to catch your soccer game today, so
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94 I’ll record everything on the new tape. From Sakura-chan darting
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95 across the field in his handsome soccer uniform to Sakura playing by
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96 the poolside in his cute penguin costume, I will catch every precious
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97 moment on videotape, and seal it all forever in my heart.” Tomoyo
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98 tilted her head to the side, starry eyed. Today was already turning
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99 out to be a wonderful day. She always loved going to Sakura’s soccer
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100 games. She never really cared what was happening in the game itself.
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101 Her eyes never left the auburn haired boy on the field anyway. It was
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102 just fun to watch him with such determination, running all about. It
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103 was much the same when she got to watch him capture Cards, though
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104 that was even more fun because Sakura got to double as a life-sized
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105 doll to dress up as well. But not only did she get to record his
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106 soccer game, but she would also get to dress him up in her newest
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107 costume. Tomoyo got out her books in a state of bliss.
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108 “If you say so, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said quickly, a hand behind
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109 his head. Tomoyo had him wrapped around her little finger and he knew
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110 it. But what could he do about it? Not that he wanted to do anything
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111 about it anyway. He was very comfortable this way. Even if Tomoyo did
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112 delight in making him blush. “Oh, good morning, Li-kun!” Sakura waved
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113 brightly to his perpetually scowling rival. He was happy to be
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114 friends with the other boy now, though Syaoran was very difficult to
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115 get close to. The other boy blushed and went the other way in a
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116 hurry. “Hmm... I wonder what’s wrong with Li-kun. I hope he’s not
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117 sick.”
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118 Giggling next to her naïve friend, Tomoyo smiled sweetly. “Sakura-
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119 chan’s so handsome and cool that even the boys like him,” she
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120 explained, watching her cute friend intently with her lavender eyes.
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121 Sakura simply blinked in confusion at her statement. “Maybe I’ll tell
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122 Sakura-chan when he’s older,” she said reassuringly as she hoisted up
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123 her backpack.
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124 “Let me get that for you, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura said quickly after
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125 shaking off his confusion. He took Tomoyo’s backpack, following her
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126 to class. The dark haired girl always looked so fragile, so petite.
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127 So Sakura was happy to carry her bags for her. Tomoyo was like a
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128 beautiful princess, kind and sweet to everyone, especially Sakura.
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129 And princesses shouldn’t have to worry about things like bookbags.
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130 “Thank you, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said in her pretty, singsong
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131 voice. Walking slowly, she made her way to class. If the athletic boy
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132 noticed her slowed pace, he didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to
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133 miss a moment of his presence.
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134
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135 Pulling on the shirt of his soccer uniform, Sakura looked down at
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136 the gym bag next to him. Inside was a beautifully crafted pink and
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137 violet teddy bear. It was Sakura’s good luck charm. He picked up the
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138 small teddy bear and held it close. It still smelled of lavenders,
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139 just like Tomoyo. Sighing softly, the Master of the Cards closed his
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140 eyes. Tomoyo had given him this lovely gift several weeks ago. He had
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141 taken it with him to every one of his games sense, and kept it with
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142 him in bed every night. He was almost worried that it would start to
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143 get frayed if he kept that up. But he wanted it there with him
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144 wherever he went. It was his most precious gift, something that was
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145 very dear to him. He had treasured it from the instant Tomoyo had
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146 given it to him.
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147 The myth of the teddy bears kept coming back to Sakura when he
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148 would think about the little teddy bear. He had heard that if you
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149 made a teddy bear and gave it to the person you liked, then if they
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150 named it after you, you would both fall in love. It was a very cute
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151 myth, and something he had heard Tomoyo explain before. So did that
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152 mean this was for that purpose? Just in case, Sakura had immediately
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153 named it after the pale girl. So her little teddy bear, Tomoyo, was
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154 with her whenever her best friend, Tomoyo, couldn’t be. But was their
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155 truth to the myth?
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156 Sakura had been trying to ask Tomoyo out for the past week. But
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157 every time he wanted to, he lost the nerve. He could talk to Tomoyo
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158 about anything, but seeing her smile so prettily and asking what he
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159 wanted to talk about always made him nervous when he was about to ask
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160 her. What would she say? Did she like him? Well, that one kind of
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161 seemed a given with how she talked about him. Actually, he was pretty
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162 sure of that. And that gave him some courage to ask Tomoyo, but he
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163 still couldn’t quite figure out what to say. She always had such
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164 faith in him. What if it sounded stupid? Or worse, what if he
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165 couldn’t get it out at all? He wanted to tell her how he felt before
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166 someone else did, but he didn’t know how.
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167 Sighing, Sakura placed his teddy bear back in his gym bag. Emerald
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168 eyes sparkling determinedly, Sakura hurried towards the field. Tomoyo
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169 would be watching, so he had to try his hardest for her. And then,
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170 tonight, maybe he could tell her that he liked her. Besides, Tomoyo
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171 was always there supporting him. She would help him through it, no
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172 matter how nervous he could get looking into those stormy blue eyes.
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173 Vowing to himself that he would tell Tomoyo that night, he ran the
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174 rest of the way to the soccer field.
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175
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176 “Sakura-chan looks so cute!!” Tomoyo squealed delightedly as she
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177 zoomed in on her best friend. Before her stood a forlorn looking
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178 penguin, it’s arms hanging at its sides. Sakura was looking back at
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179 the camcorder, his face a mask of embarrassment. Tomoyo took a few
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180 steps to the side to get another viewpoint. Reaching forward, she put
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181 a finger on Sakura’s lips, drawing them up into a smile. “Much better!”
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182 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura mumbled as Tomoyo’s finger pressed near his
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183 lips. How did he let himself get talked into this? Oh yeah, Tomoyo
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184 thought it was a good idea. That was generally all it took for Sakura
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185 to do what Tomoyo wanted. Tomoyo was so nice and sweet that it was
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186 hard not to do what she wanted. And the pale girl’s beautiful smile
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187 more than made up for the discomfort of wearing a penguin costume. As
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188 long as no one at school ever saw this videotape.
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189 “Mr. Penguin sure has come a long way from the south pole. But I
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190 hope he never has to leave.” Stepping around the embarrassed Sakura,
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191 Tomoyo continued to videotape her friend. “Sakura-chan is such a shy
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192 boy, isn’t he? But I don’t mind. It means he gets to be my model
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193 alone.”
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194 “Ano.. Tomoyo-chan, was there anything else you wanted me to try on
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195 while I’m here?” Sakura interrupted. Though he wouldn’t admit it
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196 unless Tomoyo prodded him, he did enjoy being Tomoyo’s model. His
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197 mother had been a model for many years. Though he was a lot shyer
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198 than his mother, he did enjoy modeling the pale girl’s outfits for
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199 her. Especially with how thrilled Tomoyo always was to videotape him
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200 in new things. It made him feel special to hear her in such delight.
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201 Tomoyo made him feel special with everything she said and did.
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202 Her hand on her chin, Tomoyo stood in thought for a moment. “Well,
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203 there is one more costume that I’ve nearly finished. It wouldn’t take
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204 more than a few minutes to sew on the last bit.” She continued to
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205 scratch her chin thoughtfully as she recorded her cute penguin
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206 attired best friend.
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207 “That sounds great. I’ll just change out of this while I wait for
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208 you to finish, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said energetically. It would be a
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209 little awkward, he was sure, but it couldn’t be worse than the
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210 penguin costume, adorable as it was. And if it made Tomoyo happy, so
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211 much the better. Besides, he just wanted to do everything he could
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212 for his eccentric friend. His heart swelled as he replayed the words
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213 again and again in his head. ‘Tomoyo-chan, I have something I want to
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214 tell you..’ he began again.
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215 “All right. Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. I can’t wait to see you
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216 in it! You’ll be so cute, I know it.” Bowing to Sakura, the pale girl
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217 turned and led Sakura back into the house before disappearing into
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218 her room. She was eager to see Sakura in her new costume. It was a
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219 little different from the other ones she had made over the years, but
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220 she had no doubt that Sakura would pull it off perfectly.
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221 Sakura headed to the bathroom where his school uniform was still
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222 waiting. He pulled the shorts on first, glad to be out of the goofy
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223 albeit extremely cute penguin costume. It was nice to be a normal boy
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224 again and not a lost penguin. Smiling, he pulled on his shirt as he
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225 wondered what exotic design Tomoyo’s new design would be.
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226
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227 “Kawaii!! Sakura-chan is so pretty! You put all the girls to shame,
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228 Sakura-chan!”
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229 Sakura stared at the videocamera with a mortified look on his face.
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230 He was in a beautiful blue dress with a long white apron, a la Alice
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231 in Wonderland. Long, white stocking ran up his legs, disappearing
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232 under the frilly skirt. He had cute pink ribbons in his hair and
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233 small, pale blue gloves. “To..To..moyo-chan...” he got out weakly,
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234 his face crimson as he finally worked up enough thought to try and
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235 cover himself from the relentless camcorder. Tomoyo simply
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236 sidestepped, getting a good look at his side.
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237 “I knew you’d make a beautiful girl, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said
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238 excitedly, a hand resting on her cheek. “You’re even prettier than
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239 all of the girls at school.” Sighing happily to herself, Tomoyo
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240 reached down and smoothed out the skirt a little more. Her darling
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241 Sakura made a very handsome boy, but he also made a gorgeous girl.
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242 Blushing, Tomoyo stood back up to videotape some more. She wanted to
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243 have plenty of this for later. Sakura was just too cute not to
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244 capture every instant.
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245 “Do.. Do you really think so?” Sakura asked curiously, turning his
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246 face to watch the pale girl. He blushed deeper when he saw her nod.
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247 It was bizarre, certainly, but he found himself very happy to hear
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248 that she thought he was prettier than the girls at school. It wasn’t
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249 something he had ever thought about before, but it was nice to know
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250 all the same. Especially if Tomoyo thought so. The lavender haired
|
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rlm@0
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251 girl disappeared out of his line of sight after a moment and he
|
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rlm@0
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252 whirled to catch sight of her, the long skirt flowing around him. He
|
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rlm@0
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253 blushed and held it down tightly, not wanting anything to get caught
|
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rlm@0
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254 on videotape. Tomoyo had given him a pair of panties to wear as well,
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rlm@0
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255 saying that it was to keep everything authentic. He blushed deeper as
|
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rlm@0
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256 he wondered if they were Tomoyo’s. He shook his head quickly, trying
|
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rlm@0
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257 to concentrate on the moment. But that wasn’t helping either. He was
|
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rlm@0
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258 currently dressed up in girls’ clothes, so thinking about the moment
|
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rlm@0
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259 probably wasn’t the way to go.
|
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rlm@0
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260 “Of course I do. You’re so beautiful, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered
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rlm@0
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261 gently, brushing Sakura’s bangs away from his eyes. She smiled at
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rlm@0
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262 him, no more than a few inches away. He really did look like a girl.
|
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rlm@0
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263 If Tomoyo didn’t know better, she would have been sure he was. Her
|
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rlm@0
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264 mind was already fast at work on other cute designs for her friend.
|
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rlm@0
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265 This little experiment had proven a brilliant success. Sakura was
|
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rlm@0
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266 cute in boys’ clothes and girls’ clothes. It opened up Tomoyo’s
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rlm@0
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267 costume designs to as of yet unknown heights. She was already excited
|
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rlm@0
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268 with the possibilities. “You’ll have to let me videotape you wearing
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rlm@0
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269 one of my school uniforms sometime,” Tomoyo stated simply, drawing
|
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rlm@0
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270 another dark blush from the boy she loved. He was just so cute.
|
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rlm@0
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271 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whined, unable to look away from Tomoyo’s
|
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rlm@0
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272 pretty lavender eyes. There was a small thrill about the whole thing.
