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1 Hello! ^-^ This is a Quantum Leap/Cardcaptor Sakura crossover, so I
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2 hope that
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3 explains why this is so strange. ^^;;; I’m always so worried about
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4 crossovers
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5 because it’s so difficult to pull off merging two series together.
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6 So I hope this
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7 goes well. ^-^ The idea has been playing around in my head for quite
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8 a while
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9 now. Sam’s supposed to ‘put right what once went wrong’ so why can’t
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10 he set
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11 right the biggest problem in Cardcaptor Sakura? I’d like to thank
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12 Boco the
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13 Chokobo, who’s ideas helped me quite a bit with this. ^-^ Thanks!
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14 *hugs* I’m
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15 using the leaping mechanics from Ashley McConnell’s Quantum Leap
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16 novels
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17 because I like the idea of Sam actually switching bodies with who he
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18 leaps into
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19 rather than him just taking their aura. Anyway, I really hope you
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20 enjoy this! ^-^
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21 I always love feedback, so if you have the time, please e-mail me! ^-^
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22
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23
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24 Across the Distance
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25 by Amazoness Duo
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26 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
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27
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28
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29 Dr. Sam Beckett was always disoriented when he began a leap. Leaping
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30 from life to life, trying to put right what once went wrong, was a
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31 very stressful
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32 job. He always found himself in the strangest situations, with no
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33 knowledge of
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34 who he was now or what situation he had leapt into. So he had gotten
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35 very good
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36 at trying to read his surroundings very quickly. But the first few
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37 minutes never
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38 allowed him such luxuries and it was up to him to wing it.
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39 And he had absolutely no idea how to do so as the good doctor found
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40 himself locking lips with a teenage, brown haired boy. The kiss
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41 lasted for
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42 another few seconds but it could very well have been an eternity. As
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43 Dr. Beckett
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44 stumbled backwards, trying to catch his breath, a quick glimpse down
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45 finished
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46 putting at least part of this scene together. He was a girl. Again.
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47 And the boy
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48 that had just been kissing him must be her boyfriend. “Oh boy...”
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49
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50 The boy blushed fiercely after Sam backed away. “Daijobu? Sakura-
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51 chan?” He took a few steps closer, finally taking Sam’s, or the body
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52 Sam was
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53 currently inhabiting, hands and pulling him closer. Sam stumbled
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54 forward, his
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55 head resting on the boy’s chest. His mind was spinning. Had he ever
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56 leapt out of
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57 the US before? His swiss cheese memory betrayed him. He had no idea.
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58 The boy
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59 continued saying something, but it wasn’t making any sense. Wait, it
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60 was. Sam
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61 couldn’t remember if he’d taken Japanese in school or not, though he
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62 very well
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63 could have, or if it was something left over from his host, but the
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64 jumbled words
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65 began to make sense.
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66 “Yeah, I’m fine,” Sam said with a nervous smile. “I just... was a
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67 little
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68 distracted.” How often had he used that excuse? Too many times. But
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69 after all
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70 these years of leaping, he still hadn’t come up with a better one.
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71 The boy’s amber eyes stared at Sam skeptically for a long moment, as
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72 if he didn’t quite believe that. But finally he nodded. “We better
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73 get to school. I
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74 made sure that I’d be in the same homeroom as you.” He waited for
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75 some
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76 acknowledgement of his statement, probably wanting to hear a shrill
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77 of joy from
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78 his girlfriend, but Sam just nodded, still unsure as to how he was
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79 supposed to act
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80 now. Grasping Sam’s hand, he began leading the way presumably to the
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81 school.
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82 At least, Sam sure hoped so.
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83 The two walked along in relative silence for a while. Which was fine
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84 by Sam because it gave him a chance to think. Where was he?
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85 Apparently Japan.
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86 When was he? It looked pretty recent, but Sam couldn’t remember if
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87 he’d gone
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88 there or not so it was difficult to be sure of an exact date. It was
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89 much easier
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90 guessing dates back in the US. Finally, who was he? The boy had
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91 called him
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92 Sakura, so at least he had a name. And a quick glimpse in a passing
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93 shop
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94 window gave him a face. She was a very pretty girl with short,
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95 reddish brown
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96 hair and emerald green eyes. She looked to be about fourteen or
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97 fifteen and was
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98 wearing her school uniform. “Oh boy...” he muttered under his
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99 breath. This
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100 whole thing was too strange for him. If anything could get too
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101 strange for a time
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102 hopping physicist. And being a girl was always... awkward for him.
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103 When he
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104 leapt into other men, at least the equipment was still the same. Now
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105 he’d have to
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106 deal with a teenage girl’s body. He’d ask Ziggy about what affects
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107 that would
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108 have on his mind, but he knew it would have to go through Al. He
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109 could picture
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110 the grin on his friend’s face as he asked the question and
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111 immediately dismissed
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112 it. He’d figure it out on his own.
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113 “I thought I’d come out and surprise you. I was going to send a
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114 letter,
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115 but I decided to head out here as soon as I could instead,” the boy
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116 was
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117 explaining.
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118 Sam nodded quickly, offering what he hoped was a sweet smile. So he
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119 was probably here to make sure things went smoothly between them.
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120 “Oh good.
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121 I’m really glad you came all this way.” Wherever it was he had come
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122 from.
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123 The two finally happened upon the school gates. Sam gave a sigh of
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124 relief. He could handle jr. high school. Probably a lot easier than
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125 dealing with a
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126 lovestruck boyfriend. It would give him a chance to concentrate and
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127 wait for Al.
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128 Where was Al, anyway? Wasn’t he usually here by now? What was taking
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129 him
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130 so long?
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131 “Ohayo gozimasu, Sakura-chan!” a cute, pale girl with very long,
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132 dark
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133 hair said as she stepped up, a sweet smile on her face. Her stormy
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134 blue eyes
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135 were entrancing. Sam wondered for a moment if she was sick to have
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136 such a
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137 pale complexion, but she seemed to be just fine. She looked a little
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138 surprised to
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139 see Sam’s new boyfriend there, but she recovered quickly. “Ohayo, Li-
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140 kun!
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141 Sakura-chan must be very happy to have you back. She’s been talking
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142 about you
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143 so much lately.” Her smile returned almost as quickly as it had
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144 disappeared,
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145 leaving Sam to wonder if it had ever left at all. But that did give
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146 Sam a hint, at
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147 the least. His name was Li. Good.
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148 The boy just frowned, beginning to flush slightly before he turned
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149 back
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150 to Sakura.
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151 “Well, I’m very glad to have Li back. I’m sure everything’s going
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152 to be
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153 great now,” Sam said quickly, smiling. The looks he got from the
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154 other two
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155 made him wonder if he’d said that wrong. He sighed. These things
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156 were always
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157 so difficult. Sam felt him squeeze his hand and then nodded.
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158 “It will be. I’m back now. I won’t let anyone force me to go back to
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159 Hong Kong again. I’ll stay this time, Sakura-chan.”
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160 Hong Kong. Okay, at least he was starting to get somewhere with all
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161 this. So the boy, Li, had come from Hong Kong and had apparently
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162 been away
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163 for quite some time. “I’m sure, Li. Thanks. I really missed you.”
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164 Sam smiled
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165 again, and Li seemed to accept it, but he was getting an odd look
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166 from the dark
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167 haired girl. Her stormy blue eyes seemed to be looking through him.
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168 The
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169 familiar sound of the Imaging Chamber door opening sent a breath of
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170 relief
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171 through him. He quickly turned to spot Al. When he finally did, he
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172 was
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173 surprised. Al’s usually wild attire was much more subdued. He was
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174 wearing a
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175 black suit and tie. He had dark bags under his eyes and he looked
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176 even older
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177 than usual. Sam frowned, staring at his holographic friend
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178 concernedly. “I..
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179 uhh... I’ll be back in a minute.” He let go of the boy’s hand and
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180 ducked past the
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181 pale girl and made his way through Al, signaling the observer to
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182 follow over
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183 near a tree. “Al! What took you so long? Where am I?” He paused for a
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184 moment, studying the observer. “Are you okay?”
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185 Al shook it off, plugging away at the handlink, offering his usual
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186 abuse
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187 to the poor thing. “It took Ziggy a while to find you, Sam. You’re
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188 only a month
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189 behind us. Ziggy’s freaking out. She’s never seen anything like this
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190 before so
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191 she doesn’t know what to do about it. As far as details, we don’t
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192 know why
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193 you’re here yet. It’s only a month ago and in Japan at that, so we
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194 don’t have a lot
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195 of information to go on. Donn.. Err...” Al mentally stopped himself
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196 from
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197 mentioning Donna’s name. She didn’t want Sam knowing that she was
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198 still there
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199 waiting for him. It would be easier for him this way. “Everyone here
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200 at the
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201 Project is a little worried about this. I mean, you’ve never been
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202 this close before,
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203 Sam.”
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204 Sam gasped in shock. “Only a month? Al, I’m really that close? Maybe
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205 I can... No, I shouldn’t, but...” He shook his head, brunette hair
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206 flailing from
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207 side to side as he did so. This was all too much. He could call up
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208 Project
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209 Quantum Leap and ask to talk to the Al of this time. Or he could
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210 look up
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211 material on a Doctor Samuel Beckett and try to replace the swiss
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212 cheese holes in
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213 his memory. But Al looked less than excited. “So what do you have so
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214 far?”
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215 Al pulled up the handlink again, though by this time he didn’t need
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216 it.
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217 He’d been reading the information ever since the plane ride back.
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218 Over and over
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219 and over. He sighed, trying to keep the lack of sleep from showing.
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220 “You are
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221 Sakura Kinomoto, a fourteen year old school girl in Tomoeda, Japan.
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222 She’s a
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223 fair student and seems to be pretty athletic. Hey, Sam, you’re on the
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224 cheerleading team.” Al attempted a grin, but only got a stare from
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225 the younger
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226 girl that housed the spirit of his best friend. He held up his arms
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227 in defense. “Just
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228 pointing that out to you. You always want as much information as
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229 we’ve got.
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230 Anyway, the Chinese boy over there is Syaoran Li, part of some
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231 powerful
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232 family in Hong Kong. It looks like he’s your sweety. He was here in
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233 Japan a
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234 few years ago and left, but not before you two hooked up. You’ve
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235 been sending
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236 letters back and forth since.” Al wasn’t even looking at the
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237 handlink anymore.
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238 He’d heard all this days ago, before Ziggy even found out this was
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239 where Sam
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240 had leapt to.
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241 Sam coughed into his fist and shook his head, the memory of the kiss
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242 still fresh in his mind. “Well, why am I here, then? What am I here
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243 to change? It
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244 sounds like they end up alright.”
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245 Bringing the handlink up again, Al crammed some buttons at random.
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246 “Ziggy’s trying to run some simulations and Dr. Beeks is talking to
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247 Sakura right
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248 now so we’ll try to figure that out.” The retired admiral paused for
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249 a long
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250 moment. There was something else he wanted to say. Sam waited.
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251 “Sakura-chan? Daijobu?” The pale girl asked. She looked very
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252 concerned for ‘Sakura’. Her hand went to Sam’s forehead, feeling for
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253 a
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254 temperature. Her stormy blue eyes met the emerald green ones that
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255 replaced
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256 Sam’s own for a long moment. She leaned forward a bit, whispering
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257 with her
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258 wonderfully soft voice into Sam’s ear. “Is it because of Li-kun? Are
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259 you
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260 nervous? You shouldn’t be. He’s happy to see you again. You can be
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261 together
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262 now.” She stepped back, smiling brightly, her eyes closed.
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263 Sam laughed nervously. “Of course! I’m really happy, too. Yeah, I’m
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264 just a little nervous is all. I’m sure I’ll be fine soon.”
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265 “I’m sure Sakura-chan will, too. I know things will work out for the
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266 best for you.” The smile seemed to come to her quickly, as if she
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267 smiled often,
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268 or practiced it quite a bit. It was a warm, gentle smile that
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269 somehow eased Sam’s
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270 spirits. He nodded quickly as she took his arm, the bell ringing to
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271 signify their
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272 first class. “We better hurry, Sakura-chan.”
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273 Sam looked to see Li pulling along beside them, taking his hand. The
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274 pale girl waited a second before letting go, keeping her distance.
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275 Sam met her
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276 gaze and she smiled again, ushering him towards the correct class.
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277 Glancing
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278 back over his shoulder, he looked for Al, but the observer was
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279 already gone.
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280 What had he wanted to say?
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281
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282 Class went by strangely. It had been a while since Sam had been
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283 anyone this young and he found it awkward to be taking classes in
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284 Japanese. But
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285 he still managed to get along well enough. The teachers even seemed
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286 amazed at
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287 some of the answers he was giving. Sam had always found academics
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288 calming.
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289 They didn’t have the same chaos that was inherent in everything
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290 else. Especially
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291 leaping. So he found it relaxing to lose himself in class, even with
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292 the slight
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293 difficulty of taking it in another language.
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294 Throughout the day, he kept making little mistakes, but nothing that
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295 seemed too big. Besides, it was part of every leap. He had to gauge
|
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rlm@2
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296 other
|
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rlm@2
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297 people’s reactions to him to decide if he was acting properly or
|
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rlm@2
|
298 not. He seemed
|
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rlm@2
|
299 to be doing well enough, but the dark haired girl seemed to be
|
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rlm@2
|
300 getting
|
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rlm@2
|
301 increasingly concerned. He tried to play it off, but she was always
|
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rlm@2
|
302 close by,
|
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rlm@2
|
303 offering help whenever she could and trying to see if anything was
|
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rlm@2
|
304 wrong.
|
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rlm@2
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305 Syaoran walked him from class to class, which he found a little
|
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rlm@2
|
306 embarrassing but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He got used
|
|
rlm@2
|
307 to holding
|
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rlm@2
|
308 the boy’s hand from class to class as lunch finally rolled around.
|
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rlm@2
|
309 Stormy blue eyes caught Sam’s attention quickly as the dark haired
|
|
rlm@2
|
310 girl
|
|
rlm@2
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311 caught up with him. Sam just waited for her. She still held that
|
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rlm@2
|
312 warm smile of
|
|
rlm@2
|
313 hers as she fell in step with him. “Sakura-chan seems to have
|
|
rlm@2
|
314 studied a lot last
|
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rlm@2
|
315 night. You should have told me. I would have been happy to help you,
|
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rlm@2
|
316 Sakura-
|
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rlm@2
|
317 chan.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
318 “Oh, I was bored. I didn’t want to bother you. I thought I’d catch
|
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rlm@2
|
319 up in
|
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rlm@2
|
320 class and try to do a little better,” Sam supplied, hoping it
|
|
rlm@2
|
321 sounded reasonable
|
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rlm@2
|
322 enough. This whole leap was confusing him. Especially this girl. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
323 must be
|
|
rlm@2
|
324 Sakura’s best friend. She was obviously very caring towards her.
|
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rlm@2
|
325 The girl nodded thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side. “You
|
|
rlm@2
|
326 even
|
|
rlm@2
|
327 got that engrish poem down that you were worrying about. I knew
|
|
rlm@2
|
328 Sakura-chan
|
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rlm@2
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329 would be just fine as long as she did her best.” She smiled happily,
|
|
rlm@2
|
330 as if waiting
|
|
rlm@2
|
331 for Sam to explain something.
|
|
rlm@2
|
332 “I.. uhh... Yeah, I guess it was easier than I thought,” Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
333 muttered
|
|
rlm@2
|
334 quickly. He looked around after a moment and noticed that he was
|
|
rlm@2
|
335 going down a
|
|
rlm@2
|
336 dead end.
