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1 Hello! ^-^ This is a CCS fic set an indefinite amount of time in the
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2 future. All
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3 characters are copyright CLAMP except for Bara-chan. I really hope
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4 you enjoy
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5 the fic. ^-^ Please tell me what you think if you get the chance.
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6
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7
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8
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9 Final Heaven
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10 by Amazoness Duo
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11 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
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12
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13
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14
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15 “Tomoyo-chan...”
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16 “But Sakura-chan like’s pink,” Tomoyo chides gently, as if reminding
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17 me of something I had forgotten. I just blush fiercely in response.
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18 She’s always
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19 had this affect on me, from when we were young girls. She has a way
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20 of getting
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21 me to go along with whatever it is she thinks. Yes, I do like pink.
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22 And I trust
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23 Tomoyo-chan’s judgement with things like that. I mean, she probably
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24 knows me
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25 better than I do. But the cloth is so ethereal. It almost sparkles
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26 in her hands. And
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27 I can see right through it. After all these years, I know what she
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28 must be
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29 thinking. Tomoyo-chan has a dirty mind. These days she makes almost
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30 all of my
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31 clothes. But I can only think of one place where I’d wear something
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32 made out of
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33 that. And it probably wouldn’t stay on for long at that.
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34 Hoe... I’m blushing even deeper now. And she knows it. Sometimes I
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35 think she can read my mind. I wouldn’t be surprised. She seems to be
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36 able to
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37 pick up on everything. It’s her own kind of magic. I have no idea
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38 how she
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39 knows so much. But that really doesn’t help me right now because
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40 that just
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41 makes it even more embarrassing. And I know she’ll get me to wear
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42 whatever
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43 she’ll make from that cloth, too.
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44 “Tomoyo-chan...” I say again, helplessly. I know it won’t change
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45 anything. I’ve known her far too long to think that. I’m just no
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46 good at arguing
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47 anything with her. She has this sweet way of always getting me to go
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48 along with
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49 what she has in mind. She always seems to know what she’s doing. And
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50 with
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51 her soft voice and her pretty blue eyes, she can be so persuasive.
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52 It’s like with
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53 her costumes. I can’t help going along with her when she looks so
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54 determined.
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55 Tomoyo pauses for a moment, her stormy blue eyes closed. She looks
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56 so deep in thought. It takes me a moment before I realize that I’m
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57 leaning closer,
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58 curiously. I sweatdrop and stand back up, still watching her. What
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59 could she be
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60 thinking? Her eyes flutter open, locking with mine. “Even Bara-chan
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61 likes it.
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62 She’s kicking for you, Sakura.” She smiles that sweet, loving smile
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63 that she’s
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64 been showering on me since I was young. I smile back excitedly,
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65 feeling a thrill
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66 shoot through me.
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67 “She is? Really?!” I ask anxiously, my body wanting to go in
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68 different
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69 directions all at once. Tomoyo-chan takes my hand gently and places
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70 it on the
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71 growing swell of her stomach. She’s right. I can feel our little
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72 daughter kicking
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73 inside of her. I can’t contain myself at that. It’s just so...
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74 right. My blush fades
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75 quickly, my mind focussing on our daughter. Our daughter. The symbol
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76 of our
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77 love. Well, that miracle took a little push from my magic, but she’s
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78 still our
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79 daughter. I blush again at Tomoyo’s loving gaze and return it,
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80 smiling happily at
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81 my wife. Oh, my knees are feeling week. This whole thing is just...
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82 hanyaa. I
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83 almost lunge forward at the growing warmth in my heart, hugging my
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84 very
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85 pregnant best friend as tightly as I can.
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86 “I love you, Sakura-chan,” she says in that gentle, sweet voice of
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87 hers.
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88 It sounds like she’s singing to me. I always feel so happy when I
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89 hear her say
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90 that. I always have. I just didn’t always understand them. But now I
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91 do.
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92 “I love you, too,” I say, pouring my whole heart into those few
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93 words.