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rlm@0
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273 Tomoyo obviously seemed to like it. Besides, wasn’t this the whole
|
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rlm@0
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274 reason he dressed up in Tomoyo’s designs anyway, because the dark
|
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rlm@0
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275 haired girl wanted him to? So how was this different from dressing up
|
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rlm@0
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276 as a penguin? Because he wasn’t crossdressing as the penguin! “This
|
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rlm@0
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277 isn’t much like dressing up as a penguin, Tomoyo-chan,” he said weakly.
|
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rlm@0
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278 The heiress looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling. “I never
|
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rlm@0
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279 said if you were a boy penguin or a girl penguin. You could have been
|
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rlm@0
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280 dressed as a girl penguin. In which case, it’s exactly the same
|
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rlm@0
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281 thing, Tomoyo surmised. Sakura simply sweatdropped as her reply.
|
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rlm@0
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282 Tomoyo sighed exquisitely at the beautiful sight before her. “I
|
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rlm@0
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283 always knew you were handsome, Sakura-chan. But you’re also gorgeous.”
|
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rlm@0
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284 Sakura could only blush deeper in response, finally pulling his eyes
|
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rlm@0
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285 away from Tomoyo as he stared down at stocking clad legs and cute
|
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rlm@0
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286 buckled shoes. He could hear Tomoyo walking around him, videotaping
|
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rlm@0
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287 this whole disturbing event for later viewing. “Could you lay down on
|
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rlm@0
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288 your stomach? If you could lift a leg into the air and place your
|
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rlm@0
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289 chin in your hands when you do, that would be so cute!” she heard
|
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rlm@0
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290 Tomoyo say. Sighing deeply, Sakura went to comply with his best
|
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rlm@0
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291 friend’s request. At least no one would ever see this. His brother
|
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rlm@0
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292 would never let him hear the end of it if he only knew.
|
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rlm@0
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293
|
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rlm@0
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294 Finally back in his school uniform, Sakura sat on Tomoyo’s bed while
|
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rlm@0
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295 the lavender haired girl busily set about labeling her tape and
|
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rlm@0
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296 finding a spot for it amongst her huge collection of Sakura tapes.
|
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rlm@0
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297 Sakura was a little surprised to see himself all over his friend’s
|
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rlm@0
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298 room. This wasn’t his first time there, but he always found himself
|
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rlm@0
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299 surprised to see more and more of himself up whenever he went. There
|
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rlm@0
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300 were pictures of him all over as well as Tomoyo’s expansive videotape
|
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rlm@0
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301 collection. Her otherwise pristine desk was cluttered in only one
|
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rlm@0
|
302 place, on Tomoyo desk with all of her costume designs. And even that
|
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rlm@0
|
303 was an organized chaos. Everything seemed in place even as design
|
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rlm@0
|
304 after design got stacked up on her desk. Sakura smiled as he saw a
|
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rlm@0
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305 picture of himself and Tomoyo in kimonos next to Tomoyo’s bed.
|
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rlm@0
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306 Tomoyo’s mother, Sonomi, had taken that picture a while back. Sakura
|
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rlm@0
|
307 had been worried about how it would turn out, but Tomoyo had told him
|
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rlm@0
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308 that he was always cute so he shouldn’t worry about it. Turning to
|
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rlm@0
|
309 look for his eccentric best friend, he could spy her kneeling before
|
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rlm@0
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310 her videotape collection, looking for the spot for her newest tape.
|
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rlm@0
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311 Tomoyo really was beautiful. Everything about her was so graceful,
|
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rlm@0
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312 almost as if it were all planned out. The pale girl looked so
|
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rlm@0
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313 delicate, her long lavender hair flowing behind her in those
|
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rlm@0
|
314 beautiful pigtails. Sakura felt happy to be able to spend this time
|
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rlm@0
|
315 with his friend.
|
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rlm@0
|
316 “When do you have to be home, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo asked curiously
|
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rlm@0
|
317 as she stood up and walked back towards the auburn haired boy. She
|
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rlm@0
|
318 had known he was watching her, but hadn’t wanted to embarrass him
|
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rlm@0
|
319 about it. And she was thrilled to have his eyes on her. She was
|
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rlm@0
|
320 always happy to have his attention.
|
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rlm@0
|
321 “Probably pretty soon. It’s my night to cook because onii-chan has
|
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rlm@0
|
322 to work.” Sakura sighed, his hands behind his head. He didn’t want to
|
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rlm@0
|
323 go home. Staying with Tomoyo sounded infinitely better than making
|
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rlm@0
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324 dinner.
|
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rlm@0
|
325 “I’ll make sure the limousine can take you back home, then. You ran
|
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rlm@0
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326 so hard at soccer that I’m surprised you can move at all anymore.”
|
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rlm@0
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327 Tomoyo smiled at her weary best friend, rubbing his shoulders gently.
|
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rlm@0
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328 Sakura blushed at Tomoyo’s touch, looking around the large room.
|
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rlm@0
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329 “Un, but I wanted to play my best because you were watching me. I
|
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rlm@0
|
330 wanted it to be a good game for you.” Fidgeting a bit, Sakura looked
|
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rlm@0
|
331 down at his shoe, trying to concentrate on anything other than the
|
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rlm@0
|
332 girl behind him.
|
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rlm@0
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333 “You played really well, Sakura-chan. But I like watching all of
|
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rlm@0
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334 your games, even when you’re distracted,” Tomoyo chirped up brightly.
|
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rlm@0
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335 “You’re always so cute out there on the field, kicking the ball
|
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rlm@0
|
336 around everywhere. I love watching you.” A soft sigh drifted to the
|
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rlm@0
|
337 auburn haired boy’s ear as Tomoyo continued rubbing his shoulders.
|
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rlm@0
|
338 “Tomoyo-chan, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a
|
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rlm@0
|
339 while,” Sakura got out nervously, finally getting himself to look up.
|
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rlm@0
|
340 He turned to face Tomoyo, looking into her sparkling blue eyes. “I..
|
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rlm@0
|
341 You’ve always been my best friend and.. It’s always so nice when
|
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rlm@0
|
342 you..” Sakura bit his lip, trying to decide what to say. It had all
|
|
rlm@0
|
343 sounded so much easier in his thoughts on the drive up.
|
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rlm@0
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344 Tomoyo tilted her head to the side thoughtfully as she watched
|
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rlm@0
|
345 Sakura struggling. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a cloud of
|
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rlm@0
|
346 butterflies as she slowly realized what Sakura was trying to say.
|
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rlm@0
|
347 “Yes, Sakura-chan?” she asked helpfully. “You know you can tell me
|
|
rlm@0
|
348 anything.” ‘And if you want to tell me what I think you do, then
|
|
rlm@0
|
349 there is absolutely nothing for you to fear because I love you with
|
|
rlm@0
|
350 all of my heart.’
|
|
rlm@0
|
351 “I really, really like you, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura got out at last,
|
|
rlm@0
|
352 his cheeks flushing as he looked at her. It took all of his will to
|
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rlm@0
|
353 keep from averting his gaze. “More than anything or anyone. I’m just
|
|
rlm@0
|
354 so happy when I’m with you. I always feel so.. hanyaan. And I’ve been
|
|
rlm@0
|
355 thinking a lot since you gave me the teddy bear and all and I was
|
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rlm@0
|
356 hoping that you might feel the same way and..” Sakura finally paused
|
|
rlm@0
|
357 to take a breath. “Will you go out with me, Tomoyo-chan?” His heart
|
|
rlm@0
|
358 froze as he waited for a reply. His reply came in the form of
|
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rlm@0
|
359 Tomoyo’s arms wrapping tightly around him. A slow smile spread across
|
|
rlm@0
|
360 his face as he relaxed against the lavender haired girl.
|
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rlm@0
|
361 “I would love to go out with you, Sakura-chan! More than anything
|
|
rlm@0
|
362 else in the world. Of course I like you. I always have. I’ve always
|
|
rlm@0
|
363 loved you, Sakura-chan.” Tomoyo’s heart nearly burst with the love
|
|
rlm@0
|
364 that wanted to escape to Sakura at the auburn haired boy’s lovely
|
|
rlm@0
|
365 words. She hugged him tightly, sighing. It was like the most
|
|
rlm@0
|
366 beautiful dream imaginable come true. She had hoped that she might be
|
|
rlm@0
|
367 Sakura’s special someone, that she might be the one to make him
|
|
rlm@0
|
368 happy. And now that he had spoken it, she felt deliriously happy, as
|
|
rlm@0
|
369 if she had been placed directly in the path of a tornado. It swept
|
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rlm@0
|
370 her up with rapid and intense force, throwing her around in its
|
|
rlm@0
|
371 strength and ferocity. “Oh, Sakura-chan..” Tomoyo whispered
|
|
rlm@0
|
372 delightedly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
373 “Tomoyo-chan.. Arigato gozimasu!” Sakura stood up quickly, smiling
|
|
rlm@0
|
374 brightly. “I’ll try to come up with some place nice to take you, I
|
|
rlm@0
|
375 promise,” he said, bowing.
|
|
rlm@0
|
376 “I’ll be happy to go anywhere with you,” Tomoyo responded with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
377 trademark smile.
|
|
rlm@0
|
378 Sakura blushed and nodded quickly. “Un.. I’ll see you tomorrow,
|
|
rlm@0
|
379 Tomoyo-chan! Thank you!!” He hugged the pale girl again, fighting the
|
|
rlm@0
|
380 urge to stay that way when Tomoyo’s hands began stroking his back
|
|
rlm@0
|
381 warmly. But he knew if he stayed he would never be home in time to
|
|
rlm@0
|
382 finish dinner. And he was had to find the perfect place to take
|
|
rlm@0
|
383 Tomoyo on their date. Determination glinting in his eyes, he smiled
|
|
rlm@0
|
384 to Tomoyo before heading to the door. “Bye, Tomoyo-chan!!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
385 “Goodnight, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo waved to the athletic boy as he
|
|
rlm@0
|
386 hurried out her door. Sighing deliciously, Tomoyo collapsed on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
387 bed. Sakura had asked her out. He had finally asked her out. Her one,
|
|
rlm@0
|
388 true love liked her. Life was, indeed, full of very pleasant
|
|
rlm@0
|
389 surprises, especially when Sakura was involved. “Hanyaan,” she
|
|
rlm@0
|
390 whispered, taking a cue from Sakura.