|
|
rlm@2
|
337 “Lunch is this way, Sakura-chan,” the girl said politely, taking
|
|
rlm@2
|
338 Sam’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
339 hand and leading him off down another corridor. Her hand felt soft
|
|
rlm@2
|
340 and held
|
|
rlm@2
|
341 onto Sam’s with a very gentle care. She looked at Sam with that
|
|
rlm@2
|
342 concerned look
|
|
rlm@2
|
343 again, but he just smiled and tried to brush it off. “It’s good that
|
|
rlm@2
|
344 Li-kun’s back.
|
|
rlm@2
|
345 Sakura-chan shouldn’t have to be lonely. The two of you look so cute
|
|
rlm@2
|
346 together.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
347 She squeezed Sam’s hand softly. “You’ll have to let me videotape the
|
|
rlm@2
|
348 two of
|
|
rlm@2
|
349 you later. It can be Sakura-chan’s Happy Reunion.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
350 Sam laughed and nodded. The girl was eccentric, but he liked that.
|
|
rlm@2
|
351 She
|
|
rlm@2
|
352 must be a fun best friend. “Yeah, that sounds good. We should do
|
|
rlm@2
|
353 that later. I’m
|
|
rlm@2
|
354 sure it’ll make for great memories.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
355 “Not for her, Sam.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
356 Sam turned on his heel and spotted Al behind him. Al shook his head
|
|
rlm@2
|
357 and motioned for him to keep walking. Sam complied. “Hmm?” Sam asked,
|
|
rlm@2
|
358 trying to look interested in the dark haired girl’s explanation of
|
|
rlm@2
|
359 some outfit for
|
|
rlm@2
|
360 him to wear.
|
|
rlm@2
|
361 “Those obviously won’t make good memories for her, Sam. That's
|
|
rlm@2
|
362 Tomoyo Daidouji. Heiress to the Daidouji fortunes and all
|
|
rlm@2
|
363 around talented girl. Got the voice of an angel. I heard her sing
|
|
rlm@2
|
364 one time.” Al
|
|
rlm@2
|
365 grew silent for a moment, not even glancing at the handlink. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
366 didn’t need it
|
|
rlm@2
|
367 for this. “She kills herself about a month from now. You could never
|
|
rlm@2
|
368 tell with all
|
|
rlm@2
|
369 those smiles.” Sighing, the observer shook his head, watching the
|
|
rlm@2
|
370 pale girl for a
|
|
rlm@2
|
371 time before continuing. “She drowns in a lake at a park near here.
|
|
rlm@2
|
372 Left a note
|
|
rlm@2
|
373 and went off to take a swim. The problem being that she doesn’t know
|
|
rlm@2
|
374 how to
|
|
rlm@2
|
375 swim," Al explained grimly.
|
|
rlm@2
|
376 “She what?” Sam shot out, his eyes wide. He immediately regretted it
|
|
rlm@2
|
377 as Tomoyo looked back at him. He just shook his head quickly.
|
|
rlm@2
|
378 “Nothing.” Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
379 stared at his friend aghast. It seemed hard to believe that this
|
|
rlm@2
|
380 cheery girl would ever consider something quite so drastic.
|
|
rlm@2
|
381 Al shook his head after a moment, knowing what Sam must be
|
|
rlm@2
|
382 thinking. "Ziggy says that's not why you're here. It's a month from
|
|
rlm@2
|
383 now. If that
|
|
rlm@2
|
384 was the reason, you'd've leapt in a few days before it happened. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
385 says it's more likely got to do with the girl you leapt into."
|
|
rlm@2
|
386 Sam smiled as sweetly as he could and pulled his hand away from
|
|
rlm@2
|
387 Tomoyo. “Excuse me for just a second. I need to... take care of
|
|
rlm@2
|
388 something.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
389 They had finally gotten outside and Sam took the chance to head
|
|
rlm@2
|
390 around the side
|
|
rlm@2
|
391 of the building. “No! That can’t be it. Why? What happened? Maybe it
|
|
rlm@2
|
392 wasn’t a
|
|
rlm@2
|
393 suicide. That means it was only a few days ago for you. Maybe Ziggy
|
|
rlm@2
|
394 doesn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
395 have all the information she needs. She’s too sweet a girl for that.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
396 Al sighed. He knew Sam was going to be like this. And it wasn’t as
|
|
rlm@2
|
397 if
|
|
rlm@2
|
398 he hadn’t been trying to work this out himself. “Ziggy didn’t know
|
|
rlm@2
|
399 until an hour
|
|
rlm@2
|
400 ago. I found out two days ago. Sam, I just got back form her funeral.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
401 That news sent a shock through the leaper. Leaning heavily against
|
|
rlm@2
|
402 the
|
|
rlm@2
|
403 wall, he looked over at Al. “You what? Why?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
404 Al was deep in thought, contemplating an unlit cigar. It had been
|
|
rlm@2
|
405 days
|
|
rlm@2
|
406 since he’d had one, but for some reason he just didn’t feel in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
407 mood for it. “It
|
|
rlm@2
|
408 was a lovely funeral. Her mother really spared no expense. Sakura,
|
|
rlm@2
|
409 the girl you
|
|
rlm@2
|
410 are, was there, too. It was a big thing. Her mother was all broken
|
|
rlm@2
|
411 up about it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
412 Lost her only little girl.” Al closed his eyes, trying to force out
|
|
rlm@2
|
413 the images. “You
|
|
rlm@2
|
414 probably don’t remember this, but back when we were looking for
|
|
rlm@2
|
415 funding for
|
|
rlm@2
|
416 the project, we met with a whole lot of people. One of those people
|
|
rlm@2
|
417 was Sonomi
|
|
rlm@2
|
418 Daidouji. Strong willed woman. But you get to like her. Won’t take
|
|
rlm@2
|
419 no for an
|
|
rlm@2
|
420 answer. Anyway, I got to talking to her about funding for the
|
|
rlm@2
|
421 project. She runs a
|
|
rlm@2
|
422 pretty big business in Japan. We wound up getting picked up by the
|
|
rlm@2
|
423 government
|
|
rlm@2
|
424 for funding, but after I explained what the Project was about, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
425 was all too
|
|
rlm@2
|
426 thrilled to get me all the Japanese technology we needed from the
|
|
rlm@2
|
427 Amamiya
|
|
rlm@2
|
428 Corporation. Hell, half of Ziggy’s thanks to her. She never asked a
|
|
rlm@2
|
429 thing from
|
|
rlm@2
|
430 us, just wanted to know how the Project was going from time to time.
|
|
rlm@2
|
431 So I’ve
|
|
rlm@2
|
432 been staying in touch, talking to her about this and that. But when
|
|
rlm@2
|
433 I found out
|
|
rlm@2
|
434 her daughter killed herself a few days ago, I rushed out there.
|
|
rlm@2
|
435 She’s really
|
|
rlm@2
|
436 broken up, Sam. She doesn’t have anyone else now. Just her business.
|
|
rlm@2
|
437 She was
|
|
rlm@2
|
438 really emotional at the funeral, and she had a right to be. It was
|
|
rlm@2
|
439 awful to see. I
|
|
rlm@2
|
440 wish you had leapt in a few days ago and stopped that. But you’ve
|
|
rlm@2
|
441 said it
|
|
rlm@2
|
442 yourself, you can only change what you’re supposed to.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
443 “Oh no... That can’t be right. How can I possibly stop that from
|
|
rlm@2
|
444 here?
|
|
rlm@2
|
445 Unless I can find a way to keep it from happening. Something must
|
|
rlm@2
|
446 have
|
|
rlm@2
|
447 happened that made her want to do that. We just need Ziggy to find
|
|
rlm@2
|
448 out,” Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
449 nodded, thinking deeply.
|
|
rlm@2
|
450 “Sam, I already know. Her mother told me. I found out while I was
|
|
rlm@2
|
451 there. She killed herself over you.” Al rubbed at an ache in his
|
|
rlm@2
|
452 neck, sighing.
|
|
rlm@2
|
453 “She killed herself because she’s in love with you.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
454 “Oh boy...”
|
|
rlm@2
|
455 “Yeah, so it doesn’t look like there’s anything you can do about
|
|
rlm@2
|
456 it. At
|
|
rlm@2
|
457 least for now. I’ll get Ziggy working on those simulations. Maybe
|
|
rlm@2
|
458 she can come
|
|
rlm@2
|
459 up with...” Al’s eyes went wide as he read the handlink. “She’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
460 what?!” Without
|
|
rlm@2
|
461 another word to Sam, Al vanished through the door.
|
|
rlm@2
|
462
|
|
rlm@2
|
463 “What the hell is she doing here?” Al asked to no one in particular
|
|
rlm@2
|
464 as
|
|
rlm@2
|
465 he stormed down the hallway. The former admiral came to a halt when
|
|
rlm@2
|
466 he
|
|
rlm@2
|
467 finally caught sight of the younger Japanese woman. She was flanked
|
|
rlm@2
|
468 by several
|
|
rlm@2
|
469 woman wearing dark clothes and sunglasses. They all looked like they
|
|
rlm@2
|
470 were
|
|
rlm@2
|
471 good at what they did. Which was probably to protect Miss Daidouji.
|
|
rlm@2
|
472 Al would
|
|
rlm@2
|
473 have gawked at the pretty ladies if he wasn’t still in shock.
|
|
rlm@2
|
474 “Sonomi, why are
|
|
rlm@2
|
475 you here? The Project is off limits to all non-essential personal.
|
|
rlm@2
|
476 Now I
|
|
rlm@2
|
477 appreciate all you’ve done for the project, but you certainly aren’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
478 a member of
|
|
rlm@2
|
479 the staff.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
480 “Arru, please... I need to see my little girl again. I know that
|
|
rlm@2
|
481 she’s here.
|
|
rlm@2
|
482 She has to be. You can save her, can’t you?” Sonomi’s eyes were
|
|
rlm@2
|
483 pleading. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
484 looked desperate, grasping at the final string dangling in front of
|
|
rlm@2
|
485 her. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
486 woman had suffered so much in the past few days.
|
|
rlm@2
|
487 Al remained silent, his lips pursed tightly together. He didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
488 like this at
|
|
rlm@2
|
489 all. She shouldn’t be here. This whole leap was already playing with
|
|
rlm@2
|
490 all the rules
|
|
rlm@2
|
491 they’d set up years ago. This wasn’t helping.
|
|
rlm@2
|
492 “Please, Arru. I need to see Tomoyo-chan.” Her eyes conveyed how
|
|
rlm@2
|
493 deeply she meant that. She did need to see her. This woman was
|
|
rlm@2
|
494 strong, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
495 losing her only child after that was killing her. He knew that she’d
|
|
rlm@2
|
496 agreed to
|
|
rlm@2
|
497 help the Project in the hopes of one day bringing back her cousin,
|
|
rlm@2
|
498 her one true
|
|
rlm@2
|
499 love, but now she had lost her daughter as well.
|
|
rlm@2
|
500 He sighed. He had been able to see Beth, his first wife and the only
|
|
rlm@2
|
501 woman he had ever truly loved, even if for only a short time. They
|
|
rlm@2
|
502 may not be
|
|
rlm@2
|
503 able to save Tomoyo, but was it fair to rob her of a final chance of
|
|
rlm@2
|
504 seeing her
|
|
rlm@2
|
505 daughter alive? “Sonomi, you’re putting me in a hard spot here. Let
|
|
rlm@2
|
506 me get you
|
|
rlm@2
|
507 and your friends some rooms and we can talk about it.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
508 “He’s there, isn’t he? He’s back with my Tomoyo-chan. He can save
|
|
rlm@2
|
509 her, right?” Sonomi had eliminated the distance between herself and
|
|
rlm@2
|
510 Al. This
|
|
rlm@2
|
511 was her last chance. She had to pray it would work. She had barely
|
|
rlm@2
|
512 survived
|
|
rlm@2
|
513 Nadeshiko’s loss, and that was only because she had had Tomoyo. Now
|
|
rlm@2
|
514 she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
515 nothing. She couldn’t let things stay this way.
|
|
rlm@2
|
516 Looking away, Al frowned. “He’s... Back around then. But not close
|
|
rlm@2
|
517 enough to stop it. A month back. We think he’s supposed to fix
|
|
rlm@2
|
518 something else.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
519 Sonomi balled her fists angrily. “No!! He’s back there to save
|
|
rlm@2
|
520 Tomoyo-
|
|
rlm@2
|
521 chan! Maybe he got sent back too far or he needs to fix something
|
|
rlm@2
|
522 else while
|
|
rlm@2
|
523 he’s at it, but he’s there to save my dear Tomoyo-chan!” Her English
|
|
rlm@2
|
524 was
|
|
rlm@2
|
525 heavily accented, the long plane ride making it difficult for her to
|
|
rlm@2
|
526 concentrate.
|
|
rlm@2
|
527 “Let me get you a room first and then we can figure everything out.
|
|
rlm@2
|
528 I
|
|
rlm@2
|
529 promise I’ll let you see her. Sam’s back with her now.” Al motioned
|
|
rlm@2
|
530 for them to
|
|
rlm@2
|
531 follow, but Sonomi moved past him.
|
|
rlm@2
|
532 “I need to see Tomoyo-chan now. I need to see her alive and well.
|
|
rlm@2
|
533 Moving and smiling and singing. I need to get the image of her in a
|
|
rlm@2
|
534 casket out of
|
|
rlm@2
|
535 my head. I need to see my baby.” Sonomi stopped as she tried to
|
|
rlm@2
|
536 remember the
|
|
rlm@2
|
537 layout from the blueprints she’d seen. Where was the Imaging Chamber
|
|
rlm@2
|
538 again?
|
|
rlm@2
|
539 The bodyguards tensed up as Al grabbed her shoulder. Sonomi hardly
|
|
rlm@2
|
540 seemed to notice. Al’s hand eased off when he noticed the tears in
|
|
rlm@2
|
541 her eyes. “It’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
542 this way.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
543
|
|
rlm@2
|
544 Sam blinked as he watched the space his holographic companion had
|
|
rlm@2
|
545 occupied moments before. Al had looked pretty shocked about
|
|
rlm@2
|
546 something, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
547 he hadn’t bothered telling Sam about it. And so he was stuck with
|
|
rlm@2
|
548 the news that
|
|
rlm@2
|
549 the best friend of the girl he was currently inhabiting would kill
|
|
rlm@2
|
550 herself in a
|
|
rlm@2
|
551 month’s time and that it didn’t look like there was anything he
|
|
rlm@2
|
552 could do about it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
553 This didn’t make for a very comforting break from classes. A hand on
|
|
rlm@2
|
554 his
|
|
rlm@2
|
555 shoulder nearly sent him into a panic.
|
|
rlm@2
|
556 “Sakura-chan? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
557 Tomoyo watched the brunette in front of her carefully, brushing some
|
|
rlm@2
|
558 hair from
|
|
rlm@2
|
559 Sam’s eyes. Her stormy blue eyes were so loving, so concerned for
|
|
rlm@2
|
560 the well
|
|
rlm@2
|
561 being of this Sakura. Even if the situation was a little strange, it
|
|
rlm@2
|
562 still tore at
|
|
rlm@2
|
563 Sam’s heart to know where it would lead.
|
|
rlm@2
|
564 “Err... Yeah, something like that, Tomoyo. Don’t worry about it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
565 Let’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
566 get some lunch.” Sam offered another smile, but he couldn’t help but
|
|
rlm@2
|
567 cast
|
|
rlm@2
|
568 another glance back at the pale girl as he headed for a bench to eat
|
|
rlm@2
|
569 at. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
570 couldn’t tell that anything so dark could be lurking under Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
571 peaceful, if
|
|
rlm@2
|
572 eccentric, exterior. Could Al have been wrong? No, not likely. So it
|
|
rlm@2
|
573 seemed that
|
|
rlm@2
|
574 she was extremely good at hiding her feelings. Which was probably
|
|
rlm@2
|
575 why Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
576 had no idea about them. But that didn’t make it any easier to handle
|
|
rlm@2
|
577 the
|
|
rlm@2
|
578 situation. And what about the long awaited return of Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
579 boyfriend? What
|
|
rlm@2
|
580 was he supposed to do about it all?