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94
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95 I think the baby is finally resting. She has so much energy. Just
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96 like her
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97 mother. I can’t wait to see her. I have to wonder if she’ll take
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98 more after me or
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99 Sakura-chan. I took a lot after Sakura’s mother and she took a lot
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100 after mine,
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101 which is a little strange if you don’t realize how much the cousins
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102 missed each
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103 other. So we were there way of remembering each other. But it
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104 doesn’t matter to
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105 me who Bara-chan looks like or which of us she takes after. I’m very
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106 happy to
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107 know that she’s our daughter. I’ll be happy as long as Sakura-chan
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108 and I can
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109 raise her together. I’m sure she’ll grow up to be a remarkable girl.
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110 Just like her
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111 mother.
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112 I continue to sing softly to the unborn child within me. I want her
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113 to
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114 feel safe, to feel loved. So I’ll continue singing to her, hoping
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115 that she can hear
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116 me somewhere in there. I want her to know how happy I am to be
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117 carrying her,
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118 our sweet daughter. To have something that’s ours, the product of my
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119 love for
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120 Sakura and hers for me, grow and develop inside of me. It’s a
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121 wonderful feeling.
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122 I have to admit that I never really thought about it much before. I
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123 just never
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124 thought I would wind up pregnant. I know mother was lonely when she
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125 had me
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126 and that I helped alleviate some of that, but I never thought that
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127 I’d wind up
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128 having a child of my own. That she could be Sakura’s. So despite the
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129 morning
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130 sickness and the mood swings and all of the doctor’s appointments,
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131 I’m
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132 deliriously happy to be having her.
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133 My hands rest on my stomach as I whisper soothingly to my baby girl.
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134 “I think you’ll like it here, Bara-chan. Sometimes it can be a
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135 little cold and a
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136 little lonely, but there is such beauty out there if you can only
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137 find it. And it will
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138 capture your entire soul. It’s breathtaking to behold. That
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139 something so perfect
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140 can exist is almost unbelievable. Please look for the beauty that’s
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141 out there,
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142 Bara-chan. I think you’ll be surprised. Especially if it looks back
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143 at you.” I smile
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144 at the thought, my eyes falling closed for a second. I’ve been much
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145 too tired
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146 lately. But I’m sure it’s easier for Bara to rest if I’m not busy
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147 running around.
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148 And why follow Sakura-chan around when she can come to me? Almost as
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149 if on
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150 cue, Sakura enters the room carrying a small bowl of soba. She looks
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151 so
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152 adorable in the floral design apron she has on with the big, pink
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153 house slippers
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154 on her feet. We have a chef for such things, of course, but Sakura
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155 insists on
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156 cooking herself from time to time. Even more so lately. I can't tell
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157 which of us is
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158 more anxious about the baby.
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159 “Singing to the baby again, Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura asks with a warm
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160 smile as she kneels next to the bed, blowing on the soba to cool it
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161 down. “She
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162 must love when you do that. It’s always so pretty.” She finally
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163 helps me up,
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164 handing me the bowl of soba. The sparkle in her emerald eyes hasn’t
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165 decreased
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166 in the slightest from when she was a child. In fact, sometimes it
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167 seems even
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168 brighter these days.
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169 I smile in return, glad to have her help with anything as I lean
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170 back
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171 against the head of the bed. “Arigato gozimasu, Sakura. I want her
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172 to know that
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173 we’re waiting for her. And that she has much to look forward to.” I
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174 reach out
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175 and stroke Sakura’s cheek softly. She blushes a bit but doesn’t
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176 avert her gaze. I
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177 can see all of the love I’ve always wanted to pour into her
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178 reflected back at me.
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179 That feeling warms me more than the soba possibly could. She takes
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180 the
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181 chopsticks and brings a bit to my mouth. It’s still a little hot,
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182 but it goes down
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183 well. “It’s delicious, Sakura-chan. I’m sure Bara-chan would like to
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184 thank you,
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185 too. She must be getting hungry. And what better than a dish cooked
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186 with
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187 Sakura’s special ingredient?”
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188 Sakura giggles at that, nodding as she takes another bit of the
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189 soba with
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190 the chopsticks and brings it back to my mouth. “A healthy dose of
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191 love for my
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192 sweet best friend and our cute little daughter. That’s why I sent
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193 the chef home
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194 for the day. I used to cook for my family back home a lot, even if
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195 it was a chore.
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196 So now I want to cook for my family here.” A happy smile crosses her
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197 lips,
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198 along with that spectacularly determined look in her eyes that I’ve
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199 always loved
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200 seeing. When Sakura-chan finally gets her mind set on something, she
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201 throws
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202 her whole heart into it. I’m so happy to be the focus of that
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203 determination now.