|
|
rlm@0
|
391
|
|
rlm@0
|
392 “He really is cute in a dress,” Sonomi admitted, tilting her head to
|
|
rlm@0
|
393 the side. “He doesn’t look much like Nadeshiko-chan, but those eyes
|
|
rlm@0
|
394 are so much like hers. You can tell he’s her daughter. I mean, her
|
|
rlm@0
|
395 son.” The elder Daidouji woman shook her head as she sat with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
396 daughter, watching the younger girl’s latest tape. Sonomi often
|
|
rlm@0
|
397 enjoyed watching them with Tomoyo, thrilled to get a glimpse of
|
|
rlm@0
|
398 Nadeshiko’s youngest son. Nadeshiko’s curious eccentricities even
|
|
rlm@0
|
399 showed through in her son’s strange name. And aside from getting
|
|
rlm@0
|
400 glimpses of Nadeshiko’s child, it was the perfect time to spend
|
|
rlm@0
|
401 together with her own daughter.
|
|
rlm@0
|
402 “Hai, very cute. I want to see if he’ll let me videotape him in my
|
|
rlm@0
|
403 school uniform,” Tomoyo commented, brushing back some dark hair from
|
|
rlm@0
|
404 her eyes. She was still in a daze about earlier, but she had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
405 eager to show her latest video to her mother. She was certain Sonomi
|
|
rlm@0
|
406 would enjoy it the same way she did. “He makes a very cute girl.” Her
|
|
rlm@0
|
407 hand went to her chin thoughtfully. “He makes a very cute girl and a
|
|
rlm@0
|
408 very cute boy. Sakura-chan is cute no matter which gender he is.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
409 Sonomi laughed softly as she watched the camera angle change. “I’d
|
|
rlm@0
|
410 have to say he’s a little cuter as a girl. If he wasn’t standing so
|
|
rlm@0
|
411 awkwardly it would be impossible to tell. Maybe you can make him
|
|
rlm@0
|
412 dress that way after you start dating. And I think it would be
|
|
rlm@0
|
413 adorable if you can videotape him in your school uniform. You’ll have
|
|
rlm@0
|
414 to show me that tape as soon as you get it.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
415 “Hai, okaa-sama. I hope I can get it soon myself. And it would be
|
|
rlm@0
|
416 cute if he’d let me dress him like that on our dates. But I’ll
|
|
rlm@0
|
417 probably have to wait a little while before he will. Sakura-chan can
|
|
rlm@0
|
418 be so shy, so I want to wait a little while. I’m just so happy to be
|
|
rlm@0
|
419 dating him in the first place. He’s so perfect. I love him so much.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
420 Watching her lovesick daughter, Sonomi smiled. She was happy to see
|
|
rlm@0
|
421 Tomoyo in love. It reminded her so much of when she had been younger
|
|
rlm@0
|
422 with her cousin, Sakura’s mother, Nadeshiko. And seeing her daughter
|
|
rlm@0
|
423 so excited did her heart good. Her daughter’s happiness was one of
|
|
rlm@0
|
424 the most important things to her. It was so nice to see her about to
|
|
rlm@0
|
425 start dating. And Nadeshiko’s son, no less. It was almost like Fate
|
|
rlm@0
|
426 had arranged the whole thing. So maybe Sonomi could stop hating Fate
|
|
rlm@0
|
427 so much. Maybe just a little bit. “I know, dear. I know.” Sonomi
|
|
rlm@0
|
428 pulled Tomoyo to her side, feeling Tomoyo’s heart beating swiftly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
429 Bending down, she kissed her daughter’s forehead, resting her head on
|
|
rlm@0
|
430 Tomoyo’s as she went back to watching the tape.
|
|
rlm@0
|
431
|
|
rlm@0
|
432 “Hoe...” Pacing the length of his room, Sakura nearly walked
|
|
rlm@0
|
433 directly into the wall. Reeling back, the startled boy’s shoulders
|
|
rlm@0
|
434 slumped and a sigh escaped him. His thoughts were moving along the
|
|
rlm@0
|
435 same lines as his body, moving all around but getting nowhere but
|
|
rlm@0
|
436 dead ends. Flopping down on his bed, the auburn haired boy stared up
|
|
rlm@0
|
437 at the rood. He’d been struggling with his thoughts for the past two
|
|
rlm@0
|
438 hours. Giddiness still burst through him whenever he thought back to
|
|
rlm@0
|
439 the fact that his angelic best friend had agreed to go out with him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
440 But that only strengthened his determination to find the perfect
|
|
rlm@0
|
441 place to take her. But where? What could be perfect for a date with
|
|
rlm@0
|
442 such a perfect girl? ‘I’ll be happy to go anywhere with you,’ Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
443 had said. And Sakura didn’t doubt the eccentric heiress for a moment.
|
|
rlm@0
|
444 But he couldn’t let that stop him from finding out where to take his
|
|
rlm@0
|
445 new girlfriend. Clenching his fists and narrowing his vision, Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
446 got back to work.
|
|
rlm@0
|
447 “This is too hard! I can’t think of anything. Tomoyo-chan is so much
|
|
rlm@0
|
448 better at these things than I am,” Sakura lamented just a short time
|
|
rlm@0
|
449 later. And it was true. Tomoyo was usually the one to invite him
|
|
rlm@0
|
450 places or the one who could figure out difficult details such as the
|
|
rlm@0
|
451 one Sakura found himself pondering. He knew that she could think up
|
|
rlm@0
|
452 someplace for the two of them to go. But that was his job, wasn’t it?
|
|
rlm@0
|
453 Or was it? The lavender haired girl always did such a better job at
|
|
rlm@0
|
454 figuring these kinds of things out, even if it did get him in some
|
|
rlm@0
|
455 awkward situations like the penguin fiasco earlier. But still... He
|
|
rlm@0
|
456 had asked her out. He should come up with where he was going to take
|
|
rlm@0
|
457 her. He couldn’t exactly call her up and ask her to decide for him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
458 Rolling onto his stomach, Sakura hugged his pillow, his legs moving
|
|
rlm@0
|
459 absentmindedly in the air. A movie? No, that didn’t sound good. How
|
|
rlm@0
|
460 often did they really go to movies anyway? Dinner? Where would they
|
|
rlm@0
|
461 go? Touya might know a few good places with how often he worked at
|
|
rlm@0
|
462 restaurants, but Sakura doubted he had the money to afford anything
|
|
rlm@0
|
463 really nice. A picnic in the park? But they already did that all the
|
|
rlm@0
|
464 time. What would be special about that? Only... It always felt
|
|
rlm@0
|
465 special when they would go together, just the two of them. They would
|
|
rlm@0
|
466 sit and talk for hours, watching the beautiful world around them and
|
|
rlm@0
|
467 just enjoying each other’s company. And Tomoyo was so sweet and
|
|
rlm@0
|
468 gentle. She would listen carefully to everything Sakura had to say,
|
|
rlm@0
|
469 always helpful with whatever was on his mind. And she always said the
|
|
rlm@0
|
470 nicest things, even if they were embarrassing.
|
|
rlm@0
|
471 “I said, ‘What’s too hard?’. You know I can figure it out, whatever
|
|
rlm@0
|
472 it is. I’m good at these things,” Kero stated confidently as he
|
|
rlm@0
|
473 floated down onto Sakura’s bed, his arms crossed. “C’mon, Sakura-
|
|
rlm@0
|
474 chan. You can tell me.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
475 Sweatdropping, Sakura looked back at the Seal Beast curiously. Is
|
|
rlm@0
|
476 help generally wasn’t as helpful as Tomoyo’s. What he lacked in
|
|
rlm@0
|
477 genuine helpfulness, he sure made up for with self-confidence. “I’m
|
|
rlm@0
|
478 trying to decide where to take Tomoyo-chan on our date,” he said
|
|
rlm@0
|
479 quickly, his cheeks reddening as he buried his face into her pillow.
|
|
rlm@0
|
480 “Huh? I have no idea how you can make Tomoyo-chan late. Hmm...” The
|
|
rlm@0
|
481 Seal Beast contemplated Sakura’s muffled concerns, scratching his
|
|
rlm@0
|
482 chin with one tiny paw. “You could always steal her shoes. Or lock
|
|
rlm@0
|
483 her in a broom closet. Or I could distract her. Depends what you need
|
|
rlm@0
|
484 her late for.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
485 “Date! Date!! I need to decide where to take Tomoyo-chan on our
|
|
rlm@0
|
486 date!” Sakura repeated, sitting up and hoisting the pillow above his
|
|
rlm@0
|
487 head in case the floating teddy bear decided to joke about the
|
|
rlm@0
|
488 situation. His cheeks darkened considerably as he saw the sly grin
|
|
rlm@0
|
489 spread across Kero’s face.
|
|
rlm@0
|
490 “Date, you say? Well, if there’s one thing the mighty Cereberus
|
|
rlm@0
|
491 knows, it’s a thing or two about love. Just listen to me and you’ll
|
|
rlm@0
|
492 be reaching first, second, and third base in no time! Hell, with my
|
|
rlm@0
|
493 advice, you’ll be hitting field goals and scoring bogeys!” Kero
|
|
rlm@0
|
494 grinned as he walked up to Sakura, nudging him in the side. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
495 Cardmaster had no idea what Kero was talking about, but his blush
|
|
rlm@0
|
496 worsened nonetheless. “Boy, have you come to the right place. Because
|
|
rlm@0
|
497 I’m not only the Beast of the Seal, I’m the Beast of Love.” His tiny
|
|
rlm@0
|
498 eyebrows raised up and down suggestively as he looked up at the green
|
|
rlm@0
|
499 eyed boy.
|
|
rlm@0
|
500 Before Sakura could respond to Kero’s delusions of grandeur, the
|
|
rlm@0
|
501 door burst open. Touya looked into the room, spotting Sakura on the
|
|
rlm@0
|
502 bed. Kero collapsed by Sakura’s side, lying lifeless in the hopes
|
|
rlm@0
|
503 that Sakura’s older brother hadn’t heard them talking. “Umm... Hi,
|
|
rlm@0
|
504 onii-chan. What’s wrong? If this is about the dishes, it’s your day.
|
|
rlm@0
|
505 I checked.” He smiled, pulling Kero onto his lap as he waited for his
|
|
rlm@0
|
506 older brother to either agree or make some outrageous claim about it
|
|
rlm@0
|
507 being Sakura’s day for the dishes. But he’d glanced at the schedule
|
|
rlm@0
|
508 and he was sure. Reasonably sure, at any rate.
|
|
rlm@0
|
509 Touya closed the door behind him after he entered the room. He paced
|
|
rlm@0
|
510 back and forth for a moment as if trying to decide what to say. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
511 finally sat on the bed and stared at his younger brother fixedly for
|
|
rlm@0
|
512 a long moment. Sakura returned his gaze uneasily for a bit before
|
|
rlm@0
|
513 looking away. “So you’re going on a date?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
514 Sakura’s face immediately darkened once more at Touya’s question. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
515 sounded more like an accusation than a question at the moment. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
516 looked around, his cheeks flushed as he tried to think of a suitable
|
|
rlm@0
|
517 answer. Finally giving up that venue, Sakura nodded in agreement. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
518 needed to remember not to talk so loud with Kero when Touya was home.
|
|
rlm@0
|
519 “With Tomoyo-chan?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
520 Again Sakura nodded, feeling more and more embarrassed as time went
|
|
rlm@0
|
521 by. What did Touya want? Was he there to tease him about it? Why did
|
|
rlm@0
|
522 he care who his younger brother was dating?