|
|
rlm@2
|
581 Tomoyo sat down next to Sam, watching him closely as he ate. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
582 fumbled with the chopsticks for a moment before she reached over and
|
|
rlm@2
|
583 helped
|
|
rlm@2
|
584 adjust his grip. She smiled pleasantly as he got out a quick thanks.
|
|
rlm@2
|
585 It went on
|
|
rlm@2
|
586 quietly for a few minutes, her eyes never leaving Sam as he ate. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
587 finally
|
|
rlm@2
|
588 tilted her head to the side thoughtfully.
|
|
rlm@2
|
589 Sam looked back in confusion, some rice half in his mouth. “Is
|
|
rlm@2
|
590 something wrong?” he asked after a moment. This girl did act rather
|
|
rlm@2
|
591 strangely,
|
|
rlm@2
|
592 so he wouldn’t be surprised if this sort of behavior was normal for
|
|
rlm@2
|
593 her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
594 “You’re not Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered, leaning closer so that
|
|
rlm@2
|
595 no one would hear. Her eyes were locked on Sam’s, as if looking past
|
|
rlm@2
|
596 the body
|
|
rlm@2
|
597 and deep into his soul, as if he couldn’t hide in it at all.
|
|
rlm@2
|
598 Sam dropped the little ball of rice, his eyes wide. He almost
|
|
rlm@2
|
599 choked on
|
|
rlm@2
|
600 what was in his mouth. “What?” he got out quietly, a little above a
|
|
rlm@2
|
601 chirp. This
|
|
rlm@2
|
602 couldn’t be right. No matter how poorly he did as someone, people
|
|
rlm@2
|
603 rarely ever
|
|
rlm@2
|
604 guessed that anything was wrong, let alone that he wasn’t who they
|
|
rlm@2
|
605 thought he
|
|
rlm@2
|
606 was. “What do you mean?” He tried to keep his voice steady this
|
|
rlm@2
|
607 time, throwing
|
|
rlm@2
|
608 in the confusion that was swirling through him.
|
|
rlm@2
|
609 Tomoyo shook her head. “You’re not her. I don’t know who you are. If
|
|
rlm@2
|
610 you’re a mage or another Card or something else entirely. But you’re
|
|
rlm@2
|
611 not
|
|
rlm@2
|
612 Sakura-chan. You’ve been acting strangely all morning, nothing like
|
|
rlm@2
|
613 her. Your
|
|
rlm@2
|
614 mannerisms are all wrong. You don’t have the same look in your eyes.
|
|
rlm@2
|
615 Your
|
|
rlm@2
|
616 smile’s different. You aren’t lost in a haze of emotions that ebb
|
|
rlm@2
|
617 and flow
|
|
rlm@2
|
618 rapidly. You don’t have the energy she does. You’re soul’s completely
|
|
rlm@2
|
619 different.” She paused, watching his reaction. She could have gone
|
|
rlm@2
|
620 on for hours
|
|
rlm@2
|
621 about the differences between him and her beloved Sakura-chan, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
622 that
|
|
rlm@2
|
623 seemed to be enough. Her panic was suppressed, but barely. If this
|
|
rlm@2
|
624 person was
|
|
rlm@2
|
625 replacing Sakura, then where was the Cardmistress?
|
|
rlm@2
|
626 “I... uhh... Al...” Sam looked around quickly, hoping for any sort
|
|
rlm@2
|
627 of
|
|
rlm@2
|
628 back up that he could get, even the holographic type. She didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
629 seem to have
|
|
rlm@2
|
630 any sort of psychic ability, yet somehow she had seen through him.
|
|
rlm@2
|
631 And he
|
|
rlm@2
|
632 didn’t know what to do about that. So he gave up. A sigh escaped his
|
|
rlm@2
|
633 lips, or
|
|
rlm@2
|
634 Sakura's lips, as the case may be. “Well... No, I’m not. My name is
|
|
rlm@2
|
635 Dr. Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
636 Beckett. I’m from the future. Or I used to be. But I’m here to fix
|
|
rlm@2
|
637 things. To put
|
|
rlm@2
|
638 right what once went wrong.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
639 Tomoyo clasped her hands together worriedly. “Did something bad
|
|
rlm@2
|
640 happen to Sakura-chan? Is that what you’re here to fix? Where is
|
|
rlm@2
|
641 she? Please tell
|
|
rlm@2
|
642 me. I need to know what’s become of her.” Her mind came up with
|
|
rlm@2
|
643 plenty of
|
|
rlm@2
|
644 images of what could have happened to the Cardmistress, but she
|
|
rlm@2
|
645 pushed them
|
|
rlm@2
|
646 back with all of her might. Now wasn’t the time to panic. She had to
|
|
rlm@2
|
647 stay calm
|
|
rlm@2
|
648 so that she could figure out what had happened to Sakura. Her dark
|
|
rlm@2
|
649 eyes pleaded
|
|
rlm@2
|
650 with Sam’s to explain to her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
651 “No, she should be just fine. She’s back in the future right now.
|
|
rlm@2
|
652 Where
|
|
rlm@2
|
653 I come from. We think that something went badly in her life or the
|
|
rlm@2
|
654 life of
|
|
rlm@2
|
655 someone she knows.” ‘Like you,’ Sam mentally added. “So I’m here to
|
|
rlm@2
|
656 try and
|
|
rlm@2
|
657 fix it so that things can go smoothly for her.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
658 “You’re a sweet person to want to fix things for Sakura-chan. But
|
|
rlm@2
|
659 what
|
|
rlm@2
|
660 could be wrong for her? I’ve been keeping a close eye on her and
|
|
rlm@2
|
661 she’s been
|
|
rlm@2
|
662 perfectly fine.” Tomoyo’s fingers gripped the cool grass beneath her
|
|
rlm@2
|
663 as her mind
|
|
rlm@2
|
664 swam, trying to find anything that would have gone wrong. “She’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
665 been doing
|
|
rlm@2
|
666 perfectly well lately. And now that Li-kun’s back...” Her melodious
|
|
rlm@2
|
667 voice trailed
|
|
rlm@2
|
668 off as she began picking up on it. “Now that Li-kun’s back, things
|
|
rlm@2
|
669 are changing.
|
|
rlm@2
|
670 So I don’t know what will happen to her.” This was all so sudden.
|
|
rlm@2
|
671 She had
|
|
rlm@2
|
672 known that something had happened to Sakura when she’d started acting
|
|
rlm@2
|
673 strangely this morning. But now her fears were proven by her
|
|
rlm@2
|
674 replacement.
|
|
rlm@2
|
675 What could have gone wrong? Things seemed perfect for Sakura. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
676 had her
|
|
rlm@2
|
677 beloved back in Japan with her and she didn’t have anymore troubles
|
|
rlm@2
|
678 with the
|
|
rlm@2
|
679 Cards and her high school entrance exams were still over a year away.
|
|
rlm@2
|
680 Before Sam could reply, the boy in question sat down next to him.
|
|
rlm@2
|
681 Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
682 smiled warmly before casting an apologetic glance to Tomoyo. He’d
|
|
rlm@2
|
683 have to
|
|
rlm@2
|
684 explain later. For now he’d have to keep things up with his
|
|
rlm@2
|
685 boyfriend. Scooting
|
|
rlm@2
|
686 closer to the Chinese boy, Sam let out an inward sigh and kept
|
|
rlm@2
|
687 eating. An arm
|
|
rlm@2
|
688 slowly went around his shoulders, pulling him even closer. It did
|
|
rlm@2
|
689 feel nice and
|
|
rlm@2
|
690 warm...
|
|
rlm@2
|
691
|
|
rlm@2
|
692 Everything was upside down. At least, that’s how Sakura felt. What
|
|
rlm@2
|
693 had happened? It took her a moment to fight through the
|
|
rlm@2
|
694 disorientation and
|
|
rlm@2
|
695 finally sit up. She was in a bed with the sheets tangled around her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
696 So it must
|
|
rlm@2
|
697 have all been some horrible dream. She had been in some strange
|
|
rlm@2
|
698 place all
|
|
rlm@2
|
699 alone. No Tomoyo-chan or Syaoran by her side. Her school fuku had
|
|
rlm@2
|
700 been
|
|
rlm@2
|
701 replaced by some white bodysuit. And the body in it was most
|
|
rlm@2
|
702 certainly not her
|
|
rlm@2
|
703 own. It seemed to belong to a much older man. She had screamed and
|
|
rlm@2
|
704 fainted
|
|
rlm@2
|
705 upon her discovery. But now that she was awake in bed, the whole
|
|
rlm@2
|
706 thing must be
|
|
rlm@2
|
707 over. The last thing she could remember before the nightmare had
|
|
rlm@2
|
708 been seeing
|
|
rlm@2
|
709 Syaoran again. He had been just about to kiss her before she found
|
|
rlm@2
|
710 herself in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
711 strange room. A melancholy sigh escaped her lips at that. Syaoran
|
|
rlm@2
|
712 must have
|
|
rlm@2
|
713 been a dream as well. He was probably still in Hong Kong. Oh well.
|
|
rlm@2
|
714 She’d have
|
|
rlm@2
|
715 to tell Tomoyo about her dream and see what she thought. Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@2
|
716 always made
|
|
rlm@2
|
717 her feel better about things when she was confused or nervous. Or
|
|
rlm@2
|
718 lonely. Which
|
|
rlm@2
|
719 was probably why she dreamed up Syaoran being with her in Japan.
|
|
rlm@2
|
720 Her heart sinking in her chest, Sakura slid off the small bed. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
721 yelped
|
|
rlm@2
|
722 a little when her bare feet touched the cold ground. Where were her
|
|
rlm@2
|
723 slippers?
|
|
rlm@2
|
724 And why was the ground cold? Blinking groggily, her eyes traversed
|
|
rlm@2
|
725 the room
|
|
rlm@2
|
726 she was in. It was empty aside from the small bed in the center and
|
|
rlm@2
|
727 completely
|
|
rlm@2
|
728 white. The lights from above cast dark shadows against the white
|
|
rlm@2
|
729 floor. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
730 heart started pounding in her chest as she turned around, trying to
|
|
rlm@2
|
731 find out where
|
|
rlm@2
|
732 she was. She was trapped somewhere. That realization brought a
|
|
rlm@2
|
733 trickle of fear
|
|
rlm@2
|
734 through her soul. What was going on? She had all of the Sakura Cards
|
|
rlm@2
|
735 now, so
|
|
rlm@2
|
736 this must be some other form of magic. But who would do this to her?
|
|
rlm@2
|
737 She
|
|
rlm@2
|
738 clutched for the key, but her hand grasped nothing but air. Her eyes
|
|
rlm@2
|
739 darted down
|
|
rlm@2
|
740 in horror to see the all white jumpsuit on again. And a masculine
|
|
rlm@2
|
741 body
|
|
rlm@2
|
742 underneath. Another scream escaped her lips, but this time she
|
|
rlm@2
|
743 retained
|
|
rlm@2
|
744 consciousness. Silence reigned throughout the small room, punctuated
|
|
rlm@2
|
745 only by
|
|
rlm@2
|
746 her rapid breathing.
|
|
rlm@2
|
747 “Where am I? What’s going on?” she asked in a tiny voice. She turned
|
|
rlm@2
|
748 around in a circle, looking for some sort of door or any way out.
|
|
rlm@2
|
749 Anything but
|
|
rlm@2
|
750 the constant white cube she was imprisoned in. If she didn’t have
|
|
rlm@2
|
751 her magic,
|
|
rlm@2
|
752 what could she do? No, someone would notice she was missing. They
|
|
rlm@2
|
753 would
|
|
rlm@2
|
754 find her. Tomoyo would know something was wrong. And Syaoran, Yue,
|
|
rlm@2
|
755 and
|
|
rlm@2
|
756 Cerebrus would come to her rescue. Slumping back on the bed,
|
|
rlm@2
|
757 Sakura’s mind
|
|
rlm@2
|
758 raced for some sort of explanation. Her heart nearly stopped when
|
|
rlm@2
|
759 she heard a
|
|
rlm@2
|
760 whooshing sound and a door she hadn’t noticed sliding open. In
|
|
rlm@2
|
761 walked a
|
|
rlm@2
|
762 woman in a lab coat with dark skin. She smiled softly to the
|
|
rlm@2
|
763 bewildered
|
|
rlm@2
|
764 Cardmistress as she stepped forward slowly. The woman’s mouth opened
|
|
rlm@2
|
765 and
|
|
rlm@2
|
766 she began speaking oddly, in a language that Sakura had trouble
|
|
rlm@2
|
767 following. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
768 could make out some of it from her english class, but she wasn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
769 fluent enough
|
|
rlm@2
|
770 to make it all out. The woman sighed and said something to a
|
|
rlm@2
|
771 ‘Ziggy’. A female
|
|
rlm@2
|
772 voice replied from some point in the roof and then translated what
|
|
rlm@2
|
773 the woman
|
|
rlm@2
|
774 had said into Japanese. Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. This was
|
|
rlm@2
|
775 getting
|
|
rlm@2
|
776 more and more difficult to make any sense out of.
|
|
rlm@2
|
777 “Hello. My name is Doctor Verbeena Beeks. I’m sorry that we didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
778 have a chance to speak earlier, but you passed out before I could
|
|
rlm@2
|
779 come in.” She
|
|
rlm@2
|
780 had a calm, almost motherly manner about her. Something about the
|
|
rlm@2
|
781 woman
|
|
rlm@2
|
782 helped put Sakura at ease. At least a bit more than she had been.
|
|
rlm@2
|
783 Dr. Beeks
|
|
rlm@2
|
784 gestured for her to take a seat on the bed, holding a notepad under
|
|
rlm@2
|
785 one arm.
|
|
rlm@2
|
786 Sakura complied, sliding up onto the bed, never taking her eyes off
|
|
rlm@2
|
787 of the only
|
|
rlm@2
|
788 other person in the room. “Now maybe I can help make things a little
|
|
rlm@2
|
789 more
|
|
rlm@2
|
790 comfortable for you. And maybe you can give me a little information
|
|
rlm@2
|
791 so we can
|
|
rlm@2
|
792 get you back home sooner.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
793 “What’s happened to me? Why am I here? Where is here? Hoe...”
|
|
rlm@2
|
794 Sakura could feel the fear welling up inside of her again, but she
|
|
rlm@2
|
795 refused to let it
|
|
rlm@2
|
796 get a good grip. She had been through too much by now. This was
|
|
rlm@2
|
797 bizarre, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
798 she would make it out all right. Everything would always be all
|
|
rlm@2
|
799 right. She had to
|
|
rlm@2
|
800 believe that. Even if it was hard to sometimes. She heard her words
|
|
rlm@2
|
801 being
|
|
rlm@2
|
802 translated into English and again looked around for the source of
|
|
rlm@2
|
803 the voice.
|
|
rlm@2
|
804 The woman spoke again, a slight delay carrying between her words and
|
|
rlm@2
|
805 the translation from the voice in the roof. “You’re here in what we
|
|
rlm@2
|
806 call the
|
|
rlm@2
|
807 Waiting Room. It’s a little Spartan, but we never know who will show
|
|
rlm@2
|
808 up.” She
|
|
rlm@2
|
809 paused for a moment as she tried to decide how much she should
|
|
rlm@2
|
810 divulge to the
|
|
rlm@2
|
811 visitor. Some people she had explained their situation to, but most
|
|
rlm@2
|
812 of them
|
|
rlm@2
|
813 wound up thinking they had been kidnapped by aliens or that it had
|
|
rlm@2
|
814 all been a
|
|
rlm@2
|
815 bad dream. It was easier when there wasn’t such a big difference
|
|
rlm@2
|
816 between the
|
|
rlm@2
|
817 bodies. She had already had trouble with a young girl in Sam’s body.