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204 “I’d be delighted to eat Sakura’s cooking for as long as she’ll
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205 make it.
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206 Or as long as you keep feeding it to me,” I state with another
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207 smile. She looks a
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208 little flustered as she gets another biteful and brings it up to my
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209 mouth. She’s so
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210 easy to embarrass. And she’s so kawaii when she blushes. I wonder if
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211 she knows
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212 that. I’ve told her enough by now that she has to. She blushed a
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213 whole lot back
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214 when we were dating. Whereas it doesn’t happen quite as much
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215 anymore, it’s
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216 still easy enough to bring a flush to her cheeks.
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217 “If you say so, Tomoyo. I still think the chef is better, but I
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218 wanted to
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219 make something for you and the baby myself. It may not be as good,
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220 but I feel
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221 better that way.” Sakura looks so emotional as her jade eyes watch
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222 me on the
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223 bed. I haven’t seen her this emotional since the morning of our
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224 wedding. And
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225 that’s quite a bit for her because she’s always a rather emotional
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226 woman. Which
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227 is one of the many, many things I love about her. I try to pick out
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228 all of the
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229 emotions I see in her at the moment. Joy, anticipation, anxiety,
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230 fear, happiness,
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231 contentment, wonder. All of them performing their wild dance through
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232 Sakura. I
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233 stroke her cheek again, my fingers trailing across the silky smooth
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234 skin. I smile
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235 up at her reassuringly, brushing back a lock of her brunette hair
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236 behind one cute
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237 ear. I always loved her ears. They’re just so kawaii. My fingers
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238 linger behind her
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239 left ear for a moment, her body relaxing slightly.
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240 “I love you, Sakura. I’m glad that you’d cook for the baby and me.
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241 That’s so sweet of you.” I watch her for a long time, her hands
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242 taking one of
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243 mine, giving it a squeeze. She leans down after a moment’s
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244 hesitation and kisses
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245 me. It’s a short but entirely sweet kiss and like always, it leaves
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246 me a little
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247 breathless with its implications. Her love is much more potent to me
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248 than
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249 anything I’ve ever felt. It laps at my soul like gentle waves. It’s
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250 just the way she
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251 is, a kind and gentle soul that tries so hard even when she has no
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252 idea what to
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253 do. That determined, genki spirit of hers has always quenched my
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254 thirsty soul.
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255 How could I not love her. My fingers slip from her cheek, but my
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256 eyes never
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257 leave her own.
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258 “Aishiteru, Tomoyo. I’m really happy that you like it. I’ll try to
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259 make
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260 some dessert in a bit.” Sakura scoots down across the bed as I start
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261 to take a few
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262 bites myself. Her hands run down my pale legs before stopping at my
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263 feet,
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264 making little swirls with her fingers before gently massaging them.
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265 It feels so
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266 perfect, having the Card Mistress right here with me, throughout all
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267 of this. We
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268 were trying to decide who should have the baby for a while when we
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269 first
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270 decided we wanted one. At first, we’d thought that it should be
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271 Sakura-chan.
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272 After all, she’s not as busy at Daidouji Toys as I usually am and it
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273 would be a
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274 wonderful experience. But the more we thought about it, the more I
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275 thought that
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276 I should carry our baby. It’s Sakura-chan’s magic at work, so I’d
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277 rather she use
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278 it on me anyway. And it gives her a chance to learn more about the
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279 company,
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280 even though mother still wants me to take it over when she retires.
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281 Besides all
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282 that, I’m overjoyed to be able to have this experience. To feel our
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283 baby inside of
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284 me fills me with a wonderfully indescribable feeling. It’s similar
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285 to the warmth
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286 that I feel from Sakura.
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287 I yawn tiredly, Sakura’s nimble fingers starting to relax me more
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288 than
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289 I’d realized. I move my foot in her hand, marveling at the feel of
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290 her soft fingers
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291 against my skin. “I’m sure Bara-chan will love dessert. But I’d
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292 rather have you
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293 here with me for now.” My eyes meet hers again. She crawls up along
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294 the bed as
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295 I set the soba bowl down, her arms wrapping around me. Her head
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296 rests on the
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297 pillow next to mine, dark gray hair right next to sweet brunette. My
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298 heart skips a
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299 beat at having my one, True Love so close to me. It yearns for her,
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300 as always,
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301 and so she complies, her warm heart beating next to my own.