|
|
rlm@0
|
523 “I thought so. It’s obvious she likes you. I was waiting for you to
|
|
rlm@0
|
524 get the hint,” Touya said matter-of-factly. He watched in amusement
|
|
rlm@0
|
525 as Sakura’s embarrassment quickly changed to a frown, his younger
|
|
rlm@0
|
526 brother squeezing the stuffed animal in his arms tightly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
527 “I’m not that dense. I’ve known it for a while. She did give me that
|
|
rlm@0
|
528 teddy bear and all,” Sakura argued, squeezing poor Kero in his
|
|
rlm@0
|
529 frustration. His brother always got him riled up like this. Oh, if he
|
|
rlm@0
|
530 was only taller than him...
|
|
rlm@0
|
531 “Sure...” Touya said unconvincingly, raising an eyebrow. He knew how
|
|
rlm@0
|
532 dense his little brother could be at times. It was a surprise that he
|
|
rlm@0
|
533 ever figured it out. But that wasn’t the point at the moment.
|
|
rlm@0
|
534 “Doesn’t matter. You finally figured it out. I’m proud of you,
|
|
rlm@0
|
535 monsters. And you asked her out at that? So you’re ready to go on
|
|
rlm@0
|
536 your first date?” Despite his usual arguments with Sakura, he really
|
|
rlm@0
|
537 did care for his little brother’s well being. He just showed it in an
|
|
rlm@0
|
538 odd way at times. And since his father wasn’t here to offer Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
539 some friendly dating advice, he would have to fill in. At Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
540 quick nods, Touya continued. “So you don’t know where to take her?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
541 Again, a nod. “Here.” The older boy tossed a paper to Sakura, the
|
|
rlm@0
|
542 auburn haired boy immediately picking it up. “It’s a festival. Tomoyo-
|
|
rlm@0
|
543 chan probably would’ve invited you there in a few days anyway. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
544 always does. Why not make it a date? Besides, she’ll look cute all
|
|
rlm@0
|
545 dressed up in a yukata, so you might as well have an excuse for
|
|
rlm@0
|
546 whatever you wind up doing with her behind the trees.” Touya smirked
|
|
rlm@0
|
547 before pain shot through his leg. Sakura’s foot remained planted
|
|
rlm@0
|
548 against his leg where he had kicked him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
549 “Onii-chan...” Sakura growled, his eyes narrowed. Touya’s eyes
|
|
rlm@0
|
550 narrowed as well as the two brothers stared each other down, one
|
|
rlm@0
|
551 being considerably taller than the other. But Sakura either didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
552 notice or didn’t care. Just as quickly as his ire had appeared, it
|
|
rlm@0
|
553 faded away as Sakura took another glance at the flier. “That might be
|
|
rlm@0
|
554 a good idea. It would be fun. And it would be a nice place to take
|
|
rlm@0
|
555 Tomoyo-chan. Maybe I can win her a prize or something, too.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
556 “Yeah, you never know. Yuki and I already planned on going, so I
|
|
rlm@0
|
557 figured the two of you would probably be there as well. And it works
|
|
rlm@0
|
558 well enough. Maybe if you’re busy making eyes at Tomoyo, you’ll stop
|
|
rlm@0
|
559 making them at Yuki,” Touya reasoned, his head tilted to the side for
|
|
rlm@0
|
560 a moment. He grinned as Sakura crossed his arms, fuming.
|
|
rlm@0
|
561 “It’s not like that! Yukito-san’s just... Ohhh!! Onii-chan!!” Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
562 humphed and stared at his older brother again. He didn’t know why his
|
|
rlm@0
|
563 older brother always teased him about Yukito. The older boy was very
|
|
rlm@0
|
564 nice, much nicer than his older brother, and it was fun to be around
|
|
rlm@0
|
565 him. Not unlike Tomoyo, in fact. But it wasn’t the exact same thing.
|
|
rlm@0
|
566 Aside from Yukito being a boy, he didn’t have that same feeling of
|
|
rlm@0
|
567 love and warmth that encompassed Sakura whenever he was with Tomoyo.
|
|
rlm@0
|
568 But it was pointless explaining it all to Touya, especially when he
|
|
rlm@0
|
569 was too embarrassed about the whole thing to come up with a good
|
|
rlm@0
|
570 argument.
|
|
rlm@0
|
571 Putting an arm around his younger brother, Touya drew the younger
|
|
rlm@0
|
572 boy closer. “All right, you better listen up, Sakura-chan. There are
|
|
rlm@0
|
573 some things you need to know before your date.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
574 Sweatdropping, Sakura wondered if he would’ve been better off with
|
|
rlm@0
|
575 Kero’s talk.
|
|
rlm@0
|
576
|
|
rlm@0
|
577 Licking his dry lips, Sakura slowly reached out for the doorknob.
|
|
rlm@0
|
578 His hand shook lightly as he grasped the doorknob, his palms sweaty.
|
|
rlm@0
|
579 His brows furrowed as he tried to concentrate, to push off the
|
|
rlm@0
|
580 nervousness that toyed with him. This was his first date. He was
|
|
rlm@0
|
581 about to go out with his best friend. What would change after this?
|
|
rlm@0
|
582 What would happen? Well, only one way to find out, right? Steeling
|
|
rlm@0
|
583 himself, Sakura opened the door. The sight that awaited him took his
|
|
rlm@0
|
584 breath away. “Tomoyo-chan...” he whispered, catching eye of the pale
|
|
rlm@0
|
585 beauty before him. “You’re... gorgeous...” Emerald eyes studied the
|
|
rlm@0
|
586 stunning figure before him. Beautiful pale skin looked to have an
|
|
rlm@0
|
587 ethereal glow all it’s own wherever it peaked out of the yukata, both
|
|
rlm@0
|
588 at Tomoyo’s arms and her pretty face. Her long, lavender hair was
|
|
rlm@0
|
589 done up in elegant braids, spilling down her back. Shimmering stormy
|
|
rlm@0
|
590 blue eyes shined luminously. Her small body shifted gracefully as the
|
|
rlm@0
|
591 angelic girl bowed before Sakura. Her long hair pooled to one side
|
|
rlm@0
|
592 before she stood back up, the precious silken strands falling back
|
|
rlm@0
|
593 into place.
|
|
rlm@0
|
594 “Thank you very much, Sakura-chan. You look very handsome. I wish I
|
|
rlm@0
|
595 had my camcorder with me.” One of Tomoyo’s pale hands went to her
|
|
rlm@0
|
596 flushed cheeks as she sighed, watching Sakura intently. She had
|
|
rlm@0
|
597 struggled with the decision of whether or not to take the camcorder
|
|
rlm@0
|
598 with her for the past few days but had finally decided against it.
|
|
rlm@0
|
599 She immediately regretted it upon seeing her prince all dressed up in
|
|
rlm@0
|
600 a yukata. What a darling picture it would have made!
|
|
rlm@0
|
601 “You look just like mother,” Touya said after a moment’s pause. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
602 had come to the door to wish the two a goodnight as he waited for
|
|
rlm@0
|
603 Yukito to arrive, but had been astonished by the figure at the door.
|
|
rlm@0
|
604 It was like one of the pictures of his mother from long ago brought
|
|
rlm@0
|
605 to life. He had originally thought it was his mother’s spirit
|
|
rlm@0
|
606 visiting them again, but only the stormy blue eyes had given away the
|
|
rlm@0
|
607 figure’s true identity.
|
|
rlm@0
|
608 Sakura was about to protest his brother’s statement, but he had to
|
|
rlm@0
|
609 admit that Tomoyo certainly looked similar to the photos he had seen.
|
|
rlm@0
|
610 He couldn’t remember his mother well, as she had died when he had
|
|
rlm@0
|
611 only been three years old, but Tomoyo had the same captivating
|
|
rlm@0
|
612 appeal, the same delicate beauty. “Hai...” Sakura shook himself out
|
|
rlm@0
|
613 of his trance quickly, noticing the odd way Touya was staring at
|
|
rlm@0
|
614 Tomoyo. Taking Tomoyo’s hand quickly, Sakura stared at her brother
|
|
rlm@0
|
615 before stepping outside with her. “Bye, onii-chan!” he said quickly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
616 He didn’t want to share Tomoyo with anyone tonight, not even for
|
|
rlm@0
|
617 glimpses of their mother. He wanted to be alone with her on this
|
|
rlm@0
|
618 special night of theirs. He smiled softly at the beautiful girl in
|
|
rlm@0
|
619 front of him, nearly melting at the pretty smile she granted him in
|
|
rlm@0
|
620 return. “Tomoyo-chan.” It took him a long moment to realize he was
|
|
rlm@0
|
621 staring again. Looking down sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his
|
|
rlm@0
|
622 head. “We should probably get going now, huh?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
623 “If that’s what Sakura-chan wants to do,” Tomoyo replied, soft
|
|
rlm@0
|
624 fingers entwining with the auburn haired boy’s. He was so cute. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
625 the way he had looked at her sent a trill through Tomoyo’s heart. A
|
|
rlm@0
|
626 date with Sakura. It was finally happening. The heiress had to
|
|
rlm@0
|
627 struggle to remain in the here and now, already thinking about things
|
|
rlm@0
|
628 like marriage and children and mountain sized piles of videotape. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
629 even with the sweet little secrets the future hinted at, the present
|
|
rlm@0
|
630 was a very pleasant place to be. It was right with Sakura, right
|
|
rlm@0
|
631 where she always wanted to be.
|
|
rlm@0
|
632 Sakura nodded quickly, his cheeks still tinted pink. “Yeah, we’ll
|
|
rlm@0
|
633 just go.” He laughed a little nervously, but it slowly began to fade
|
|
rlm@0
|
634 away as Tomoyo nodded her agreement, still holding his hand. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
635 smiled happily at his best friend, for once feeling the genuine
|
|
rlm@0
|
636 elation of the night in full without the worrisome nervousness that
|
|
rlm@0
|
637 had accompanied so much of the past several days. The two slowly
|
|
rlm@0
|
638 began walking, leaving the limousine that had dropped Tomoyo off at
|
|
rlm@0
|
639 Sakura’s house as well as Tomoyo’s bodyguards far behind. Sakura was
|
|
rlm@0
|
640 surprised at how easy this all felt. He had thought that this would
|
|
rlm@0
|
641 be such a difficult thing, being on a date with Tomoyo. But it was
|
|
rlm@0
|
642 still Tomoyo. He still felt comfortable with her, happy and warm.