|
|
rlm@2
|
818 It didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
819 seem like there had been any permanent mental trauma, thankfully,
|
|
rlm@2
|
820 but she
|
|
rlm@2
|
821 didn’t want to try again with this girl, even if she was a bit
|
|
rlm@2
|
822 older. She hoped that
|
|
rlm@2
|
823 this leap would be over quickly enough. “You’ve been replaced by a
|
|
rlm@2
|
824 friend of
|
|
rlm@2
|
825 mine, a Dr. Sam Beckett. He’s living your life for a few days to fix
|
|
rlm@2
|
826 something
|
|
rlm@2
|
827 that had gone wrong in it the first time around. When he’s done,
|
|
rlm@2
|
828 you’ll go back
|
|
rlm@2
|
829 and everything will be perfectly fine again.” Her voice remained
|
|
rlm@2
|
830 calm, soothing.
|
|
rlm@2
|
831 Even if Ziggy had to translate for the both of them, she still
|
|
rlm@2
|
832 wanted to convey a
|
|
rlm@2
|
833 reassuring tone to the younger girl, something that Ziggy didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
834 always worry
|
|
rlm@2
|
835 about. Ziggy was too worried about her calculations at this point
|
|
rlm@2
|
836 anyway. Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
837 had never leapt this close to home before and she was having
|
|
rlm@2
|
838 difficulty finding
|
|
rlm@2
|
839 any solid information about any of it. Which frustrated the hybrid
|
|
rlm@2
|
840 super
|
|
rlm@2
|
841 computer to no ends.
|
|
rlm@2
|
842 “Nani!?” Sakura’s emerald eyes went wide as she swallowed the
|
|
rlm@2
|
843 information. Her head shook quickly. No, she didn’t like that at
|
|
rlm@2
|
844 all. This was
|
|
rlm@2
|
845 definitely not a good usage of magic at all. “But why? I have Onii-
|
|
rlm@2
|
846 chan and
|
|
rlm@2
|
847 Tomoyo-chan and Yukito-san and Kero-chan and Syaoran all looking out
|
|
rlm@2
|
848 for
|
|
rlm@2
|
849 me. And I’m the Ca... I can take care of myself, too. And why
|
|
rlm@2
|
850 couldn’t you just
|
|
rlm@2
|
851 tell me if something was going to go wrong? You didn’t need to
|
|
rlm@2
|
852 replace me for
|
|
rlm@2
|
853 it.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
854 Dr. Beeks sighed, pulling up her notebook and the information Ziggy
|
|
rlm@2
|
855 had given her on fourteen year old Sakura Kinomoto. The man on the
|
|
rlm@2
|
856 bed that
|
|
rlm@2
|
857 looked exactly like Sam Beckett looked uncertain and confused, a
|
|
rlm@2
|
858 tinge of fright
|
|
rlm@2
|
859 in his eyes. But there was also a determination laced underneath it
|
|
rlm@2
|
860 all, even
|
|
rlm@2
|
861 amidst the swirling emotions. And with the way he was sitting, he
|
|
rlm@2
|
862 looked very
|
|
rlm@2
|
863 much like a little girl that had been lost in a store. After all
|
|
rlm@2
|
864 this time of working
|
|
rlm@2
|
865 with Sam’s body and whatever soul was currently inhabiting it, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
866 had learned
|
|
rlm@2
|
867 to ignore the fact that it always looked the same and to look for
|
|
rlm@2
|
868 the mannerisms
|
|
rlm@2
|
869 of the person underneath. “I’m afraid that it just doesn’t work like
|
|
rlm@2
|
870 that. We don’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
871 have any control where he goes. He just replaces the person for a
|
|
rlm@2
|
872 little while to
|
|
rlm@2
|
873 fix something in their life.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
874 “But there’s nothing wrong in my life!” Sakura said in frustration.
|
|
rlm@2
|
875 She
|
|
rlm@2
|
876 knew she was close to tears, but she didn’t care. This whole thing
|
|
rlm@2
|
877 was just too
|
|
rlm@2
|
878 much for her to be taking at the moment. She wanted to be back home
|
|
rlm@2
|
879 with the
|
|
rlm@2
|
880 ones that loved her. There was nothing in her life that needed
|
|
rlm@2
|
881 fixing. At least,
|
|
rlm@2
|
882 nothing she couldn’t handle. This place was all wrong.
|
|
rlm@2
|
883 Smiling a little sadly, the doctor shook her head. “I’m afraid God,
|
|
rlm@2
|
884 Fate,
|
|
rlm@2
|
885 Time, or whoever’s leaping Sam around through time doesn’t seem to
|
|
rlm@2
|
886 think so.
|
|
rlm@2
|
887 But try not to worry too much. It usually works out for the best.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
888 Pulling up the
|
|
rlm@2
|
889 notes again, she thought to herself, ‘Let’s hope this isn’t one of
|
|
rlm@2
|
890 the few times it
|
|
rlm@2
|
891 doesn’t.’
|
|
rlm@2
|
892
|
|
rlm@2
|
893 “Ziggy, I need you to draw some more power for the Imaging
|
|
rlm@2
|
894 Chamber. I need enough so that someone else can be seen, too,” Al
|
|
rlm@2
|
895 said as he
|
|
rlm@2
|
896 brushed past Gooshie and Tina. The two watched in confusion as the
|
|
rlm@2
|
897 Japanese
|
|
rlm@2
|
898 woman and her entourage of bodyguards followed close behind.
|
|
rlm@2
|
899 “But Admiral, what would the purpose be of allowing Dr. Beckett to
|
|
rlm@2
|
900 see Ms. Daidouji?” the female voice that was Ziggy asked from
|
|
rlm@2
|
901 everywhere and
|
|
rlm@2
|
902 nowhere in particular.
|
|
rlm@2
|
903 “Just do it, Ziggy. I don’t have time for this. Unless you want to
|
|
rlm@2
|
904 give
|
|
rlm@2
|
905 me some information on what’s going on.” Al paused in front of the
|
|
rlm@2
|
906 Imaging
|
|
rlm@2
|
907 Chamber door, waiting for a response. He knew he’d hurt Ziggy’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
908 feelings as
|
|
rlm@2
|
909 the computer paused for a moment. There was no other reason for the
|
|
rlm@2
|
910 pause
|
|
rlm@2
|
911 because the computer worked at unimaginably high speeds. But she was
|
|
rlm@2
|
912 very
|
|
rlm@2
|
913 tempermental, especially about this leap.
|
|
rlm@2
|
914 “Admiral, may I remind you that with the leap taking place little
|
|
rlm@2
|
915 more
|
|
rlm@2
|
916 than a month ago, I am highly limited in my abilities to gain
|
|
rlm@2
|
917 information about
|
|
rlm@2
|
918 the situation Dr. Beckett finds himself in. He shouldn’t be this
|
|
rlm@2
|
919 close to us. How
|
|
rlm@2
|
920 am I supposed to find the necessary data when I have nothing to base
|
|
rlm@2
|
921 any of it
|
|
rlm@2
|
922 on? A young Japanese school girl from the past month is difficult to
|
|
rlm@2
|
923 find
|
|
rlm@2
|
924 information on, especially anything vital enough to require Dr.
|
|
rlm@2
|
925 Beckett’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
926 immediate attention. I’m putting all available resources to
|
|
rlm@2
|
927 discovering the
|
|
rlm@2
|
928 reason for this leap as well as why Dr. Beckett is so close to our
|
|
rlm@2
|
929 time. Perhaps
|
|
rlm@2
|
930 we could switch jobs and you could perform mine to your liking,
|
|
rlm@2
|
931 Admiral.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
932 Ziggy’s calm voice still managed to showcase her frustration and her
|
|
rlm@2
|
933 bruised
|
|
rlm@2
|
934 ego.
|
|
rlm@2
|
935 Al sighed, rubbing his temples. He was getting too old for this.
|
|
rlm@2
|
936 “Nevermind, Ziggy. Just draw up some more power, will ya?” This leap
|
|
rlm@2
|
937 was
|
|
rlm@2
|
938 getting to everyone. Ziggy was having trouble because of the near
|
|
rlm@2
|
939 impossibility
|
|
rlm@2
|
940 of this leap, Donna because Sam was so close to home, and he was
|
|
rlm@2
|
941 still trying to
|
|
rlm@2
|
942 hold the whole circus together.
|
|
rlm@2
|
943 “So that is Ziggy? How remarkable.” Sonomi looked at the oddly put
|
|
rlm@2
|
944 together computer. She had heard of some of the design
|
|
rlm@2
|
945 specifications for the
|
|
rlm@2
|
946 hybrid super computer and had heard Al’s complaints about her ego,
|
|
rlm@2
|
947 but she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
948 never actually thought she was this advanced. But she had a feeling
|
|
rlm@2
|
949 she liked the
|
|
rlm@2
|
950 computer’s personality already.
|
|
rlm@2
|
951 “This way, Sonomi-san,” Al said, gesturing to the door with the
|
|
rlm@2
|
952 handlink. Punching in a button, the door slid open. He sighed and
|
|
rlm@2
|
953 took a step
|
|
rlm@2
|
954 into the glowing light. He may not like this, but he understood. It
|
|
rlm@2
|
955 had torn him
|
|
rlm@2
|
956 up to see Beth that one last time when she couldn’t see or hear him,
|
|
rlm@2
|
957 but he knew
|
|
rlm@2
|
958 that he had needed it. He missed her so much, that he treasured even
|
|
rlm@2
|
959 that one
|
|
rlm@2
|
960 bittersweet moment with her. He knew that Sonomi had gone through
|
|
rlm@2
|
961 the same
|
|
rlm@2
|
962 with someone named Nadeshiko. That was part of why they had stayed
|
|
rlm@2
|
963 in touch.
|
|
rlm@2
|
964 They had both suffered through losing their only true love and had
|
|
rlm@2
|
965 somehow
|
|
rlm@2
|
966 managed to continue on through the pain. In a way, it was why both
|
|
rlm@2
|
967 of them had
|
|
rlm@2
|
968 put faith into Project Quantum Leap. And now Sonomi had lost the
|
|
rlm@2
|
969 last thing
|
|
rlm@2
|
970 keeping her going. So despite his doubts, he had to let her see.
|
|
rlm@2
|
971 Especially if Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
972 couldn’t fix things for her. Then this might be the last time she
|
|
rlm@2
|
973 would see her
|
|
rlm@2
|
974 alive.
|
|
rlm@2
|
975 Sonomi stopped for only a moment to motion the bodyguards to stay
|
|
rlm@2
|
976 where they were before stepping after Al. Her heart pounded with
|
|
rlm@2
|
977 anxiety. What
|
|
rlm@2
|
978 would happen? Would she be there? She needed to see her little girl
|
|
rlm@2
|
979 again. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
980 past few days had been hell for her. First Nadeshiko and now her own
|
|
rlm@2
|
981 daughter,
|
|
rlm@2
|
982 who reminded her so much of her dearly departed cousin. She had no
|
|
rlm@2
|
983 idea why
|
|
rlm@2
|
984 she was still going on or what was holding her together. Her pain
|
|
rlm@2
|
985 was getting
|
|
rlm@2
|
986 ever more acute, and she had no place for it to go. She couldn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
987 hate Sakura, not
|
|
rlm@2
|
988 the way she hated Fujitaka. Yet both had taken away those she loved,
|
|
rlm@2
|
989 albeit
|
|
rlm@2
|
990 Sakura had done so unknowingly. But she still couldn’t quite forgive
|
|
rlm@2
|
991 the
|
|
rlm@2
|
992 brunette for taking away her loving daughter, even if she was
|
|
rlm@2
|
993 Nadeshiko’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
994 daughter.
|
|
rlm@2
|
995 And suddenly, everything was different. They were standing outside
|
|
rlm@2
|
996 of
|
|
rlm@2
|
997 Tomoyo’s school. It appeared to be around lunchtime, with all of the
|
|
rlm@2
|
998 students
|
|
rlm@2
|
999 sitting in groups, eating. It was as if they had stepped directly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1000 from that door in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1001 Project Quantum Leap out into Tomoeda. Sonomi stood in shock as a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1002 student
|
|
rlm@2
|
1003 walked right through her. She knew this was all one big hologram,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1004 but it seemed
|
|
rlm@2
|
1005 so real.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1006 Sam stared at the observer and the woman standing next to him. A boy
|
|
rlm@2
|
1007 had passed right through her. Which meant she was in the Imaging
|
|
rlm@2
|
1008 Chamber
|
|
rlm@2
|
1009 with him. He tried to extricate himself from Syaoran’s grasp, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
1010 the Chinese
|
|
rlm@2
|
1011 boy continued holding on. He mouthed ‘What is she doing here?’ to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1012 Al, who
|
|
rlm@2
|
1013 shook his head uncomprehendingly for a moment before nodding.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1014 Taking a few steps closer, Al hunched next to Sam, out of Sonomi’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1015 range of hearing. “Ohhh... She’s Sonomi Daidouji, Sam. Your best
|
|
rlm@2
|
1016 friend’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1017 mother. She wanted to see Tomoyo again. And don’t argue, you big boy
|
|
rlm@2
|
1018 scout. It
|
|
rlm@2
|
1019 won’t change my mind. I’m still in charge of the Project from here.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1020 Besides, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1021 misses her daughter. You have to understand that. I couldn’t just
|
|
rlm@2
|
1022 send her away
|
|
rlm@2
|
1023 without ever being able to see her again.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1024 Sam sighed in defeat and nodded. It did make sense, even if he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1025 didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1026 really like the idea. But if he couldn’t stop Tomoyo from killing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1027 herself, then
|
|
rlm@2
|
1028 this was for the best. How would he feel if she never saw her again?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1029 “Is your friend here?” Tomoyo whispered to Sam, unknowingly also
|
|
rlm@2
|
1030 next to Al’s ear. Al stared at Sam incredulously. “You told her?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1031 Sam! You know
|
|
rlm@2
|
1032 you’re not supposed to tell anybody. Great. This is just great.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1033 “She guessed,” Sam got out through a nervous smile. He went back to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1034 eating as Syaoran looked at him oddly. He nodded in acknowledgement
|
|
rlm@2
|
1035 of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1036 Tomoyo’s question.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1037 “Guessed?” Turning his attention to the pale girl, he could see her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1038 stormy blue eyes, deep and intelligent. Sonomi had always told him
|
|
rlm@2
|
1039 that she was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1040 very perceptive and the few times he had met her had proven that. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
1041 just hadn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1042 guessed to what extent.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1043 “Tomoyo-chan...” Tears dripped down Sonomi’s cheeks as she saw her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1044 daughter, alive and well before her eyes once again. It hadn’t been
|
|
rlm@2
|
1045 that long ago
|
|
rlm@2
|
1046 that she had seen the young girl in a coffin, her soul already gone
|
|
rlm@2
|
1047 from her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1048 beautiful body. But here she was again, shining the way she always
|
|
rlm@2
|
1049 had, an
|
|
rlm@2
|
1050 ephemeral shimmer that seemed to encompass her sweet spirit. “Oh,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1051 Tomoyo-
|
|
rlm@2
|
1052 chan... My baby, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1053 needed me.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1054 You’re the most precious thing in my life. Honey, I never should
|
|
rlm@2
|
1055 have left you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1056 alone when I saw you breaking. I noticed the cracks in your shell
|
|
rlm@2
|
1057 and I tried to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1058 help, but you kept insisting that everything was all right. I wanted
|
|
rlm@2
|
1059 to help, but I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1060 thought that all I could do was be there for you when you needed me.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1061 I never
|
|
rlm@2
|
1062 thought that you’d...” Her fists clenched, her nails digging into
|
|
rlm@2
|
1063 her palms
|
|
rlm@2
|
1064 painfully as she fell to her knees beside the young heiress. “Tomoyo-
|
|
rlm@2
|
1065 chan, I love
|
|
rlm@2
|
1066 you, my little daughter. I never wanted to see you get hurt the way
|
|
rlm@2
|
1067 I was. I never
|
|
rlm@2
|
1068 wanted you to have to live through that. But now... My baby...” Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1069 body shook
|
|
rlm@2
|
1070 as she reached out to Tomoyo, her fingers slipping through the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1071 hologram.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1072 Tomoyo still looked happy, but Sonomi could see that it was masking
|
|
rlm@2
|
1073 her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1074 nervousness and fear underneath. For what? Probably for Sakura.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1075 Sonomi’s gaze
|
|
rlm@2
|
1076 fell on the girl with the emerald eyes, her tears still streaming
|
|
rlm@2
|
1077 down her cheeks.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1078 Her heart rolled over as she watched, still being held by Syaoran.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1079 And yet
|
|
rlm@2
|
1080 Tomoyo was still pretending to be happy. She had kept up that mask of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1081 happiness for her friend until the day she had died.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1082 “It’s not her, Sonomi,” Al explained as he stood up. “That’s Sam. We
|
|
rlm@2
|
1083 don’t know why he leapt back into Sakura yet, but we’re looking into
|
|
rlm@2
|
1084 it.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1085 Shaking her head, Sonomi tried to compose herself, not moving from