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rlm@0
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302 “Okay, Tomoyo-chan. I’ll wait until after you fall asleep before I
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303 go
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304 start on dessert. Just promise me you won’t come downstairs to try
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305 and
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306 videotape me this time. You need your rest. And I’ll go pick up some
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307 more
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308 videos to record more of the pregnancy when I go out tomorrow.”
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309 Sakura looks
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310 thoughtful for a moment, trying to go over anything she might be
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311 missing in her
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312 head. I disturb her thoughts with a quick kiss.
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rlm@0
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313 “I promise, Sakura.” Her bright smile is all of the reward I need to
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314 convince me to stay in bed. Gazing into those beautiful emerald
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315 eyes, I slowly
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316 slip off to sleep, dreaming of our beautiful baby girl and my
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317 gorgeous wife.
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318
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319 “But I don’t wanna be in the play. I’ll forget my lines and
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320 everyone will
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321 laugh.” I sigh, brushing some dark brown hair from my eyes. This is
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322 just awful.
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323 Awful. I don’t wanna be part of some stupid play at school. Why
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324 can’t I just
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325 help backstage where I don’t have to be out in front of everybody? I
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326 get stage
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327 fright too easily.
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rlm@0
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328 “Bara-chan, you shouldn’t worry about that. I can help you learn
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329 your
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330 lines if you want. And I’m certain that you’ll do perfectly well in
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331 the play. Your
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332 mother made a spectacular prince in a play back when she was your
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333 age.”
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rlm@0
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334 Tomoyo-mama smiles sweetly, that same smile she always has when
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335 talking
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336 about Sakura-mama. “It doesn’t matter if anyone laughs. I won’t. And
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337 I’ll be
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338 videotaping the whole thing.” She kneels down next to me, forgetting
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339 whatever
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340 it was she was sewing for the time being. Her pale hands brush my
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341 messy hair
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342 from my eyes where it had fallen again. “And Sakura will be there,
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343 too. We’ll be
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344 cheering for you.”
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345 I smile a bit at that. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be all bad. They
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346 would be
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347 there for the whole thing and at least I’d have help learning the
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348 lines. I sigh in
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349 defeat. “Hai, I know. I’m just so scared about being in front of
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350 everyone.”
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351 Tomoyo-mama smiles again, standing up. “You’ll do just fine, Bara-
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rlm@0
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352 chan. How about after dinner we’ll start practicing your lines and I
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353 can try to
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rlm@0
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354 give you some tips on stage fright? I was in choir for years and
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355 Sakura was in
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356 cheerleading, so maybe we can help.” She tilts my chin up so I meet
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357 her gaze,
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358 still smiling.
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359 I nod, more hair getting in my eyes. “That sounds good, Tomoyo-
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360 mama. Thanks! I’ll go get my script for the play.” With an approving
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361 nod from
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362 my mom, I dart off to my room at a slight limp. I’m still a little
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363 nervous about
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364 the whole thing, but maybe she’s right. It can’t be all bad,
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365 especially if I have
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366 people to do it for. And now that I’m not in dance class until my
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367 ankle heals, it
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368 would be nice to have something to show them. It’s just so much
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369 easier when
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370 I’m dancing. You don’t have to think about anything. You just dance.
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371 It doesn’t
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372 matter who’s watching. Too bad I hadn’t noticed Chisa dancing so
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373 close. Oh
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374 well. The doctor said it should just be a few weeks until my ankle’s
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375 back to
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376 normal.
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rlm@0
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377 Grabbing my bookbag from my bed, I start sifting through it. It has
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378 to
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rlm@0
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379 be in here somewhere. Plenty of notebooks, some pictures I drew in
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380 class, a few
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381 notes...
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rlm@0
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382 “What are you looking for?” a voice asks from behind me. I turn
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383 quickly, startled. Why does she always have to surprise me like
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384 that? I face my
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385 mirror image for a moment and smile brightly before going back to
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386 searching.