|
|
rlm@0
|
643 Things had changed only subtly. He saw Tomoyo in a new light, not
|
|
rlm@0
|
644 just as his kindly best friend, but as his beautiful angel. Yes, they
|
|
rlm@0
|
645 were on a date. But that really wasn’t all that different from what
|
|
rlm@0
|
646 they had been doing all of these years. The only difference was that
|
|
rlm@0
|
647 now Sakura knew where his heart lay. And it was an intoxicating
|
|
rlm@0
|
648 experience. He could feel Tomoyo’s love for what it was rather than
|
|
rlm@0
|
649 the curious thing he had wondered about for so long. And his own
|
|
rlm@0
|
650 heart reveled under the attention, blooming like a lovely flower
|
|
rlm@0
|
651 under its tender yet deep touch. It all gave so many new layers to
|
|
rlm@0
|
652 just being with Tomoyo, all of them exciting for the master of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
653 Cards.
|
|
rlm@0
|
654 Tomoyo once again bemoaned her lack of a camcorder as she watched
|
|
rlm@0
|
655 Sakura out of the corner of her eye. Her free hand rested on her
|
|
rlm@0
|
656 cheek as she sighed joyously. Had she died? Was she dreaming? Or was
|
|
rlm@0
|
657 this a taste of heaven? If it was, Tomoyo could think of no better
|
|
rlm@0
|
658 way to spend eternity than with the boy who had so effortlessly
|
|
rlm@0
|
659 captured her heart. She would have to personally thank whatever God
|
|
rlm@0
|
660 or Goddess reigned over this world for crafting such a lovely soul as
|
|
rlm@0
|
661 her darling Sakura. Usually content simply with recording Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
662 life, Tomoyo found herself exhilarated at the prospect of actually
|
|
rlm@0
|
663 sharing in it, tasting it so closely rather than from behind the
|
|
rlm@0
|
664 camera. It was new and uncharted territory, something that existed
|
|
rlm@0
|
665 only in her dreams up till now. But with Sakura gently leading her,
|
|
rlm@0
|
666 she had no fear as she stepped out hand in hand with her love into
|
|
rlm@0
|
667 the movie of Sakura’s life. Not being born with magic, the lavender
|
|
rlm@0
|
668 haired girl couldn’t sense it the way her best friend could. But she
|
|
rlm@0
|
669 felt a different magic as they continued along, one that immersed her
|
|
rlm@0
|
670 heart and soul deeper than any other form of magic ever could. Like
|
|
rlm@0
|
671 an entire ocean, it swelled and encompassed her, holding her tightly
|
|
rlm@0
|
672 in its depths. It was almost too much, an emotional overload of pure,
|
|
rlm@0
|
673 unadulterated joy. Tomoyo felt as if she were drowning in it, her
|
|
rlm@0
|
674 heart nearly ready to burst. Smiling a sparkling, genuine smile,
|
|
rlm@0
|
675 Tomoyo rested her head on Sakura’s shoulder, her long braids draping
|
|
rlm@0
|
676 down across the two of them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
677 Blushing faintly, Sakura continued along towards the festival, his
|
|
rlm@0
|
678 mind going blank. Tomoyo’s long, dark hair lay across his shoulder
|
|
rlm@0
|
679 and down the left side of his back, swaying gently as they moved. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
680 heiress’s cute head was resting pleasantly on his shoulder,
|
|
rlm@0
|
681 distracting him. The two walked along, hand in hand in a much closer
|
|
rlm@0
|
682 proximity that they usually did. The poor auburn hair kept blushing
|
|
rlm@0
|
683 as he tried to get a handle on his thoughts. It certainly felt nice
|
|
rlm@0
|
684 to have Tomoyo so close, to have his best friend so near. He could
|
|
rlm@0
|
685 hear his heartbeat ringing in his ears, almost frightening him that
|
|
rlm@0
|
686 it would give away his nervousness. But even faced with such a new
|
|
rlm@0
|
687 and potentially terrifying situation, Sakura could still feel
|
|
rlm@0
|
688 Tomoyo’s effusive love wrapping like silk ribbons around his heart,
|
|
rlm@0
|
689 binding his soul as thoroughly as he himself bound the Cards. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
690 was... wonderful. Having Tomoyo so close was a new experience, but it
|
|
rlm@0
|
691 was a beautiful one. The heiress felt so soft and delicate next to
|
|
rlm@0
|
692 him. ‘I knew Sakura-chan would come and save me,’ Tomoyo had once
|
|
rlm@0
|
693 said. ‘Of course I would. I’d always have to save my Tomoyo-chan. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
694 can’t ever let anything bad happen to her,’ Sakura thought to
|
|
rlm@0
|
695 himself. ‘Besides, if I didn’t, Sonomi-sama would kill me.’ He
|
|
rlm@0
|
696 sweatdropped at the latter, remembering Tomoyo’s mother’s phone call
|
|
rlm@0
|
697 the night before. Sakura had lost track of how many times he had
|
|
rlm@0
|
698 promised to look after Tomoyo for the elder of the Daidouji women.
|
|
rlm@0
|
699 Almost too soon, the young lovers finally came across the festival.
|
|
rlm@0
|
700 Lights sparkled brightly against the dark backdrop of the darkening
|
|
rlm@0
|
701 night as elegantly dressed boys and girls hurried about, playing
|
|
rlm@0
|
702 games and enjoying themselves about the festival grounds. It was
|
|
rlm@0
|
703 something the two had gone to often enough before, but never under
|
|
rlm@0
|
704 the context of a date. It left Sakura with a puzzled feeling of where
|
|
rlm@0
|
705 to begin and what to do. Tomoyo simply smiled at Sakura’s curious
|
|
rlm@0
|
706 look, squeezing his hand gently with her soft fingers. That lessened
|
|
rlm@0
|
707 the genki boy’s nerves as he returned her smile. People moved past
|
|
rlm@0
|
708 the cute couple like a busy stream, flowing past them on all sides.
|
|
rlm@0
|
709 Sakura pulled Tomoyo closer as people swept past, trying not to get
|
|
rlm@0
|
710 pulled along in the current. Still trying to decide where to go,
|
|
rlm@0
|
711 Sakura’s jade eyes fell upon a booth selling food. His stomach seemed
|
|
rlm@0
|
712 to think it was a great idea. While nowhere near as bad as the
|
|
rlm@0
|
713 perpetually hungry Kero and Yukito, Sakura had forsaken eating
|
|
rlm@0
|
714 earlier when his nervous stomach had refused to hold anything. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
715 now that he was finally with Tomoyo, his stomach reawakened. “Would
|
|
rlm@0
|
716 you like something to eat?” Sakura asked, turning to the dark haired
|
|
rlm@0
|
717 girl.
|
|
rlm@0
|
718 The petite girl shook her head prettily, her dark hair moving back
|
|
rlm@0
|
719 and forth as she did. She wasn’t hungry herself, but she could
|
|
rlm@0
|
720 practically hear Sakura’s stomach even above the cacophony of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
721 festival. “No, that’s all right, Sakura-chan. I’m not very hungry.
|
|
rlm@0
|
722 What would you like to eat?” She followed emerald eyes to one of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
723 stands and slowly began towards it when a small gap in the large
|
|
rlm@0
|
724 crowd formed. The two waited, pressed tightly together as other
|
|
rlm@0
|
725 people continued to line up at the delicious smell wafting out from
|
|
rlm@0
|
726 the stand. Tomoyo brushed back lavender hair from her eyes with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
727 free hand to get a better look of her companion. Stormy blue eyes
|
|
rlm@0
|
728 watched the energetic auburn haired boy as he looked around
|
|
rlm@0
|
729 curiously. The heiress sighed happily, taking Sakura’s hand with both
|
|
rlm@0
|
730 of her own. Her fingers trailed over their entwined fingers, enjoying
|
|
rlm@0
|
731 the soft skin under her touch. He was so cute. There was something
|
|
rlm@0
|
732 almost feminine about him, which the heiress found very adorable.
|
|
rlm@0
|
733 Tomoyo loved to watch him, as evidenced by her collection of
|
|
rlm@0
|
734 videotape. She loved everything about the overemotional boy and
|
|
rlm@0
|
735 wanted to capture it all on film. As Sakura finally got the food he’d
|
|
rlm@0
|
736 been waiting for, the two began to move along through the beautiful
|
|
rlm@0
|
737 festival grounds. Sakura looked around at the well decorated
|
|
rlm@0
|
738 surroundings while Tomoyo’s attention remained solely captive of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
739 green eyed boy. After all, she thought to herself, he was far more
|
|
rlm@0
|
740 fascinating than the most amazing festival.
|
|
rlm@0
|
741 Nibbling on the meat bun he had bought, Sakura walked hand in hand
|
|
rlm@0
|
742 with Tomoyo past the different festivities. His mind wandered as they
|
|
rlm@0
|
743 walked. He could remember some exciting things that had happened at
|
|
rlm@0
|
744 festivals in his life, but this was completely different. It seemed
|
|
rlm@0
|
745 that important things often happened at them, several Clow Cards
|
|
rlm@0
|
746 having shown up nearby over the time he had been capturing them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
747 Throughout it all, Tomoyo had been his constant companion and
|
|
rlm@0
|
748 confidante, helping him and videotaping him and outfitting him with
|
|
rlm@0
|
749 the cutest and most ridiculous looking costumes imaginable. And here
|
|
rlm@0
|
750 they were once more. But this wasn’t exactly the same thing as it had
|
|
rlm@0
|
751 once been. He felt a warm glow inside of himself at the thought. No,
|
|
rlm@0
|
752 this wasn’t the same old thing at all. He felt overwhelmed by the
|
|
rlm@0
|
753 moment, by his beautiful best friend holding his hand. He felt energy
|
|
rlm@0
|
754 welling up inside with nowhere to go. He felt so happy to be there
|
|
rlm@0
|
755 with her. Squeezing Tomoyo’s hand tightly, Sakura grinned at the pale
|
|
rlm@0
|
756 girl. All of the concern he’d had about this night felt completely
|
|
rlm@0
|
757 worth it if only for that single moment. “Tomoyo-chan, I...” Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
758 began, unsure of exactly what he wanted to say, but knowing he needed
|
|
rlm@0
|
759 to do something before his heart burst.
|
|
rlm@0
|
760 “Hi, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan!” Chiharu called out to the two,
|
|
rlm@0
|
761 Yamazaki in tow. She waved to the two as she approached, glad to see
|
|
rlm@0
|
762 someone that she recognized amongst the sea of people. “How are you
|
|
rlm@0
|
763 doing?” she asked as they came to a stop in front of them.
|
|
rlm@0
|
764 “Hi, Chiharu-chan!” Sakura intoned happily. “We’re fine. We’re just
|
|
rlm@0
|
765 trying to decide what to do now.” Finishing off his meat bun, he
|
|
rlm@0
|
766 licked his fingers clean before smiling at the two.
|
|
rlm@0
|
767 “Sakura-chan’s never been on a date before and neither have I, so
|
|
rlm@0
|
768 we’re both trying to figure things out. Do you have any suggestions,
|
|
rlm@0
|
769 Chiharu-chan?” Tomoyo’s melodious voice sang amidst the banter of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
770 crowd. Smiling politely, the pale girl tilted her head to the side.
|
|
rlm@0
|
771 Even with her eyes close, she could tell that Sakura was blushing
|
|
rlm@0
|
772 deeply. Yes, life was good indeed.
|
|
rlm@0
|
773 “Oh, so Sakura-chan finally asked you out? What a shame. I heard
|
|
rlm@0
|
774 that Li-kun was going to ask you. But that’s not a problem. In
|
|
rlm@0
|
775 Antarctica, women can have as many as ten husbands at a time. So you
|
|
rlm@0
|
776 just have to move there, Tomoyo-chan.” Yamazaki nodded, his ever-
|
|
rlm@0
|
777 present smile plastered on his face despite the look that Chiharu
|
|
rlm@0
|
778 shot him. He hugged a pink rabbit tightly and grinned more, waiting
|
|
rlm@0
|
779 for Chiharu to either correct him or hit him in the arm. He was used
|
|
rlm@0
|
780 to it by now. She’d been doing it since they were little kids anyway.