|
|
rlm@2
|
1086 Tomoyo’s side. “To keep Tomoyo-chan from killing herself, of course!
|
|
rlm@2
|
1087 Why
|
|
rlm@2
|
1088 else would he be back here?” She was still nearly frantic, finally
|
|
rlm@2
|
1089 able to see her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1090 daughter again but unable to even talk to her. “It will be all
|
|
rlm@2
|
1091 right, Tomoyo-chan.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1092 I promise. We’ll fix everything. You just stay strong for your
|
|
rlm@2
|
1093 mother. I promise
|
|
rlm@2
|
1094 I’ll make everything better,” She said reassuringly, trying to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1095 stroke her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1096 daughter’s hair. Her fingers went through the empty space, but it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1097 almost looked
|
|
rlm@2
|
1098 like she had heard her. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan...” It hurt to look at her,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1099 but she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1100 couldn’t take her eyes away. The last time she had seen that face,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1101 her eyes had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1102 been closed for the last time. Sonomi’s heart paused with every
|
|
rlm@2
|
1103 blink.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1104 Al watched from the side for a moment, glancing down to the handlink
|
|
rlm@2
|
1105 and back up. He knew what torture it was to finally see someone
|
|
rlm@2
|
1106 you’d lost and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1107 not be able to interact with them. In a way, this would have been
|
|
rlm@2
|
1108 easier to handle
|
|
rlm@2
|
1109 had Sonomi been here to see Nadeshiko. When she had lost Tomoyo, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1110 had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1111 lost everything. This was a woman in huge amounts of pain. He only
|
|
rlm@2
|
1112 hoped that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1113 the sight would give her hope. Turning his attention back to Sam,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1114 the handlink
|
|
rlm@2
|
1115 gave its usual squeak of protest as Al slapped it on the side.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1116 “Still no new
|
|
rlm@2
|
1117 information, Sam. And Ziggy’s not very happy about this at all. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1118 says you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1119 shouldn’t be leaping so close to us. I’ll tell you what we figure
|
|
rlm@2
|
1120 out as soon as we
|
|
rlm@2
|
1121 find it. Whatever it is. I’ve got Beeks talking to Sakura right now
|
|
rlm@2
|
1122 and maybe
|
|
rlm@2
|
1123 Sonomi can help us figure out what you’re here to fix.” His eyes
|
|
rlm@2
|
1124 went back to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1125 the grieving woman, not noticing Sam’s slow nod of approval. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
1126 shook his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1127 head and punched up the door. With all that she had been through, he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1128 didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1129 want to interrupt her. He would come back in a bit.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1130 Sitting next to her daughter, watching her intently as if afraid
|
|
rlm@2
|
1131 that she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1132 would soon enough drop dead in front of her very eyes, Sonomi
|
|
rlm@2
|
1133 continued
|
|
rlm@2
|
1134 whispering assurances to the smiling dark haired girl. And unknowing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1135 of the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1136 guardian angel watching over her, Tomoyo continued her lunch.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1137
|
|
rlm@2
|
1138 It had been difficult for Sam to ignore Tomoyo’s mother for the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1139 rest of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1140 lunch, but he was the only one who could see her. He wanted to help,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1141 to say
|
|
rlm@2
|
1142 something that could take that terrible pain from her eyes, but he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1143 couldn’t with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1144 everyone around. She had finally left a little after lunch had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1145 ended, talking to Al
|
|
rlm@2
|
1146 for a bit before the Observer had finally convinced her to leave the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1147 Imaging
|
|
rlm@2
|
1148 Chamber. Sam had considered telling Tomoyo, but thought it would only
|
|
rlm@2
|
1149 complicate matters if she knew her mother was there. Let alone why
|
|
rlm@2
|
1150 she was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1151 there.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1152 School had finally ended and he had absolutely no idea where his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1153 home
|
|
rlm@2
|
1154 was. And no Al to tell him either. He sighed and glanced around,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1155 hoping to see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1156 the Imaging Chamber door opening and the always oddly dressed Al
|
|
rlm@2
|
1157 walking
|
|
rlm@2
|
1158 out. No such luck. A hand grabbing his own shook him from his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1159 thoughts.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1160 Turning, he saw Syaoran’s face in it’s usual impassive look. But he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1161 could notice
|
|
rlm@2
|
1162 a slight blush coloring his cheeks. Sam smiled a bit. It looked like
|
|
rlm@2
|
1163 the body he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1164 was in gave a good impression at the least.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1165 “Do you want to come with me? I still have some unpacking to do, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
1166 I thought we could do something when I’m done with that,” the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1167 Chinese boy
|
|
rlm@2
|
1168 said after a moment’s hesitation.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1169 “I’m sure she would love to, Li-kun, but Sakura-chan’s not feeling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1170 very
|
|
rlm@2
|
1171 well. I just cancelled her cheerleading for today and I’m going to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1172 take her right
|
|
rlm@2
|
1173 home. But Sakura-chan would love to go see it when she’s feeling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1174 better. I’m
|
|
rlm@2
|
1175 afraid all of the excitement today has taken its toll on her. You
|
|
rlm@2
|
1176 know how
|
|
rlm@2
|
1177 worked up girls can get over their boyfriends, Li-kun.” Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1178 sweet voice
|
|
rlm@2
|
1179 drifted to the two as she exited the front door to the school and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1180 approached
|
|
rlm@2
|
1181 Sam’s other side. She was smiling her usual insanely cute smile.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1182 Syaoran didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1183 seem impressed with it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1184 Sam nodded in agreement quickly. “Yeah, I really should get some
|
|
rlm@2
|
1185 rest.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1186 I haven’t been feeling like myself all day. I’ll see you soon,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1187 Syaoran.” He felt
|
|
rlm@2
|
1188 bad to be leaving Sakura’s boyfriend behind the day he had returned
|
|
rlm@2
|
1189 to Japan to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1190 see her, but it was so much easier that way. He didn’t want to think
|
|
rlm@2
|
1191 about all of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1192 the problems of going over to his house and dealing with it all.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1193 Shrugging noncommittally, Syaoran looked at Sam. “Okay. I’ll see you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1194 then. Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home instead?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1195 “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. You just finish
|
|
rlm@2
|
1196 packing,” Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
1197 answered with a smile. The last thing he needed right now was to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1198 talk about the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1199 ‘old times’ that he had no idea about.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1200 “And the sooner you finish packing, the sooner you can come and see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1201 Sakura-chan in bed. I’ll do my best to nurse her back to health for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1202 you,”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1203 Tomoyo added kindly, taking Sam’s other hand. The fingers
|
|
rlm@2
|
1204 intertwined with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1205 those of Sakura’s body in a smooth, unconscious movement.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1206 Syaoran frowned and shook his head. He had finally gotten back and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1207 now Sakura had to get sick. It wasn’t fair. She was the whole reason
|
|
rlm@2
|
1208 he had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1209 come back in the first place. “I’ll try to see you later tonight,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1210 Sakura-chan. Feel
|
|
rlm@2
|
1211 better soon.” Hesitating for a moment, but getting a look of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1212 reassurance from
|
|
rlm@2
|
1213 Tomoyo the same way she had always tried to get him to tell Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
1214 how he felt,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1215 he leaned forward and kissed Sakura.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1216 Sam’s eyes went wide as he felt the boy’s lips against his own
|
|
rlm@2
|
1217 again.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1218 Well, the one’s he was using at the moment anyway. But it didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1219 feel altogether
|
|
rlm@2
|
1220 unpleasant as his lips pressed against those of the Japanese girl he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1221 was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1222 inhabiting. And he needed to keep things together until his host
|
|
rlm@2
|
1223 returned.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1224 Sighing inwardly, Sam kissed back slightly. Syaoran finally pulled
|
|
rlm@2
|
1225 away,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1226 blushing a bit. Saying their goodbyes, he hurried off for home. Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
1227 stood where
|
|
rlm@2
|
1228 he was for a few moments, trying to shake the whole feeling off. But
|
|
rlm@2
|
1229 being in a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1230 hormone ridden teenage body really didn’t help matters.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1231 “Are you ready, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo’s voice asked from Sam’s left.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1232 When she saw him nod, she began to lead him back home. It was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1233 strange seeing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1234 Sakura’s body, but not Sakura in it. It was like seeing someone
|
|
rlm@2
|
1235 wearing a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1236 friend’s clothes. They clothes may look the same, but the person
|
|
rlm@2
|
1237 underneath was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1238 different. It was the same watching Sam in Sakura’s body. It looked
|
|
rlm@2
|
1239 like Sakura,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1240 but everything was off. The movements, the way he spoke, everything.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1241 All of it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1242 strengthened her longing to have her friend back. Her mind had been
|
|
rlm@2
|
1243 centered
|
|
rlm@2
|
1244 on the Cardmistress all day, barely keeping from panic. She needed
|
|
rlm@2
|
1245 to know that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1246 Sakura-chan was all right.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1247 It took Sam a moment to realize that they were moving. At least
|
|
rlm@2
|
1248 someone knew where his home was. That solved one problem. As they
|
|
rlm@2
|
1249 walked,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1250 Tomoyo chatted pleasantly about all sorts of things, from camcorders
|
|
rlm@2
|
1251 to sewing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1252 to how cute Sakura was. He wondered how Sakura hadn’t noticed the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1253 girl’s love
|
|
rlm@2
|
1254 for her. It seemed obvious enough and she was so warm and caring
|
|
rlm@2
|
1255 towards her,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1256 even if Sam was occupying the body for the time being. “Why didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1257 you tell
|
|
rlm@2
|
1258 her how you feel?” Sam interrupted as she was in the middle of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1259 explaining how
|
|
rlm@2
|
1260 difficult it was to videotape someone on a flying staff that was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1261 dodging magic.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1262 Silence grew between the two for a moment. Tomoyo was smiling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1263 again when she looked at Sam. “Did your friend tell you? They must
|
|
rlm@2
|
1264 have a lot
|
|
rlm@2
|
1265 of information on Sakura-chan.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1266 Sam nodded quietly. He felt a cold chill as he remembered Al’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1267 explanation of why she had killed herself. “Yeah, he did. We have
|
|
rlm@2
|
1268 some
|
|
rlm@2
|
1269 information, but not as much as we’d like. But he did tell me that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1270 you’re in love
|
|
rlm@2
|
1271 with her. Why didn’t you tell her?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1272 Tomoyo looked away, concentrating on their surroundings instead of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1273 the body of her best friend. Her smile was still there, but it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1274 looked marginally
|
|
rlm@2
|
1275 weaker, as if Sam had hit on a weak spot. “Because she loves Li-kun.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1276 There’s no
|
|
rlm@2
|
1277 reason to tell her how I feel. That would only complicate things for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1278 her. She’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1279 happy now. As long as the one I love is happy, I’m happy, too.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1280 “But it can’t be healthy to keep all of that inside all the time.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1281 Don’t you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1282 ever talk to anyone about it? Don’t you think that she would want to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1283 know how
|
|
rlm@2
|
1284 you felt?” Sam asked, wanting desperately to change the pale girl’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1285 apparent
|
|
rlm@2
|
1286 fate. How could he make her understand?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1287 “I think Sakura-chan was very confused about Li-kun’s feelings for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1288 her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1289 But she finally decided that she returned his feelings. And she’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1290 happy with that.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1291 I think telling her how I feel would confuse poor Sakura-chan and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1292 she would
|
|
rlm@2
|
1293 feel bad about rejecting me, so it would just hurt her. If that’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1294 the case, then
|
|
rlm@2
|
1295 there really isn’t a reason to tell her. I’ll always love her,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1296 whether or not she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1297 knows that. So if it comes between telling Sakura-chan and hurting
|
|
rlm@2
|
1298 her or
|
|
rlm@2
|
1299 keeping it to myself and holding it all inside, I would much rather
|
|
rlm@2
|
1300 keep it locked
|
|
rlm@2
|
1301 up inside. I never want her to suffer because of me.” Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1302 gentle voice held
|
|
rlm@2
|
1303 a tinge of sadness in it, but her smile didn’t falter again. She had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1304 made her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1305 decision a long time ago. She would live her entire life alone if
|
|
rlm@2
|
1306 she had to. But
|
|
rlm@2
|
1307 she wouldn’t hurt Sakura out of selfishness. Even if she did want
|
|
rlm@2
|
1308 Sakura to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1309 know, no good could come from it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1310 Sam watched the pale girl closely for a few seconds. No wonder she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1311 tried to kill herself. She was keeping it all pent up inside. Not
|
|
rlm@2
|
1312 only her love, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
1313 all of her pain as well. It had no place to go, building up as it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1314 ate away at her. It
|
|
rlm@2
|
1315 finally must have grown too much for her to carry. “But don’t you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1316 think killing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1317 yourself would make her sad? If you’re her best friend, do you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1318 really think she’d
|
|
rlm@2
|
1319 be happy about that?” He locked eyes with Tomoyo, trying to get
|
|
rlm@2
|
1320 through
|
|
rlm@2
|
1321 somehow.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1322 Tomoyo paused for only a moment before replying with another smile,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1323 her head tilted to the side. “I’m here for Sakura-chan for as long
|
|
rlm@2
|
1324 as she needs
|
|
rlm@2
|
1325 me. I will stay by her side for as long as I’m necessary to her. But
|
|
rlm@2
|
1326 now she has
|
|
rlm@2
|
1327 Li-kun. And she’ll probably move back to Hong Kong with him. He’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1328 going to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1329 be the one that she’ll run to from now on. He’s the one who will be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1330 the most
|
|
rlm@2
|
1331 important person in her life. She doesn’t need me anymore. He’ll be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1332 the support
|
|
rlm@2
|
1333 that I always gave her. And he’ll protect her in ways I never could.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1334 He’ll give
|
|
rlm@2
|
1335 her a child. So I understand that I couldn’t stay important to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1336 Sakura-chan
|
|
rlm@2
|
1337 forever. I knew that she’d leave eventually and that I would just be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1338 a memory.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1339 And that’s okay. Because I want her to be happy. But she doesn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1340 need me
|
|
rlm@2
|
1341 anymore.” It did hurt inside. It hurt so badly. She wanted to stay
|
|
rlm@2
|
1342 important to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1343 Sakura forever, to always be by her side. But now that was Li-kun’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1344 job. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1345 had vowed to stay by Sakura for as long as Sakura needed her, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
1346 that wouldn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1347 be much longer now that Syaoran was back. And so Tomoyo had thought
|
|
rlm@2
|
1348 it best
|
|
rlm@2
|
1349 to fade into the background, letting herself slowly slip from Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