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rlm@0
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387 It’s nice to see her at least. I was wondering where she’d gone off
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388 to. I’m a little
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389 awkward at school and I’m shy so it’s hard for me to make friends.
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390 At least with
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391 normal girls my age. Then again, I guess I’m not really normal with
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392 my parents.
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393 The head of the Daidouji Corporation and the world’s strongest
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394 magician. It’s so
|
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rlm@0
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395 much easier to make friends with mom’s Sakura Cards.
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rlm@0
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396 “Just the script for the play. Tomoyo-mama said we could go through
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397 it
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398 after dinner and she could help me with it,” I explain as I finally
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rlm@0
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399 find the stapled
|
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400 together script. “Found it!”
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rlm@0
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401 My ‘twin’ looks thoughtful for a moment as she sits down next to me.
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rlm@0
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402 She has the same dark brown hair and lavender eyes that I do. She’s
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403 even
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rlm@0
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404 wearing my school uniform, though I changed out of that a few
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405 minutes ago.
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rlm@0
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406 “Oh yeah, that was today, wasn’t it? I could always go for you if
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407 you want. I
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rlm@0
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408 wouldn’t want you to get too nervous about it.”
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rlm@0
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409 “That’s okay, Mirror. I’d hate to disappoint Sakura-mama and
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rlm@0
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410 Tomoyo-mama if they’re going to come to it. I could use the help
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rlm@0
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411 going over my
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rlm@0
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412 lines for the next few days, though,” I explain, sitting on my bed.
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rlm@0
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413 She sits next to
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414 me after a moment. The only real difference in her appearance is
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rlm@0
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415 that she
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rlm@0
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416 doesn’t have the cast on her ankle. I sigh, flipping through the
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rlm@0
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417 pages.
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rlm@0
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418 “I’d love to help,” Mirror says with a smile, reading bits and
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rlm@0
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419 pieces
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rlm@0
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420 over my shoulder. “I hope I can go and watch you, too. I’m sure
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rlm@0
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421 you’ll be
|
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rlm@0
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422 great.”
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rlm@0
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423 A knock on the door grabs my attention before I can reply. Sakura-
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rlm@0
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424 mama sticks her head in, her brunette hair near her shoulders. “It’s
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rlm@0
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425 dinner time,
|
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rlm@0
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426 Bara-chan.” She waits for me as I tuck the script under my arm and
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rlm@0
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427 hurry over.
|
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rlm@0
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428 “And Tomoyo said that you got a part in the play. I can’t wait to
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rlm@0
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429 see it.”
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rlm@0
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430 I nod quickly, holding out the script. “I get to be Juliet. But
|
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rlm@0
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431 they must
|
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rlm@0
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432 have picked the wrong person. Misato or Ming Pha would both make much
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rlm@0
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433 better Juliets.”
|
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rlm@0
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434 Sakura-mama shakes her head, helping me down the stairs. “I don’t
|
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rlm@0
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435 think so. Sometimes we get surprised by things like that, but it
|
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rlm@0
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436 doesn’t mean
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rlm@0
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437 we’re wrong for the part.”
|
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rlm@0
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438 “Hai. Like Sakura as the prince. She made an absolutely darling
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rlm@0
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439 prince
|
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rlm@0
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440 at that,” Tomoyo-mama adds, sparkles in her eyes. Something tells me
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rlm@0
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441 I’ll be
|
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rlm@0
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442 watching a tape of the whole play tonight. I smile and nod, taking
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rlm@0
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443 my seat.
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rlm@0
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444 Yeah, if Sakura-mama made a good prince, maybe I can make a good
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rlm@0
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445 Juliet.
|
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rlm@0
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446 “Thanks, Tomoyo-mama, Sakura-mama. I’d really appreciate the help.”
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rlm@0
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447 I take a bite of the meal that Tomoyo-mama made for dinner, feeling
|
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rlm@0
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448 more at
|
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rlm@0
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449 ease. I spot Mirror watching me from the stairs and wave at her. She
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rlm@0
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450 blushes a
|
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rlm@0
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451 bit when she realizes I spotted her and waves back. I still don’t
|
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rlm@0
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452 really know how
|
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rlm@0
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453 it will all turn out, but maybe that doesn’t matter. There’s still
|
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rlm@0
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454 so much waiting
|
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rlm@0
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455 for me. I just know it.
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