|
|
rlm@0
|
781 Besides, it was cute.
|
|
rlm@0
|
782 “Really? That’s all right, though. Sakura-chan’s the only husband I
|
|
rlm@0
|
783 want, so I think I’ll stay here in Japan,” Tomoyo replied, her stormy
|
|
rlm@0
|
784 blue eyes blinking open as she continued smiling her trademark smile.
|
|
rlm@0
|
785 She turned to Sakura, delighting at his ever darker blush.
|
|
rlm@0
|
786 “So you’re finally dating? Darn. Rika-chan wins the pool, then. We
|
|
rlm@0
|
787 were wondering when you finally would.” Chiharu frowned for a moment,
|
|
rlm@0
|
788 staring at Yamazaki before turning back to the other couple. “I don’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
789 think I can give any advice. Things just kinda happen. That’s how
|
|
rlm@0
|
790 relationships go, I suppose. Even if it would be nice if they made
|
|
rlm@0
|
791 more sense sometimes.” Sighing, she brushed back some curly hair.
|
|
rlm@0
|
792 Watching the pink bunny in Yamazaki’s arms, Sakura felt his
|
|
rlm@0
|
793 curiosity gnawing at him. “Where did you get that, Yamazaki-kun?”
|
|
rlm@0
|
794 “This? His name is ‘Elephant’. Chiharu-chan won it for me at that
|
|
rlm@0
|
795 booth over there. Chiharu-chan is very good at hitting things.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
796 Chiharu sweatdropped. Yamazaki was very often a pathological liar,
|
|
rlm@0
|
797 but for once she didn’t need to correct him. Of course, she could
|
|
rlm@0
|
798 detect a hint of humor in his voice about the last part of it. “Yeah,
|
|
rlm@0
|
799 it’s not that hard. They have some nice prizes back there. I collect
|
|
rlm@0
|
800 stuffed animals, so I like to pick up some things whenever I go to
|
|
rlm@0
|
801 places like this.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
802 “Sugoi! Thanks!” Sakura smiled as he waved to the two, hurrying
|
|
rlm@0
|
803 with Tomoyo close behind. It sounded perfect. What better way to
|
|
rlm@0
|
804 remember their first date than a cute little stuffed animal? It did
|
|
rlm@0
|
805 sound romantic. All he had to do was win something cute for the pale
|
|
rlm@0
|
806 heiress. His emerald eyes burned with an enthusiastic determination
|
|
rlm@0
|
807 as they hurried towards the booth. Unfortunately, someone was already
|
|
rlm@0
|
808 there, a large pile of stuffed animals next to him.
|
|
rlm@0
|
809 “I want that one next, Syaoran!” A Chinese girl pointed excitedly
|
|
rlm@0
|
810 towards a large bear in the back of the booth. Meiling stood guard
|
|
rlm@0
|
811 over the large pile of stuffed animals at her feet. She didn’t notice
|
|
rlm@0
|
812 the approaching couple, nor did she care. She was on a date with
|
|
rlm@0
|
813 Syaoran. That was all that mattered to her at the moment. And woe to
|
|
rlm@0
|
814 anyone who decided to get in her way. But for the moment, her
|
|
rlm@0
|
815 attention was focussed specifically on her fiance winning another
|
|
rlm@0
|
816 prize for her. She could easily win them herself, but what was the
|
|
rlm@0
|
817 point in that? She wanted them to come from Syaoran. Then they would
|
|
rlm@0
|
818 be fit to decorate her room because they would come from the boy she
|
|
rlm@0
|
819 loved. “Great job, Syaoran!” she cried out as the bear quickly joined
|
|
rlm@0
|
820 the rest of the captive stuffed animals. She hugged the boy from
|
|
rlm@0
|
821 behind, squeezing him tightly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
822 Syaoran sighed as he pulled up a handful of rings again. “Which one
|
|
rlm@0
|
823 do you want this time, Meiling?” He didn’t like being out here with
|
|
rlm@0
|
824 all these people. He wasn’t an overly social person. Staying home
|
|
rlm@0
|
825 would have been a perfectly fine night for him, but Meiling had
|
|
rlm@0
|
826 insisted they go to the festival. She did seem to be enjoying
|
|
rlm@0
|
827 herself. And she did look cute in the small, blue Chinese dress she
|
|
rlm@0
|
828 wore. So maybe it wasn’t all bad. But Syaoran found himself pouring
|
|
rlm@0
|
829 himself into the games rather than bothering with the social part of
|
|
rlm@0
|
830 the whole setting. It was much easier to focus on the competition
|
|
rlm@0
|
831 than the people. “Hello, Li-kun!” a voice piped up cheerfully near
|
|
rlm@0
|
832 his ear. Turning to spy the owner of the voice, Syaoran frowned in
|
|
rlm@0
|
833 irritation. Who was trying to distract him? He didn’t feel like
|
|
rlm@0
|
834 dealing with whoever it was at the moment. He turned to glare at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
835 intruder, but his cheeks flushed as he saw Sakura’s smiling face. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
836 quickly looked away, back towards the booth. Sakura was one of his
|
|
rlm@0
|
837 only friends at the school. Meiling was his best friend, of course,
|
|
rlm@0
|
838 but Sakura was one of his only male friends. Sure, there was
|
|
rlm@0
|
839 Yamazaki, but they were more acquaintances than friends. But Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
840 was nice to him. Even after he had been such an asshole to the naïve
|
|
rlm@0
|
841 Cardcaptor at first. And his increase in magical power had attracted
|
|
rlm@0
|
842 him the same way Yukito’s magic had. Tomoyo must have noticed,
|
|
rlm@0
|
843 because she had mentioned it every now and then. It embarrassed him
|
|
rlm@0
|
844 greatly, though not quite as much as some of what Meiling did at
|
|
rlm@0
|
845 school.
|
|
rlm@0
|
846 “Wow!! You’ve done a great job, Li-kun!” Sakura looked at the huge
|
|
rlm@0
|
847 pile of prizes Syaoran had won and the nearly bare walls of the booth
|
|
rlm@0
|
848 he was playing at. “Could I try? I want to win something for Tomoyo-
|
|
rlm@0
|
849 chan.” He smiled happily at the Chinese boy, Tomoyo by her side. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
850 finally had some idea of where all that energy could go, of what to
|
|
rlm@0
|
851 do about the building feelings inside of himself. And he could get
|
|
rlm@0
|
852 something for Tomoyo on top of all that. Apparently Syaoran had
|
|
rlm@0
|
853 thought the same thing. And Meiling looked very happy about it all.
|
|
rlm@0
|
854 Sakura could see a superdeformed Tomoyo in his mind, hugging some
|
|
rlm@0
|
855 cute stuffed animal tightly. Smiling determinedly, Sakura tried to
|
|
rlm@0
|
856 spot something to aim for.
|
|
rlm@0
|
857 Syaoran nodded dumbly, handing the rings over to Sakura. He thought
|
|
rlm@0
|
858 about trying to win a prize to give to the other boy, but with
|
|
rlm@0
|
859 Meiling present, he estimated that he would only live approximately
|
|
rlm@0
|
860 two seconds after giving it to Sakura. Hardly enough time to see how
|
|
rlm@0
|
861 the other boy would react. Sighing, he let his fiance drag him back
|
|
rlm@0
|
862 from the booth and into a tight embrace. Feeling his frown disappear
|
|
rlm@0
|
863 as Meiling rested against him, Syaoran watched the auburn haired boy
|
|
rlm@0
|
864 getting ready to try. He would move to the next booth himself, but he
|
|
rlm@0
|
865 didn’t know if Meiling was done with this one or not.
|
|
rlm@0
|
866 Focusing on the task at hand, Sakura gripped onto one of the rings
|
|
rlm@0
|
867 in front of him. Being pretty athletic, he was pretty good with most
|
|
rlm@0
|
868 physical things. Tomoyo had once said that he could have even made
|
|
rlm@0
|
869 the cheerleading team had he wanted to. Sakura was happy on the track
|
|
rlm@0
|
870 team, though, so he had blushingly told the eccentric girl that he
|
|
rlm@0
|
871 wouldn’t be switching anytime soon. But all of that didn’t make him
|
|
rlm@0
|
872 any less nervous. He wasn’t just playing around with this. It wasn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
873 simply a diversion. It was for Tomoyo. That spurred him forward, as
|
|
rlm@0
|
874 well as seeing the heiress watching from his right. Feeling the
|
|
rlm@0
|
875 bubbling energy inside of him, Sakura tossed the ring. The small area
|
|
rlm@0
|
876 around him went silent as it flew into the wall, bouncing off
|
|
rlm@0
|
877 speedily. “Gomen nasai!” he apologized quickly, bowing. He wanted to
|
|
rlm@0
|
878 use this as a chance to use all of those energetic feelings inside,
|
|
rlm@0
|
879 but that had been a little too much.
|
|
rlm@0
|
880 “That was amazing, Sakura-chan. I’m sure that would have made it
|
|
rlm@0
|
881 all the way back home if the wall hadn’t stopped it,” Tomoyo said
|
|
rlm@0
|
882 helpfully, as Sakura stood in embarrassment for a moment. She knew
|
|
rlm@0
|
883 that Sakura was shy and easily embarrassed, despite his outgoing
|
|
rlm@0
|
884 nature. She tried to give him all the support and love she could
|
|
rlm@0
|
885 throughout everything he went through. It helped bolster that endless
|
|
rlm@0
|
886 determination that welled up within the cute bishounen.
|
|
rlm@0
|
887 Concentrating once more on the game in front of him, Sakura pulled
|
|
rlm@0
|
888 up another ring. This time he would win Tomoyo a cute prize, just
|
|
rlm@0
|
889 like Syaoran had for his girlfriend and Chiharu had for her
|
|
rlm@0
|
890 boyfriend. He just had to concentrate. Again he saw the cute image of
|
|
rlm@0
|
891 Tomoyo holding onto a stuffed animal in his mind, smiling warmly at
|
|
rlm@0
|
892 him. His cheeks warm at the thought, Sakura let the ring fly off of
|
|
rlm@0
|
893 his fingertips. He remembered the bear that Tomoyo had painstakingly
|
|
rlm@0
|
894 crafted for him, that he held onto every night when he went to sleep,
|
|
rlm@0
|
895 that went with him to all of his games. He wanted to give Tomoyo a
|
|
rlm@0
|
896 cute stuffed animal to keep nearby as well. Something a little softer
|
|
rlm@0
|
897 than an eraser. He watched anxiously as the ring appeared to fly in
|
|
rlm@0
|
898 slow motion, spinning in the air like some magical disk. Though it
|
|
rlm@0
|
899 had left his fingers, his mind and heart never left it as it skimmed
|
|
rlm@0
|
900 through the air, begging the disk to make it, to land where it needed
|
|
rlm@0
|
901 to. With a clang, it ricocheted past the poor booth owner.