1350 so that it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1351 wouldn’t hurt the other girl. Sakura wouldn’t need to miss her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1352 because she’d
|
|
rlm@2
|
1353 only be a memory soon enough. A vague memory. But her heart would
|
|
rlm@2
|
1354 always
|
|
rlm@2
|
1355 hold Sakura very close, always loving her. No matter what. There was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1356 no reason
|
|
rlm@2
|
1357 for her to stay outside of Sakura’s life.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1358 “No, that’s not true! She does need you. Even if she’s in love with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1359 some other boy, that doesn’t mean you aren’t important to her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1360 You’re her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1361 friend. You’ll still remain important to her whether or not other
|
|
rlm@2
|
1362 things become
|
|
rlm@2
|
1363 important in her life. You can still be happy. You can find someone
|
|
rlm@2
|
1364 else and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1365 stay friends,” Sam argued, wanting something to shake the dark
|
|
rlm@2
|
1366 future that lay
|
|
rlm@2
|
1367 ahead.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1368 Shaking her head almost imperceptibly, Tomoyo stopped. Her long,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1369 dark hair fluttered behind her in the wind. “I don’t want anyone
|
|
rlm@2
|
1370 else. I love
|
|
rlm@2
|
1371 Sakura-chan. And I always will. It doesn’t matter if I’m with her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1372 Why would
|
|
rlm@2
|
1373 that change my love for her? Why would I want to find someone else?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1374 To
|
|
rlm@2
|
1375 replace her? No, I’m perfectly content to hold her deep in my heart
|
|
rlm@2
|
1376 for eternity.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1377 And I’ll always be her friend. Whether or not I’m here.” She smiled
|
|
rlm@2
|
1378 again at
|
|
rlm@2
|
1379 Sam and continued on before he could answer. “Your brother’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1380 probably home.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1381 Try to act angry at his taunts, but don’t worry about them. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
1382 really looks out
|
|
rlm@2
|
1383 for you. We’ll get you to your room before he can notice that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1384 anything’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1385 wrong.” Pulling up Sakura’s backpack, she reached in and grabbed the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1386 key.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1387 Sam sighed as she opened the door and motioned for him to follow.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1388 This leap wasn’t offering him any easy answers. Feeling Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1389 hand still
|
|
rlm@2
|
1390 holding his own, he let her pull him inside.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1391
|
|
rlm@2
|
1392 “You... You killed her. You killed my precious daughter all because
|
|
rlm@2
|
1393 you were too blind to see her devotion to you. You never saw the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1394 pain in her that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1395 I would always see seeping around the edges whenever I would get
|
|
rlm@2
|
1396 home. Why?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1397 Why did you have to take away my daughter?” Sonomi asked
|
|
rlm@2
|
1398 incredulously.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1399 Sakura sobbed on the bed as her friend’s mother came closer, a look
|
|
rlm@2
|
1400 of pure
|
|
rlm@2
|
1401 torment on her face.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1402 “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sakura cried in protest.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1403 She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1404 had been so happy to see Sonomi, to see anyone at all that she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1405 actually knew.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1406 But after running to her and hugging her, Sonomi had broken down
|
|
rlm@2
|
1407 into tears,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1408 blaming Sakura for Tomoyo’s death. Sakura was completely taken by
|
|
rlm@2
|
1409 surprise.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1410 Tomoyo was dead? What had happened? What had she done?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1411 “She loved you so much. She was always there for you. Why weren’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1412 you there when she needed you, Sakura-chan? How could you hurt her so
|
|
rlm@2
|
1413 badly?” Shaking her head, the distraught mother paused for a moment,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1414 trying to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1415 get a grip on herself. She was trying desperately to remember that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1416 this was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1417 Nadeshiko’s daughter as well as Fujitaka’s. It pained her greatly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1418 just to be there
|
|
rlm@2
|
1419 with her. She knew damn well why Tomoyo had killed herself. She knew
|
|
rlm@2
|
1420 how
|
|
rlm@2
|
1421 much her little girl loved Nadeshiko’s daughter. It was almost
|
|
rlm@2
|
1422 impossible to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1423 think clearly. She had thought she would be able to handle seeing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1424 Sakura this
|
|
rlm@2
|
1425 time. At the funeral she had brushed her aside, barely able to stand
|
|
rlm@2
|
1426 the sight of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1427 her even though Sakura had been trying to offer comfort. But now, it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1428 all came
|
|
rlm@2
|
1429 back to her. The phone call after they had found her daughter’s cold
|
|
rlm@2
|
1430 body in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1431 lake, the letter from Tomoyo telling her not to be sad, the entire
|
|
rlm@2
|
1432 funeral flashing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1433 before her eyes.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1434 “Sonomi-san, please tell me what’s going on,” Sakura begged, wiping
|
|
rlm@2
|
1435 at her eyes. “Tomoyo-chan... She’s not...” The words refused to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1436 leave her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1437 mouth. No, that couldn’t be it. Tomoyo had to be all right. That
|
|
rlm@2
|
1438 couldn’t be why
|
|
rlm@2
|
1439 she was here. But she had never seen anyone in so much pain before.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1440 It was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1441 frightening. Her own heart was on the verge of breaking. If she lost
|
|
rlm@2
|
1442 Tomoyo,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1443 what would she do? Tomoyo was always there for her, always sweetly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1444 supporting whatever she did. She always went to Tomoyo for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1445 everything.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1446 Tomoyo was the sun in her sky, keeping everything in her life lit
|
|
rlm@2
|
1447 brightly. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
1448 brunette couldn’t fathom a world without her brilliantly smiling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1449 face. That
|
|
rlm@2
|
1450 would just be too lonely. Like a world without stars in the sky or a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1451 big, shining
|
|
rlm@2
|
1452 moon. Darkness would encompass her life. She needed Tomoyo.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1453 Somehow managing to grasp a hold of her composure for a moment,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1454 Sonomi glared at Sakura as she stood up to her full height. “Tomoyo-
|
|
rlm@2
|
1455 chan died
|
|
rlm@2
|
1456 two days ago. She drowned in a lake at the park.” Sakura gasped at
|
|
rlm@2
|
1457 Sonomi’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1458 words, tears spilling down the cheeks of the quantum physicist whose
|
|
rlm@2
|
1459 body she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1460 was inhabiting. Closing her eyes, Sonomi continued. “She killed
|
|
rlm@2
|
1461 herself over
|
|
rlm@2
|
1462 you, Sakura-chan. She couldn’t live without you. And I don’t blame
|
|
rlm@2
|
1463 her. You
|
|
rlm@2
|
1464 meant the world to her. She loved you with all of her heart.” Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1465 words echoed
|
|
rlm@2
|
1466 in her head as she choked past them. She could almost see Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1467 sad ghost
|
|
rlm@2
|
1468 shaking her head, pleading with her not to be angry with Sakura.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1469 Sonomi
|
|
rlm@2
|
1470 couldn’t blame Tomoyo for killing herself. But Tomoyo wouldn’t want
|
|
rlm@2
|
1471 her to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1472 blame Sakura either.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1473 “No...” Crying into her hands, Sakura tried desperately to find a way
|
|
rlm@2
|
1474 out of this nightmare. It couldn’t be true. Things were getting
|
|
rlm@2
|
1475 worse and worse
|
|
rlm@2
|
1476 in this horrible dream. First she was stuck all alone in some man’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1477 body while he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1478 tried to fix something that went badly in her life, then Sonomi came
|
|
rlm@2
|
1479 and got mad
|
|
rlm@2
|
1480 at her and now she found out that her best friend was dead. And that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1481 it was her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1482 fault. Her body shook as she was wracked with sobs. ‘Please let me
|
|
rlm@2
|
1483 wake up
|
|
rlm@2
|
1484 from this! Please...’ she thought weakly to herself, her thoughts to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1485 painful to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1486 continue on rationally. Her only thought was Tomoyo’s smiling face,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1487 glowing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1488 brighter and brighter as she faded until all that was left was a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1489 vague outline. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1490 hands dropped to her sides as the brunette woman grabbed her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1491 shoulders,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1492 forcing her to look up.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1493 “Sakura-chan, she would never tell you because she wanted to be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1494 happy, no matter how much I told her she should. Because she thought
|
|
rlm@2
|
1495 you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1496 shouldn’t know. But damn it, I can’t let you keep on ignoring my
|
|
rlm@2
|
1497 daughter
|
|
rlm@2
|
1498 forever. She deserves for you to know, even if you can’t love her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1499 back. Sakura-
|
|
rlm@2
|
1500 chan, she loves you. She still does, my sweet little angel. She’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1501 probably
|
|
rlm@2
|
1502 watching over you just as surely as Nadeshiko-chan is.” Sonomi’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1503 gaze was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1504 piercing, the same stormy blue eyes that Tomoyo had inherited from
|
|
rlm@2
|
1505 her looking
|
|
rlm@2
|
1506 deep into Sakura’s soul, unflinching in their determination.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1507 Bursting into sobs at the intense gaze, Sakura’s eyes clenched shut
|
|
rlm@2
|
1508 again. Tomoyo’s voice chorused in her head, hundreds of different
|
|
rlm@2
|
1509 things she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1510 had said tumbling end over end through her mind. She had filed them
|
|
rlm@2
|
1511 all away
|
|
rlm@2
|
1512 as just strange things Tomoyo had said, but now they all began
|
|
rlm@2
|
1513 making sense, as
|
|
rlm@2
|
1514 if Tomoyo was saying them all from right behind her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1515 “Not only is she fast, but she’s cute, too!”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1516 “I guess you can hear the name of the person you like no matter what
|
|
rlm@2
|
1517 the circumstances.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1518 “Sakura-chan is so cute and happy now, so I’m happy, too.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1519 “Of course I would be happy if my special person liked me. But I’ll
|
|
rlm@2
|
1520 be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1521 happy as long as my special person is.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1522 And most painfully, “I love you, Sakura-chan.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1523 “I love you, too, Tomoyo-chan,” she had replied with a smile.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1524 “I don’t think my love is the same as Sakura-chan’s,” Tomoyo had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1525 replied, looking at her sweetly as she often did when she would say
|
|
rlm@2
|
1526 such things.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1527 And shortly after Sakura’s confused response, “I’ll explain when
|
|
rlm@2
|
1528 you’re older.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1529 But Tomoyo never did. Sakura had forgotten all about it and Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@2
|
1530 hadn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1531 tried to explain to her, always being kind and loving but never
|
|
rlm@2
|
1532 telling her as the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1533 years went by and she grew closer to Syaoran. And apparently, Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@2
|
1534 never
|
|
rlm@2
|
1535 would have the chance to explain it to her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1536 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura cried quietly, shuddering. They had grown
|
|
rlm@2
|
1537 even closer over the past few years while Syaoran was back in Hong
|
|
rlm@2
|
1538 Kong. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
1539 thought of living without her left her feel freezing cold inside.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1540 Her heart felt like
|
|
rlm@2
|
1541 a wasteland.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1542 The older woman pulled her cousin’s daughter close, unable to watch
|
|
rlm@2
|
1543 her tears anymore. She couldn’t feel angry at Sakura any longer, the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1544 tears
|
|
rlm@2
|
1545 showing her own pain at losing Tomoyo. Sonomi kissed her forehead
|
|
rlm@2
|
1546 gently,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1547 stroking her back as she held her close, the older male body making
|
|
rlm@2
|
1548 the whole
|
|
rlm@2
|
1549 scene seem awkward. “She loved you very much, Sakura-chan. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1550 always did.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1551 Right now, she didn’t see Nadeshiko in Sakura. Nor did she see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1552 Fujitaka. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1553 saw herself, crying over the loss of her beloved Nadeshiko. She saw
|
|
rlm@2
|
1554 that same
|
|
rlm@2
|
1555 pain in Sakura. Her own soul was mirrored in Sakura’s sobs and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1556 tearful eyes.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1557 "Oh, Sakura-chan...”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1558 Dr. Verbeena Beeks sighed and let the door slide closed again. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1559 had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1560 been about to enter to put a stop to the whole fiasco, but it looked
|
|
rlm@2
|
1561 like she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1562 wasn’t needed after all.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1563
|
|
rlm@2
|
1564 Sam sighed as he sat down on his host’s bed. Glancing around the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1565 room, her noticed that it looked nice and fairly organized, a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1566 television in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1567 corner with a gaming system that a little yellow stuffed bear was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1568 placed in front
|
|
rlm@2
|
1569 of and other stuffed animals placed around the room. There was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1570 another stuffed
|
|
rlm@2
|
1571 bear on the bed as well as a little doll that looked a little like
|
|
rlm@2
|
1572 Sakura in a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1573 costume. Overall, it was a very nice, cute room. Not much like
|
|
rlm@2
|
1574 Sam’s, if he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1575 could remember it at all.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1576 Sitting elegantly next to him, Tomoyo smoothed down her skirt and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1577 smiled softly. “You did pretty well with Touya-san. I don’t think he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1578 noticed that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1579 too much was different about you. But you should probably stay away
|
|
rlm@2
|
1580 from him.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1581 He can be very perceptive about things, especially concerning people
|
|
rlm@2
|
1582 around his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1583 sister,” she suggested helpfully.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1584 Kero ignored the two girls talking behind him. He had more important
|
|
rlm@2
|
1585 things to think about, like finally beating the game he was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1586 currently playing. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
1587 hadn’t saved a single time yet and he was already so very near the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1588 end. “Jump!!
|
|
rlm@2
|
1589 C’mon!!”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1590 Staring at the little bear over by the gaming console, Sam began
|
|
rlm@2
|
1591 crawling across the bed. He felt a hand readjust the skirt as it had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1592 gotten
|
|
rlm@2
|
1593 bunched up. Blushing a bit, the leaper shrugged it off and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1594 concentrated on the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1595 stuffed animal. “It just talked, didn’t it?” He sincerely hoped he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1596 wasn’t going
|
|
rlm@2
|
1597 insane. After so many leaps, he would not be at all surprised if he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1598 was. But that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1599 was the last thing he needed.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1600 “That’s Kero-chan. He’s the Seal Beast for Sakura-chan’s Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
1601 Cards. She’s the world’s best magical girl,” Tomoyo explained
|
|
rlm@2
|
1602 cheerfully,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1603 smiling.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1604 “She’s the only magical girl you know,” Kero pointed out, only
|
|
rlm@2
|
1605 paying
|
|
rlm@2
|
1606 half attention to her. “But yeah, Sakura-chan’s the best.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1607 “That’s amazing...” Sam breathed in wonder. In all his years of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1608 leaping,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1609 all of the technological wonders he had worked on, this was like
|
|
rlm@2
|
1610 nothing he had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1611 seen before. Walking over to the stuffed animal, Sam knelt down,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1612 watching it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1613 play the video game. He poked lightly at the small wings on its
|
|
rlm@2
|
1614 back. They
|
|
rlm@2
|
1615 fluttered in irritation at the touch.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1616 “Sakura-chan, I’m a little busy right now. I just have to...