|
|
rlm@0
|
902
|
|
rlm@0
|
903 “Thank you again, Sakura-chan. It’s so lovely. I think it looks a
|
|
rlm@0
|
904 bit like you,” Tomoyo stated thoughtfully, holding up the stuffed
|
|
rlm@0
|
905 kangaroo next to Sakura’s embarrassed face. True enough, it did look
|
|
rlm@0
|
906 a bit like the auburn haired boy. They stood next to Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
907 limousine, her bodyguards waiting to take her back home. She didn't
|
|
rlm@0
|
908 want to leave her darling Sakura yet, or ever for that matter. But at
|
|
rlm@0
|
909 the same time, she couldn’t wait to recount the night’s wonders to
|
|
rlm@0
|
910 her mother who was undoubtedly waiting for her only daughter’s return
|
|
rlm@0
|
911 despite the fact that she had work the next day. It was a comforting
|
|
rlm@0
|
912 thought to know that she had someone waiting for her to hear of what
|
|
rlm@0
|
913 had happened and one of the only things that made the night ending
|
|
rlm@0
|
914 bearable. Especially with no videotape to show for it. Tomoyo vowed
|
|
rlm@0
|
915 to tape their second date. She would have to keep a record of such
|
|
rlm@0
|
916 things. After all, what was more important than Sakura’s love life?
|
|
rlm@0
|
917 “You’re welcome, Tomoyo-chan. I should have just bought you
|
|
rlm@0
|
918 something instead. I can’t believe it took me seventeen tries. And
|
|
rlm@0
|
919 for just a tiny kangaroo.” Sakura stared at the ground sheepishly. He
|
|
rlm@0
|
920 was normally good at such things, but he just couldn’t focus while he
|
|
rlm@0
|
921 had been playing the game. His mind kept going back to Tomoyo.
|
|
rlm@0
|
922 Despite all of the energy swirling within him and his need to win
|
|
rlm@0
|
923 something for the beautiful pale girl, he had kept missing. But that
|
|
rlm@0
|
924 had always been a problem for him. He was very good at most athletic
|
|
rlm@0
|
925 things he tried, but whenever he was distracted he would make a lot
|
|
rlm@0
|
926 of mistakes. Tomoyo had told him it was cute, that she enjoyed that
|
|
rlm@0
|
927 as much as she enjoyed when he was doing well. She had said she had a
|
|
rlm@0
|
928 tape full of just his cute little mishaps. Somehow he didn’t find
|
|
rlm@0
|
929 that very comforting. Tomoyo had a very strange idea of ‘cute’.
|
|
rlm@0
|
930 But other than the trouble he’d had getting a hold of the stuffed
|
|
rlm@0
|
931 animal, the night had been magical. He and Tomoyo had spent the whole
|
|
rlm@0
|
932 night at the festival, simply enjoying each others company. In
|
|
rlm@0
|
933 retrospect, Sakura could hardly remember who else had been there. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
934 hardly seemed to matter. After a while, the huge crowds had just
|
|
rlm@0
|
935 faded away, leaving the two of them amidst the beautiful night. There
|
|
rlm@0
|
936 had been several embarrassing moments, but it had been a wonderful
|
|
rlm@0
|
937 first date. Tomoyo had helped him through it all, getting rid of the
|
|
rlm@0
|
938 nervousness that went along with a first date, taking that away and
|
|
rlm@0
|
939 leaving him with a gloriously warm excitement. Now he again found
|
|
rlm@0
|
940 himself unsure of what to say or what to do. He didn’t want Tomoyo to
|
|
rlm@0
|
941 go. He didn’t want the night to end, for their date to have to come
|
|
rlm@0
|
942 to a close. It was the most spectacular thing that had ever occurred
|
|
rlm@0
|
943 in his life. It had a magic that his Cards couldn’t begin to contend
|
|
rlm@0
|
944 with. “Tomoyo-chan,” he whispered at last. “I don’t want you to go.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
945 “Neither do I, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied, hugging the stuffed
|
|
rlm@0
|
946 animal in her arms gingerly. “I don’t ever want to be away from
|
|
rlm@0
|
947 Sakura-chan. I want to stay with you forever. But if I have to leave
|
|
rlm@0
|
948 tonight, it’s only so the next night can come even quicker. Tonight
|
|
rlm@0
|
949 was lovelier than anything I could ever have dreamed. I’m sure that
|
|
rlm@0
|
950 hundreds of beautiful nights await you, Sakura-chan. I hope they’ll
|
|
rlm@0
|
951 all come quickly.” Brushing Sakura’s cheek, Tomoyo smiled at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
952 pretty boy, stormy blue eyes meeting emerald orbs. Her heart fought
|
|
rlm@0
|
953 the idea of leaving her dearest Sakura for any reason whatsoever. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
954 had to go home, she knew that. But logic didn’t often understand
|
|
rlm@0
|
955 love. “The sooner I wake up, the sooner I can see you again. It’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
956 like dreaming. The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner you can join
|
|
rlm@0
|
957 your shining dreams.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
958 “But I don’t want to dream.” Sakura sighed, placing his hand on top
|
|
rlm@0
|
959 of Tomoyo’s pale one. He felt Tomoyo’s fingers trailing across his
|
|
rlm@0
|
960 cheek. He smiled slowly. He felt bittersweet about the night ending.
|
|
rlm@0
|
961 He didn’t want Tomoyo to go, but he couldn’t wait to collapse in bed
|
|
rlm@0
|
962 and run it all over in his mind. Maybe he would tell Kero about it.
|
|
rlm@0
|
963 And like Tomoyo had said, the sooner he went to sleep, the sooner
|
|
rlm@0
|
964 they would be together again. “Arigato, Tomoyo-chan. For everything.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
965 “You don’t have to thank me for anything, Sakura-chan. I love you. I
|
|
rlm@0
|
966 only want to see you happy. If I can see you happy with me, then I
|
|
rlm@0
|
967 can’t think of a sweeter gift. But this kangaroo comes close.” Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
968 giggled softly as she held the kangaroo up in her other arm. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
969 regretted not having such a lovely night on videotape, but it was
|
|
rlm@0
|
970 something that she would always have burned into her mind’s eye. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
971 wouldn’t be able to play it back on videotape, but that wasn’t so
|
|
rlm@0
|
972 bad. It would be in her heart when she needed it. Her fingers slowly
|
|
rlm@0
|
973 pulled away from Sakura’s cheek. “You’re so cute, Sakura-chan.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
974 Blushing at Tomoyo’s compliment, the auburn haired boy stared at his
|
|
rlm@0
|
975 sandal clad feet for a moment. Looking up again, he smiled at the
|
|
rlm@0
|
976 pale girl before him. She was always telling him how cute he was, how
|
|
rlm@0
|
977 handsome he looked. But she was easily the most gorgeous girl in
|
|
rlm@0
|
978 school, or of anyone Sakura had ever seen. She was exquisitely
|
|
rlm@0
|
979 beautiful, like a terribly delicate flower. He wanted to say
|
|
rlm@0
|
980 something, to put a nice spin on the end of the night, but words
|
|
rlm@0
|
981 stumbled in his mind. Finally, impulsively, he leaned forward and
|
|
rlm@0
|
982 kissed the pale girl before him. If Tomoyo was startled, she didn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
983 show it. Sakura felt Tomoyo’s petal soft lips against his own,
|
|
rlm@0
|
984 blushing intently at the feel of their kiss. Before he could pull
|
|
rlm@0
|
985 away, he felt Tomoyo kiss him back. It was incredibly slow and
|
|
rlm@0
|
986 rapturously sweet, taking the genki boy by surprise. His arms went
|
|
rlm@0
|
987 around the petite heiress, pulling her closer as he kissed. Long,
|
|
rlm@0
|
988 dark tresses brushed past him as Tomoyo’s hair came loose from some
|
|
rlm@0
|
989 of the intricate braids. Warm lips kissed for what felt like a
|
|
rlm@0
|
990 painfully short eternity before they finally pulled away. Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
991 blinked as he watched the heiress before him, a red blush on her pale
|
|
rlm@0
|
992 cheeks. “I love you, Tomoyo-chan,” he whispered.
|
|
rlm@0
|
993 “I love you, too, Sakura-chan. I always have,” Tomoyo replied,
|
|
rlm@0
|
994 giving Sakura a soft kiss once more before crawling back into the
|
|
rlm@0
|
995 limousine. Smiling brightly, the overjoyed girl waved to Sakura.
|
|
rlm@0
|
996 “Goodnight, Sakura-chan!” And with that, the long black car drove away.
|
|
rlm@0
|
997 Sakura watched for a long time, his hand on his lips. “Hanyaan!” He
|
|
rlm@0
|
998 smiled happily, his hands held tightly before him. What a perfect
|
|
rlm@0
|
999 night! Of course, he doubted he would be able to get to sleep now.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1000 Especially after that kiss. It had been so... so... Sakura couldn’t
|
|
rlm@0
|
1001 begin to describe it as anything other than delicious. It had drawn
|
|
rlm@0
|
1002 him in, wrapping him up in those ribbons from Tomoyo’s heart. He had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1003 once heard that kissing was how two souls touched and now he was sure
|
|
rlm@0
|
1004 of it.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1005 “It sure looks like you had fun,” a voice said next to Sakura.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1006 “Onii-chan...!” Sakura turned quickly, his fists balled up, ready to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1007 explode at his older brother for watching. He immediately stopped
|
|
rlm@0
|
1008 when he looked. Where Touya should have been stood a large, white
|
|
rlm@0
|
1009 rabbit. It stared at him for a moment, it’s whiskers shifting as it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1010 tilted its head to the side.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1011 “I still think she looks like mom,” the rabbit was saying as Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1012 fainted dead away.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1013
|
|
rlm@0
|
1014
|
|
rlm@0
|
1015 “... And then we kissed in the dream,” Sakura finished up, her hair
|
|
rlm@0
|
1016 a mess and her rollerskating a little off as she and Tomoyo headed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1017 for school. She shook her head in confusion. It had all felt so real,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1018 even the slow, soul warming kiss. Blushing, Sakura put a hand to her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1019 lips as she skated alongside her perceptive best friend. She had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1020 woken up in a daze, the dream lingering in her mind as she had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1021 struggled to get dressed. She had almost expected to find the boys’
|
|
rlm@0
|
1022 school uniform waiting for her. Dressing quickly and ignoring Touya’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1023 usual morning taunts, she had hurried to meet with Tomoyo on the way
|
|
rlm@0
|
1024 to school, eager to tell her friend about the bizarre dream. The
|
|
rlm@0
|
1025 patient heiress was always the first one she came to with her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1026 troubles, real or imagined. Like a loving mother or a gentle sister,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1027 Tomoyo would always help Sakura through whatever it was that had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1028 gotten to her. She was extremely important to Sakura, probably the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1029 most important person in her life.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1030 Tomoyo considered the dream for a long moment, holding her bookbag
|
|
rlm@0
|
1031 in front of her. Her long, high ponytail waved behind her as she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1032 walked. A pale hand rested on her chin as she thought. Sakura had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1033 come to her with strange dreams before, but none quite so bizarre as
|
|
rlm@0
|
1034 this one. “Did you like the kiss?” she asked at last, tilting her
|
|
rlm@0
|
1035 head to the side.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1036 “Tomoyo-chan!!” Sakura’s face went crimson at Tomoyo’s words. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1037 stared down at the street below, watching her rollerblades. How was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1038 she supposed to answer that? She had certainly liked the kiss. It had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1039 been a perfect end to a perfect night. But it had been with Tomoyo.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1040 And that was part of why it had been so perfect. But how was she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1041 supposed to put all of that into words? If only she were a boy things
|
|
rlm@0
|
1042 would make so much more sense. Especially things with Tomoyo. Just
|
|
rlm@0
|
1043 like her dream had shown her. It would be wonderful to be able to
|
|
rlm@0
|
1044 date Tomoyo, to spend all of her time with the pale girl. Too bad the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1045 dream hadn’t been real. Well, except the rabbit part. Sakura sighed
|
|
rlm@0
|
1046 as she continued skating. “Un, I liked the kiss. It was very nice,”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1047 she said quietly, blushing. “You were a really good kisser in the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1048 dream. It felt all.. hanyaan.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1049 Sakura shuddered as she skated, remembering the kiss as best she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1050 could.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1051 Nodding thoughtfully, Tomoyo followed alongside Sakura. Now whereas
|
|
rlm@0
|
1052 kissing Sakura wasn’t an uncommon dream for Tomoyo, she was surprised
|
|
rlm@0
|
1053 to hear that Sakura had dreamt about it. Of course, dreams often made
|
|
rlm@0
|
1054 little sense, so it could be just about anything. But still...