|
|
rlm@2
|
1617 Almost!!
|
|
rlm@2
|
1618 C’mon!! Just wait till I show you my hurricane special move, the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1619 Kero-chan
|
|
rlm@2
|
1620 Special!!” Kero yelled enthusiastically.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1621 Shaking his head, Sam sat back and laughed. “I can’t believe it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1622 It’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1623 real. I mean, it actually talks.” He shook his head, laughing again.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1624 Sam Beckett,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1625 for all of his knowledge, had always been driven by his childlike
|
|
rlm@2
|
1626 curiosity. It
|
|
rlm@2
|
1627 had always pushed him forward. And he was delighted to see the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1628 magical being
|
|
rlm@2
|
1629 in front of him, entirely absorbed in a video game.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1630 Giggling softly, Tomoyo watched the person that looked like Sakura.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1631 “Hai, he has a lot to say.” She looked thoughtful for a moment,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1632 tilting her head
|
|
rlm@2
|
1633 to the side. “So if you don’t know that she’s a magical girl, how
|
|
rlm@2
|
1634 much do you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1635 know about Sakura-chan?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1636 “Not an awful lot, I’m afraid.” Sam sighed, finally turning back to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1637 the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1638 pale girl. “Not enough to know what I’m here to fix yet.” Averting
|
|
rlm@2
|
1639 his gaze, his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1640 mind questioned his answer.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1641 “But you have an idea,” Tomoyo supplied, watching his reaction. “You
|
|
rlm@2
|
1642 need to help Sakura-chan. I’ll do whatever I can to help you. I just
|
|
rlm@2
|
1643 want her to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1644 be happy.” Her eyes closed and a weak sigh escaped her suddenly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1645 fragile
|
|
rlm@2
|
1646 looking form. The day had taken quite a bit of her strength. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1647 just wanted to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1648 see Sakura again.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1649 “But what about you? Why can’t you be happy, too?” Sam shot back,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1650 regretting it as the words left his mouth. But he still couldn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1651 understand how
|
|
rlm@2
|
1652 that one person could mean so much to her that she would end her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1653 life. Not the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1654 way Al seemed to, at least. She was such a sweet, innocent girl. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
1655 couldn’t let
|
|
rlm@2
|
1656 that fate befall her. There had to be a way for him to stop it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1657 Tomoyo smiled softly and brushed back some of her lavender hair from
|
|
rlm@2
|
1658 her eyes. “But I am happy. I’m happy knowing that Sakura-chan will
|
|
rlm@2
|
1659 be happy
|
|
rlm@2
|
1660 with the one she loves.” Before Sam could argue, she continued.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1661 “That doesn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1662 mean that I don’t hurt as well. I love her so much. I would do
|
|
rlm@2
|
1663 anything for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1664 Sakura-chan. To be in her arms, I would certainly have to be in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1665 Heaven with its
|
|
rlm@2
|
1666 most beautiful angel, Sakura-chan. But I can’t have that. And I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1667 understand. So I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1668 will do whatever I can to make Sakura-chan happy. That means much
|
|
rlm@2
|
1669 more to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1670 me than my own happiness.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1671 Sam shook his head in confusion. “But how can you do that when it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1672 hurts you so much? When you can’t survive the outcome? It doesn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1673 make sense.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1674 Don’t do this to yourself! You can stop it all from happening. You
|
|
rlm@2
|
1675 can still be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1676 happy without her.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1677 Her smile faded slightly but it remained on the pale girl as she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1678 closed
|
|
rlm@2
|
1679 her eyes, clasping her hands together. “It’s like I have fallen in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1680 love with the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1681 stars in the sky. They shine down in our lives, twinkling happily
|
|
rlm@2
|
1682 and giving us
|
|
rlm@2
|
1683 glimmers of dreams. But you can never reach them. Just as I have
|
|
rlm@2
|
1684 fallen in love
|
|
rlm@2
|
1685 with Sakura-chan. Even if I can’t quite reach her the way I would
|
|
rlm@2
|
1686 like to, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1687 shines on me and makes me feel so blessed just to have known her. To
|
|
rlm@2
|
1688 repay her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1689 for all of the wonderful dreams and happiness she has granted me
|
|
rlm@2
|
1690 through my
|
|
rlm@2
|
1691 years with her, I will repay her as best I can, by making her happy.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1692 And if I can’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1693 be the one to make her happy, then I’ll be glad that Li-kun can.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1694 Even if I don’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1695 want to stay here without her, I’m eternally grateful to her for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1696 being in my life
|
|
rlm@2
|
1697 for as along as she was. And I will not burden her by staying in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1698 hers. But I will
|
|
rlm@2
|
1699 watch over her happily when I’m gone, the knowledge that she is
|
|
rlm@2
|
1700 happy filling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1701 my heart.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1702 Blinking in surprise, Sam looked away. He was speechless. He really
|
|
rlm@2
|
1703 didn’t know how to respond to Tomoyo. She was so convincing, even if
|
|
rlm@2
|
1704 he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1705 believed that she was wrong.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1706 “Sam!!” Al yelled out as soon as he stepped out of the Imaging
|
|
rlm@2
|
1707 Chamber door. “Ziggy’s got something! You’ve gotta get down to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1708 Syaoran’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1709 house now!”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1710 Standing up quickly, Sam ignored the fluttering skirt around him and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1711 nodded. “Where is it, Al? What’s going on?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1712 “Just get outside! I’ll show you from there. And I’ll explain along
|
|
rlm@2
|
1713 the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1714 way.” With a few buttons on the handlink, I’ll repositioned himself
|
|
rlm@2
|
1715 outside.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1716 “I need to get to Syaoran’s house,” Sam said hastily, heading out
|
|
rlm@2
|
1717 the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1718 door.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1719 “Sakura-chan, matte! I’ll show you where it is.” Taking Sam’s hand,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1720 Tomoyo hurried with him down the stairs, leaving an oblivious Kero
|
|
rlm@2
|
1721 to the last
|
|
rlm@2
|
1722 level of his game. She watched the person inhabiting her beloved
|
|
rlm@2
|
1723 Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
1724 carefully, wondering what the invisible friend could have said to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1725 get his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1726 attention this way.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1727 “Where are you headed off to so quickly, monster?” Touya asked
|
|
rlm@2
|
1728 conversationally from the kitchen.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1729 “We’ve got to go study!” came Sam’s response as the rushed out the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1730 door.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1731 Touya watched after the two girl’s curiously, sipping his tea. His
|
|
rlm@2
|
1732 attention turned to the white haired boy sitting next to him at the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1733 table. “Since
|
|
rlm@2
|
1734 when did Sakura ever hurry to go study?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1735 Yukito smiled pleasantly, his glasses shimmering in the afternoon
|
|
rlm@2
|
1736 light
|
|
rlm@2
|
1737 filtering in through the window. “Maybe it’s not the studying, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
1738 being able to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1739 study with Tomoyo-chan. Studying seems to be the last thing on your
|
|
rlm@2
|
1740 mind
|
|
rlm@2
|
1741 when we study,” the snow bunny commented thoughtfully, earning him a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1742 dirty
|
|
rlm@2
|
1743 look from Touya. He just grinned even further.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1744
|
|
rlm@2
|
1745 “So what’s going on, Al? What did Ziggy find out?” Sam asked
|
|
rlm@2
|
1746 impatiently as Tomoyo led the way to Syaoran’s house while the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1747 holographic
|
|
rlm@2
|
1748 observer followed along. It had been decided that she should lead,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1749 knowing the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1750 area much better than Al, even with the maps displayed on the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1751 handlink.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1752 “It took forever to find, but she finally found some records that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1753 were of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1754 some interest. Okay, okay. She wants me to say what a supreme effort
|
|
rlm@2
|
1755 it took on
|
|
rlm@2
|
1756 her part to obtain the information. Alright!” Al grimaced at the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1757 handlink and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1758 pounded on the side. “And that she found it right in time because
|
|
rlm@2
|
1759 this window of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1760 opportunity is rapidly shrinking. Egomaniacal hunk of...” he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1761 muttered under his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1762 breath. Looking back up, Al continued on. “Syaoran’s getting a visit
|
|
rlm@2
|
1763 right now
|
|
rlm@2
|
1764 from someone important to all of this. His fiancee, a girl named
|
|
rlm@2
|
1765 Meiling. After
|
|
rlm@2
|
1766 finding out he went back to Japan to be with you, she booked a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1767 flight and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1768 headed out to try to convince him otherwise. They get into a huge
|
|
rlm@2
|
1769 argument and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1770 she leaves, apparently broken up by the whole thing. Seems she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1771 really had it big
|
|
rlm@2
|
1772 for your boyfriend.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1773 “Can you please quit calling him my boyfriend?” Sam asked
|
|
rlm@2
|
1774 exasperatedly. Shaking his head, he looked back at Al. He was glad
|
|
rlm@2
|
1775 for Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1776 athletic body during the long walk, but Tomoyo seemed to be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1777 breathing with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1778 difficulty. He hoped they would get there soon. “All right, so what
|
|
rlm@2
|
1779 happens with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1780 Meiling?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1781 “Well, she doesn’t kill herself, but she doesn’t seem to take it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1782 much
|
|
rlm@2
|
1783 better than Tomoyo other than that. Ziggy says there’s a 73%
|
|
rlm@2
|
1784 probability that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1785 you’re here to make sure that she gets with Syaoran and that he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1786 doesn’t ruin
|
|
rlm@2
|
1787 things with her. She says that things probably won’t work out with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1788 you and him
|
|
rlm@2
|
1789 and that the relationship will eventually fall apart, but by then
|
|
rlm@2
|
1790 it’ll be too
|
|
rlm@2
|
1791 shattered to pick up any of the pieces for anyone involved.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1792 Motioning towards
|
|
rlm@2
|
1793 Tomoyo with the handlink, he sighed. “Especially for her.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1794 Sam stopped dead in his tracks, nearly dragging the dark haired
|
|
rlm@2
|
1795 girl off
|
|
rlm@2
|
1796 of her feet at the sudden stop. “Only 73%? Al, can’t you give me
|
|
rlm@2
|
1797 something a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1798 little better than that? I can’t ruin Sakura’s relationship with him
|
|
rlm@2
|
1799 over that. What
|
|
rlm@2
|
1800 if they can work things out? What if they’re meant to have kids? How
|
|
rlm@2
|
1801 can I do
|
|
rlm@2
|
1802 that, Al?” A sigh escaped his lips. This leap was really starting to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1803 wear him
|
|
rlm@2
|
1804 down.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1805 “It’s all right, Fake Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said with a warm smile
|
|
rlm@2
|
1806 and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1807 a gentle squeeze of Sam’s hand. “If you worry like that, then you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1808 won’t be able
|
|
rlm@2
|
1809 to help Sakura-chan out when she needs it. I trust you to fix things
|
|
rlm@2
|
1810 for her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1811 Please believe in yourself. Whatever you decide.” Her eyes took on a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1812 pleading
|
|
rlm@2
|
1813 look. “Please make sure that Sakura-chan can be happy.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1814 “I promise that I’ll try my hardest to make sure she can be,” Sam
|
|
rlm@2
|
1815 promised, smiling a little in return. Turning his attention back to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1816 Al, his eyes
|
|
rlm@2
|
1817 narrowed. “Even if the odds are only 73%.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1818 Sighing, Al shook his head as a loud trill came from the handlink.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1819 “Ziggy’s not too pleased with your attitude about this, Sam. She had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1820 to hack into
|
|
rlm@2
|
1821 a whole lot of systems to get the information that she did. And
|
|
rlm@2
|
1822 besides, why do
|
|
rlm@2
|
1823 you always have to be this way about the odds? I give you bad odds
|
|
rlm@2
|
1824 and you beg
|
|
rlm@2
|
1825 for better ones. I give you good odds and you’ll say that’s not why
|
|
rlm@2
|
1826 you’ve leapt
|
|
rlm@2
|
1827 in and do something boneheaded on your gut instinct.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1828 Sam frowned and looked away. “But most of the time I’m right when
|
|
rlm@2
|
1829 it’s my instinct,” he argued. Closing his eyes, he sighed. “But we
|
|
rlm@2
|
1830 don’t have
|
|
rlm@2
|
1831 time for that. Especially if we don’t have much time left. Besides,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1832 this sounds
|
|
rlm@2
|
1833 like it could hurt a lot of people in the end.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1834 A door flew open near them and a black haired girl stepped out,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1835 tears in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1836 her eyes and fists clenched. “And if that’s what you want, Syaoran,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1837 then you can
|
|
rlm@2
|
1838 go ahead and have it!! I’m going back to Hong Kong, you selfish
|
|
rlm@2
|
1839 asshole!! I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1840 hope I never see you again!”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1841 Sam winced as he watched her gaze icily at him. Of course, he was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1842 the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1843 reason she was angry. Syaoran stumbled out the door after her,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1844 holding his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1845 stomach as if he had been punched there. Which, surprisingly, he had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1846 been.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1847 Meiling seemed to be a very... fiery woman. Not someone he wanted
|
|
rlm@2
|
1848 mad at
|
|
rlm@2
|
1849 him. He nearly backpedaled as he approached.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1850 “Sam... Don’t get into a catfight with her, okay? I know you know
|
|
rlm@2
|
1851 some martial arts, but trust me, you don’t know anything compared to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1852 her,” Al
|
|
rlm@2
|
1853 warned from Sam’s side, punching up information on the handlink.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1854 “Ziggy says
|
|
rlm@2
|
1855 not to piss her off. Oh, thanks, Queen Ziggy. That’s something he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1856 couldn’t have
|
|
rlm@2
|
1857 figured out for himself.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1858 “Sakura-chan..?” Syaoran asked in surprise, standing up straight
|
|
rlm@2
|
1859 when
|
|
rlm@2
|
1860 he saw Sam. He looked at her in confusion before looking back to the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1861 still angry
|
|
rlm@2
|
1862 Meiling.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1863 “I’m going home. I hope you two are happy with each other!” Meiling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1864 turned, wiping at her eyes as she began to walk away from the house.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1865 Syaoran
|
|
rlm@2
|
1866 stood on the sidewalk, frozen with indecision. He shouldn’t go to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1867 stop Meiling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1868 with Sakura here. He had made his decision and he would have to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1869 stand by it. So
|
|
rlm@2
|
1870 he would have to let Meiling leave, possibly never to speak with her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1871 again. But
|
|
rlm@2
|
1872 there was nothing else he could do. He never had been good at
|
|
rlm@2
|
1873 expressing his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1874 emotions and this situation was no different. If anything, it just
|
|
rlm@2
|
1875 made it more
|
|
rlm@2
|
1876 difficult. But he didn’t want to see Meiling leave like this.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1877 “Wait, Meiling!” Sam grabbed her arm, trying to stall her. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1878 easily
|
|
rlm@2
|
1879 pulled from his grasp, turning on an agile foot and glaring directly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1880 at the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1881 displaced time traveler.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1882 “What the hell do you want, Sakura? You already have Syaoran. Leave
|
|
rlm@2
|
1883 me alone. I’m leaving.” The rest of what she said was in Chinese and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1884 didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1885 make any sense to Sam. She was obviously very upset, masking her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1886 pain with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1887 sheer, seething anger. She was not going to be easy to deal with at
|
|
rlm@2
|
1888 all. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1889 beloved had just fled to Japan to be with another woman, leaving her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1890 all alone.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1891 And arguing with him had just made things worse, painful words
|
|
rlm@2
|
1892 flying both
|
|
rlm@2
|
1893 ways as it raged on. Right now she wanted to be on an airplane back
|
|
rlm@2
|
1894 home
|
|
rlm@2
|