|
|
rlm@0
|
1055 “Sakura-chan would make a very cute boy. You made a very good prince
|
|
rlm@0
|
1056 in the play last year. But I like you better as a girl. I think it’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1057 much cuter that way. Besides, I’m not as good at designing boys’
|
|
rlm@0
|
1058 clothes, so it’s easier for me this way. Of course, if Sakura-chan
|
|
rlm@0
|
1059 were a boy, I would just have to try harder with the costumes.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1060 Tomoyo tilted her head to the side curiously, running the whole
|
|
rlm@0
|
1061 scenario over in her mind. It certainly was an interesting one. She
|
|
rlm@0
|
1062 sighed at last. “It’s too bad I can’t videotape Sakura-chan’s dreams.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1063 That sounds so cute!”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1064 Sakura sweatdropped as she watched her friend’s reaction. Why
|
|
rlm@0
|
1065 should she have guessed that Tomoyo would react that way? But then,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1066 the brunette didn’t think she would ever fully get used to the weird
|
|
rlm@0
|
1067 things Tomoyo said about her. “Even though we were dating? You would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1068 still want to watch that?” Sakura asked curiously.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1069 “Especially if we were dating. I haven’t gotten to record any of
|
|
rlm@0
|
1070 Sakura-chan’s love life other than her crushes. It would be so cute
|
|
rlm@0
|
1071 to record her actually dating and to see what happened. I would love
|
|
rlm@0
|
1072 to record every second of our dates if you asked me out,” Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
1073 explained, smiling her trademark smile. It sounded like such a lovely
|
|
rlm@0
|
1074 dream. Now why couldn’t she have more like that? It had everything,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1075 especially a cute romance with Sakura with the added allure of a kiss
|
|
rlm@0
|
1076 at the end. She sighed dreamily, gazing at her brunette friend.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1077 Shaking her head, Sakura looked ahead. Cherry blossoms danced and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1078 swirled ahead of them, oddly reminiscent of the dream she had had. It
|
|
rlm@0
|
1079 felt strange to hear that Tomoyo would agree to go out with her. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1080 she was thrilled to hear it for some reason. Her mind wandered back
|
|
rlm@0
|
1081 to the dream again, to the date. She felt saddened that it had all
|
|
rlm@0
|
1082 been a dream, that they hadn’t shared that time together, that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1083 couldn’t be with Tomoyo. It felt so empty. “If I were a boy, I would
|
|
rlm@0
|
1084 definitely ask you out, Tomoyo-chan. You’re so smart and pretty and
|
|
rlm@0
|
1085 fun. Whoever you date will be very lucky.” Sakura blinked rapidly,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1086 rubbing at her eyes. She didn’t know why she felt so desolate after
|
|
rlm@0
|
1087 that dream. But now that it was all over, she felt like she had lost
|
|
rlm@0
|
1088 something of vital importance and she couldn’t get it back. If only
|
|
rlm@0
|
1089 she were a boy, then she would ask Tomoyo out and they could relive
|
|
rlm@0
|
1090 all of that beautiful dream and what would have surely been to come.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1091 Tomoyo watched Sakura, stopping along underneath the trees. Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1092 slowly came to a halt as well. Her emerald eyes shimmered with
|
|
rlm@0
|
1093 unspent tears. Tomoyo held Sakura’s hand in her own, looking up at
|
|
rlm@0
|
1094 the girl on rollerblades. “I wouldn’t want to date another boy. Or
|
|
rlm@0
|
1095 another girl. I wouldn’t want to date anyone who isn’t Sakura-chan.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1096 She smiled sweetly up at the other girl, placing a hand on her cheek.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1097 She could feel a wet trail of a teardrop against her palm. Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1098 sniffled again, another tear sliding down her other cheek. Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@0
|
1099 heart nearly snapped in two as she watched the lost and lonely look
|
|
rlm@0
|
1100 on Sakura’s face. She doubted that Sakura even understood why she was
|
|
rlm@0
|
1101 feeling the way she was. It still amazed the pale girl after what she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1102 had heard. It was a dream come true, but it felt unbearably painful
|
|
rlm@0
|
1103 to see it hurting her unknowing Sakura. Leaning forward, Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
1104 decided to show Sakura what she meant. After all, Sakura could be a
|
|
rlm@0
|
1105 little dense sometimes, but maybe she could find a way to explain
|
|
rlm@0
|
1106 things. She had promised to tell Sakura when they were older.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1107 Tomoyo’s lips kissed Sakura’s softly, her entire body tingling from
|
|
rlm@0
|
1108 the small touch. She slowly kissed the quietly crying girl, brushing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1109 away Sakura’s tears with her fingertips. The brunette’s lips quivered
|
|
rlm@0
|
1110 against her own as Sakura stood on the verge of sobbing openly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1111 Pulling away after the short kiss, Tomoyo smiled at the brunette,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1112 both hands going to her wet cheeks. “I love you, Sakura-chan.”
|
|
rlm@0
|
1113 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered quietly. Her voice almost caught
|
|
rlm@0
|
1114 in her throat, coming out painfully. It wasn’t until then that she
|
|
rlm@0
|
1115 realized she was crying. Warm tears spilt past her cheeks, dripping
|
|
rlm@0
|
1116 down her chin. She sniffled weakly. “Tomoyo-chan!” She cried out,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1117 grasping onto the pale girl. She hung tightly onto her best friend,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1118 shaking in her grasp. She felt her body begin to relax as Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@0
|
1119 began to rub her back gently. Letting out a choked breath, Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1120 hiccuped, her sobbing slowly trailing off. Hiccuping again, Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1121 stood at arms length from Tomoyo, wiping at her eyes. She smiled
|
|
rlm@0
|
1122 warmly after wiping away her tears. “I.. I love you, too, Tomoyo-
|
|
rlm@0
|
1123 chan.” Tomoyo’s demeanor shifted in those few seconds. Sakura
|
|
rlm@0
|
1124 couldn’t quite tell what had changed about Tomoyo, but the pale girl
|
|
rlm@0
|
1125 seemed to glow with the light of an angel, a radiant joy cascading
|
|
rlm@0
|
1126 off of her. She looked simply gorgeous. Sakura stood in stunned
|
|
rlm@0
|
1127 silence for a moment before shaking her head. Something seemed wrong.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1128 Like she hadn’t quite finished everything. But what...? Oh! “Tomoyo-
|
|
rlm@0
|
1129 chan, I.. umm.. I was wondering..” Sakura took a deep breath. She had
|
|
rlm@0
|
1130 already done this once, even if it had only been a dream. Seeing
|
|
rlm@0
|
1131 those shining stormy blue orbs, Sakura pushed forward. “Tomoyo-chan,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1132 will you go out with me?” she asked quickly.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1133 Tomoyo didn’t miss a beat, though she was wondering how easy it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1134 would be to have a heart attack from what had happened in just the
|
|
rlm@0
|
1135 last few minutes. At least she’d die happy. “I would love to go out
|
|
rlm@0
|
1136 with you, Sakura-chan,” the heiress sang joyously. The look of relief
|
|
rlm@0
|
1137 that spread across Sakura’s face made her heart melt. She would have
|
|
rlm@0
|
1138 been happy to help Sakura throughout her life no matter what
|
|
rlm@0
|
1139 happened, but it seemed infinitely better to be there with Sakura for
|
|
rlm@0
|
1140 it. She wasn’t thinking about where the date would take place or
|
|
rlm@0
|
1141 when. Such things were trivial. It was that Sakura had asked that
|
|
rlm@0
|
1142 mattered. It was that they would.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1143 Smiling delightedly, Sakura once again began for school, skating
|
|
rlm@0
|
1144 alongside Tomoyo, hand in hand. “Hanyaan..” she whispered. The dream
|
|
rlm@0
|
1145 seemed incredibly far away now, only a distant shadow. Life could be
|
|
rlm@0
|
1146 endlessly more fascinating than even the most beautiful dreams.
|
|
rlm@0
|
1147
|
|
rlm@0
|
1148 Kero: Now it’s time for Kero-chan’s Corner!! Hi, everybody! Did you
|
|
rlm@0
|
1149 have fun? Did you all follow the adventures of boy Sakura and his
|
|
rlm@0
|
1150 date with Tomoyo? We all know it would have been better if I had been
|
|
rlm@0
|
1151 able to give Sakura-chan that advice I was talking about earlier. But
|
|
rlm@0
|
1152 maybe this time she’ll ask me about it, ne? Anyway, for today, we’ll
|
|
rlm@0
|
1153 check out Sakura’s clothes. Basically, they were just the boys’
|
|
rlm@0
|
1154 school uniform and a cute shirt and shorts. She also wore her yukata,
|
|
rlm@0
|
1155 but I wasn’t in that scene, so does it even matter? Remember what
|
|
rlm@0
|
1156 happened to the girl who got everything she ever wanted. She lived
|
|
rlm@0
|
1157 happily ever after. Bai bai!!
|
|
rlm@0
|
1158
|
|
rlm@0
|
1159 Next Episode:
|
|
rlm@0
|
1160 Sakura: Syaoran’s lost the engagement ring he was going to give
|
|
rlm@0
|
1161 Meiling. Can I help him find it before Meiling finds out? Also, Kero
|
|
rlm@0
|
1162 eats cake. And lots of it. And will all of this talk of marriage get
|
|
rlm@0
|
1163 Tomoyo thinking? Hoe.. I’m too young to get married! Next on
|
|
rlm@0
|
1164 Cardcaptor Sakura: ‘Sakura and the Engagement Ring’. Let’s watch it
|
|
rlm@0
|
1165 together. Release!!
|
|
rlm@0
|
1166 . |