1895 where she could forget about sorcerer’s that didn’t keep their
|
|
rlm@2
|
1896 promises to wed
|
|
rlm@2
|
1897 and magical girls that weave spells and steal fiancees.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1898 “Please, don’t go, Meiling. You’ll regret it if you leave today. I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1899 promise. We have to talk about things,” Sam urged softly, hoping
|
|
rlm@2
|
1900 that he could
|
|
rlm@2
|
1901 contain the situation. If Meiling wanted to leave, there was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1902 absolutely no way he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1903 could stop her. And that was possibly his only chance to fix things.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1904 “Please?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1905 “I already regret coming here. What’s another regret?” Meiling shot
|
|
rlm@2
|
1906 back angrily, her eyes still bloodshot from her tears. But she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1907 seemed to at least
|
|
rlm@2
|
1908 consider it, making no move to leave. Her eyes darted back towards
|
|
rlm@2
|
1909 Syaoran
|
|
rlm@2
|
1910 who refused to look at her. He had no idea why Sakura was doing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1911 this, but it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1912 was only making things harder. He had done this for her. Why was she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1913 making
|
|
rlm@2
|
1914 it more difficult than it had to be? Meiling looked away again, her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1915 heart torn in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1916 two at the sight of the boy she loved waiting to be with the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1917 Japanese girl.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1918 Sam took a deep breath, looking from face to face to face. Did
|
|
rlm@2
|
1919 Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
1920 know how many lives she could affect? All of these people could be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1921 hurt terribly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1922 by an innocent sin that Sakura had no idea to prevent. Sam only
|
|
rlm@2
|
1923 hoped he still
|
|
rlm@2
|
1924 had time. Tomoyo would die at her own hands out of grief, Meiling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1925 would be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1926 broken over the loss of her fiancee, and Syaoran and Sakura would
|
|
rlm@2
|
1927 probably get
|
|
rlm@2
|
1928 hurt by the personal loss of the two girls, even if Meiling didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1929 leave in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1930 same way. Now how did he fix all that? He glanced to Al, hoping for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1931 some idea.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1932 The Observer had to know some way to resolve this, right? Otherwise
|
|
rlm@2
|
1933 he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1934 wouldn’t be able to do anything. But how could he break up Sakura and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1935 Syaoran? It hardly seemed fair to do that to them. The sound of the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1936 Imaging
|
|
rlm@2
|
1937 Chamber door whooshing open shook him from his thoughts. He stared
|
|
rlm@2
|
1938 in shock
|
|
rlm@2
|
1939 as he saw himself standing next to Al wearing the all white fermi
|
|
rlm@2
|
1940 suit that was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1941 used for multiple purposes at Project Quantum Leap. He hadn’t seen
|
|
rlm@2
|
1942 himself in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1943 so long. But what was he doing there?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1944 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered softly as she looked at the dark
|
|
rlm@2
|
1945 haired girl standing next to her body. It took all she had to keep
|
|
rlm@2
|
1946 from bursting
|
|
rlm@2
|
1947 into tears after what Sonomi had told her earlier. She sniffled
|
|
rlm@2
|
1948 slightly but smiled
|
|
rlm@2
|
1949 at the brown haired boy standing a bit away from her. None of them
|
|
rlm@2
|
1950 could see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1951 her, which was a bit eerie. “Thank you, Syaoran-kun. You were right.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1952 I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1953 shouldn’t cry. It won’t fix anything. Thank you for teaching me
|
|
rlm@2
|
1954 that. I need to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1955 solve my problems.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1956 “Sakura?” Sam asked in shock. What was she doing here? Why was Al
|
|
rlm@2
|
1957 parading people through the Imaging Chamber? If they were all going
|
|
rlm@2
|
1958 to see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1959 Tomoyo before she died, couldn’t the watch from Ziggy’s monitors?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1960 Sakura bowed to Sam, a little awkward in his taller body. “Gomen
|
|
rlm@2
|
1961 nasai. Thank you for trying to fix my life. But I need to fix my own
|
|
rlm@2
|
1962 problems.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1963 It’s not right to have you fix them all for me. Then I won’t have
|
|
rlm@2
|
1964 learned
|
|
rlm@2
|
1965 anything. If you run away from your problems, you will regret them
|
|
rlm@2
|
1966 for years
|
|
rlm@2
|
1967 afterwards. I learned that from Sonomi-san.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1968 “I... uhhh... sure..” Sam nodded, still a little confused about the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1969 whole
|
|
rlm@2
|
1970 situation. He hoped this leap would start making sense soon.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1971 “Sakura-chan, are you okay?” Syaoran asked, his eyes narrowing as he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1972 looked around for who Sakura was talking to. “Who is it?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1973 Sam shook his head quickly, brushing back some reddish brown hair
|
|
rlm@2
|
1974 that got in his eyes. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it. I’m just
|
|
rlm@2
|
1975 trying to think
|
|
rlm@2
|
1976 about what to say.” He glanced back to Sakura, hoping that she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1977 some idea
|
|
rlm@2
|
1978 about how to resolve this whole thing.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1979 Sakura’s hands went to her chest, her eyes closing. She sighed
|
|
rlm@2
|
1980 deeply,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1981 trying to concentrate. This would be difficult to do, but she knew
|
|
rlm@2
|
1982 she had to.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1983 Opening her eyes, determination flared through them. She smiled
|
|
rlm@2
|
1984 sadly at
|
|
rlm@2
|
1985 Syaoran, stepping up to him even if he couldn’t see her. “Syaoran-
|
|
rlm@2
|
1986 kun, thank
|
|
rlm@2
|
1987 you so much for coming back to see me. I missed you so much. You
|
|
rlm@2
|
1988 were such a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1989 great help with the Cards and with all of the dangers that I faced.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1990 I couldn’t have
|
|
rlm@2
|
1991 asked for a better rival. I’m glad that we stopped that and that we
|
|
rlm@2
|
1992 got to grow
|
|
rlm@2
|
1993 closer. You’re really sweet when you let it show through. I’m glad I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1994 got to see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1995 you again. But I’m afraid that I can’t say I feel the same way I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1996 used to. Or that I
|
|
rlm@2
|
1997 ever did. I never really got to decide for myself who I was in love
|
|
rlm@2
|
1998 with.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1999 Everyone seemed to think it was you. Tomoyo-chan, Yukito-san, Eriol-
|
|
rlm@2
|
2000 kun, they
|
|
rlm@2
|
2001 all seemed to lead me to you. So when you told me how you felt, I
|
|
rlm@2
|
2002 felt like they
|
|
rlm@2
|
2003 already had told me. So I thought I had to return your feelings. But
|
|
rlm@2
|
2004 they didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
2005 know my heart. Neither did I, back then. I’m so sorry. I think you
|
|
rlm@2
|
2006 belong with
|
|
rlm@2
|
2007 Meiling-chan. She really does love you very much and she’s so open
|
|
rlm@2
|
2008 about it. I
|
|
rlm@2
|
2009 think you’d be sad if you never see her again or if she’s mad at you
|
|
rlm@2
|
2010 about this. I
|
|
rlm@2
|
2011 hope things work out. Hoe... I’m so sorry about all this. But I’m
|
|
rlm@2
|
2012 really happy I
|
|
rlm@2
|
2013 got to meet you. And that we had all of the adventures that we did.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2014 You’ll
|
|
rlm@2
|
2015 always be an important friend to me, Syaoran-kun.” She tried to hug
|
|
rlm@2
|
2016 him,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2017 smiling weakly, but she nearly fell through him. Sighing, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
2018 stepped back,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2019 watching the sad look on his face as Sam repeated what she had said
|
|
rlm@2
|
2020 to him. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
2021 didn’t want to understand. He didn’t want it to be true. Her heart
|
|
rlm@2
|
2022 went out to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2023 him, but she knew that she had to continue.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2024 “What?” Meiling asked in shock. Why would Sakura give up Syaoran
|
|
rlm@2
|
2025 all of the sudden? She never would in Sakura’s position. A slow
|
|
rlm@2
|
2026 smile crept
|
|
rlm@2
|
2027 along her lips. Who cared if Sakura had suddenly gone insane? This
|
|
rlm@2
|
2028 meant
|
|
rlm@2
|
2029 Syaoran would be all hers after all. It had been worth coming to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2030 Japan again.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2031 “Poor Syaoran,” she said, mock pouting as she took the still shocked
|
|
rlm@2
|
2032 boy’s arm.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2033 “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you.” She smiled sweetly and
|
|
rlm@2
|
2034 rested her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2035 head on his shoulder, delighting at the way it felt to be next to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2036 him again. Yes,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2037 she’d make sure that Syaoran never did anything that stupid again.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2038 Or else.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2039 Still in Sam’s body, Sakura blushed a bit, wringing her hands as she
|
|
rlm@2
|
2040 looked at Tomoyo. While in the Waiting Room, Sakura had had quite a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2041 bit of
|
|
rlm@2
|
2042 time to think. And Sonomi’s explanations had given her a chance to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2043 realize a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2044 horrible mistake that she would have made. She only hoped that she
|
|
rlm@2
|
2045 was in time
|
|
rlm@2
|
2046 to fix it. “Tomoyo-chan, I finally understand what you meant. I.. I
|
|
rlm@2
|
2047 love you, too,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2048 Tomoyo-chan. I need you. More than you could ever know. Tomoyo-chan,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2049 you
|
|
rlm@2
|
2050 make me feel so warm and happy inside. So hanyaa. Whenever I feel
|
|
rlm@2
|
2051 bad,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2052 you’re right there to help me back up again. When I’m happy, you’re
|
|
rlm@2
|
2053 there with
|
|
rlm@2
|
2054 me recording it all and watching me. And that makes me even happier,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2055 that you
|
|
rlm@2
|
2056 can be there to share it with me. Tomoyo-chan, you don’t have to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2057 just watch
|
|
rlm@2
|
2058 your special person be happy. Because I don’t think I could be happy
|
|
rlm@2
|
2059 without
|
|
rlm@2
|
2060 you. I... I want to make you happy, too.” Clasping her hands
|
|
rlm@2
|
2061 together, Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
2062 looked down at her friend, watching her intently. Finding out how
|
|
rlm@2
|
2063 Tomoyo felt
|
|
rlm@2
|
2064 about her hadn’t surprised her as much as she would have thought it
|
|
rlm@2
|
2065 should
|
|
rlm@2
|
2066 have. But it just made sense now that she looked back on all that
|
|
rlm@2
|
2067 Tomoyo had
|
|
rlm@2
|
2068 said and done for her. It didn’t take long to realize that her own
|
|
rlm@2
|
2069 feelings had
|
|
rlm@2
|
2070 begun to flow along with Tomoyo’s long ago. She had begged them to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2071 let her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2072 see Tomoyo when she had finally found the love hiding in her own
|
|
rlm@2
|
2073 heart.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2074 Tomoyo listened in disbelief to her friend’s sweet voice. That
|
|
rlm@2
|
2075 couldn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
2076 be right. Could it just be the person who was in Sakura saying that?
|
|
rlm@2
|
2077 The
|
|
rlm@2
|
2078 mannerisms showed that it was still the fake Sakura, but those words
|
|
rlm@2
|
2079 were the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2080 Cardmistress’s. So that meant Sakura was here. Saying this to her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2081 Her cheeks
|
|
rlm@2
|
2082 brightened as she looked around for her best friend. In desperation,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2083 she grabbed
|
|
rlm@2
|
2084 onto the person impersonating Sakura, holding on tightly to the body
|
|
rlm@2
|
2085 of her best
|
|
rlm@2
|
2086 friend. “Sakura-chan...!” Her stormy blue eyes closed tightly, her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2087 heart pouring
|
|
rlm@2
|
2088 out to Sakura, wherever she was. Sakura had been gone all day and
|
|
rlm@2
|
2089 this was the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2090 first time she had the chance to be near her, to know that she was
|
|
rlm@2
|
2091 there. The real
|
|
rlm@2
|
2092 her. It left the pale girl feeling weak inside, especially at
|
|
rlm@2
|
2093 Sakura’s words. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
2094 would have just been happy to know that the magical girl was back.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2095 This set her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2096 soul afire, almost too much for her weary body to handle. A dam had
|
|
rlm@2
|
2097 broken in
|
|
rlm@2
|
2098 her heart, letting all of the love she kept pent up inside for
|
|
rlm@2
|
2099 Sakura flow out,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2100 nearly drowning her in its strength. Everything disappeared in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2101 storm, Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
2102 the calm at its center. “I know you’re there, Sakura-chan. I love
|
|
rlm@2
|
2103 you, too. I
|
|
rlm@2
|
2104 always have, Sakura-chan.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
2105 Blushing at Tomoyo’s declaration of love, Sakura let her eyes fall
|
|
rlm@2
|
2106 closed as she stood in the same spot as Sam. Wanting so much to be
|
|
rlm@2
|
2107 there, to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2108 feel the small dark haired girl, Sakura’s arms went around the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2109 hologram of
|
|
rlm@2
|
2110 Tomoyo in the Imaging Chamber.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2111 Sighing, Syaoran shook his head. He couldn’t believe any of this. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
2112 certainly hadn’t been expecting it. He never should have come back to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2113 Tomoeda. Not if this was going to happen. But he should have known
|
|
rlm@2
|
2114 that
|
|
rlm@2
|
2115 Sakura didn’t feel that way about him anymore. Especially with how
|
|
rlm@2
|
2116 strange she
|
|
rlm@2
|
2117 had been acting all day. He suddenly regretted what he had said to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2118 Meiling just a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2119 short time earlier. He opened his mouth, trying to apologize, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
2120 she shook her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2121 head. Leaning forward, she kissed him softly, the rest of his
|
|
rlm@2
|
2122 conscious thought
|
|
rlm@2
|
2123 melting away as he stared at the floor, too embarrassed to utter a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2124 word. Meiling
|
|
rlm@2
|
2125 giggled in triumph.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2126 Al motioned over towards the two members of the Li Clan with a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2127 flourish of his cigar. “Looks like things just might work out after
|
|
rlm@2
|
2128 all. Ziggy’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
2129 finally breathing a sigh of relief.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
2130 Shooting the Observer a skeptical look, Sam motioned his head
|
|
rlm@2
|
2131 towards Tomoyo. He was still a bit concerned about this whole leap.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2132 It had
|
|
rlm@2
|
2133 definitely been bizarre all the way around. “But what about...?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
2134 “I wouldn’t worry about that, Sam. Something tells me she’ll live
|
|
rlm@2
|
2135 for a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2136 good long time now that she’s got a reason to.” Grinning, the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2137 observer made
|
|
rlm@2
|
2138 room for Sonomi, ignoring the trill of the handlink.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2139 “I’ll see you soon, my baby girl,” Sonomi whispered softly, her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2140 fingers
|
|
rlm@2
|
2141 fading through Tomoyo’s holographic hair. She smiled softly, finally
|
|
rlm@2
|
2142 feeling at
|
|
rlm@2
|
2143 ease for the first time since the funeral. Soon enough this would be
|
|
rlm@2
|
2144 all over and
|
|
rlm@2
|
2145 the funeral would never have happened now that Tomoyo wouldn’t wind
|
|
rlm@2
|
2146 up in
|
|
rlm@2
|
2147 that position in the first place. Though there was no breeze in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2148 Imaging
|
|
rlm@2
|
2149 Chamber, she could almost feel it just by watching Tomoyo’s dark
|
|
rlm@2
|
2150 gray hair
|
|
rlm@2
|
2151 flutter near her fingertips. A lighter gray caught her eye nearby. A
|
|
rlm@2
|
2152 faint image, a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2153 smiling angel looked back at her. Unseen to the group just as surely
|
|
rlm@2
|
2154 as the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2155 holograms were, the woman watched over the two young girls. So much
|
|
rlm@2
|
2156 like
|
|
rlm@2
|
2157 herself and someone else at that age. “Nadeshiko-chan...”
|
|
rlm@2
|
2158 Smiling softly, Sam returned the hug to the overjoyed heiress. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
2159 knew
|
|
rlm@2
|
2160 he’d be gone soon enough, but he had the feeling that Al was right,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2161 that things
|
|
rlm@2
|
2162 would work out. He was glad he had come, even if it was only for a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2163 short time.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2164 “Good luck, Tomoyo.” For just a moment, after setting things right
|
|
rlm@2
|
2165 that had
|
|
rlm@2
|
2166 once gone wrong, Doctor Sam Beckett felt at peace. For just one
|
|
rlm@2
|
2167 moment, his
|
|
rlm@2
|
2168 journey didn’t seem so incredibly long. Home didn’t seem quite so
|
|
rlm@2
|
2169 far away.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2170 With that, he leapt.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2171 With a tingle that Sakura couldn’t quite tell if it was caused by
|
|
rlm@2
|
2172 magic
|
|
rlm@2
|
2173 or by the feeling of being in Tomoyo’s arms, the Cardmistress was
|
|
rlm@2
|
2174 back. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
2175 couldn’t really remember from where, but she felt relieved to know
|
|
rlm@2
|
2176 that she was
|
|
rlm@2
|
2177 home again. With a furious blush, she could remember telling Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
2178 the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2179 feelings that rose up inside her heart. She clutched onto the pale
|
|
rlm@2
|
2180 girl tightly,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2181 feeling Tomoyo buried against her, her fingers lightly stroking
|
|
rlm@2
|
2182 Sakura’s back.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2183 Tomoyo almost stumbled back but quickly regained her balance,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2184 whispering
|
|
rlm@2
|
2185 Sakura’s name over and over in her ear. Tomoyo’s gentle touch
|
|
rlm@2
|
2186 quickly forced
|
|
rlm@2
|
2187 away the disorientation that had lingered in the brunette’s mind.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2188 All that
|
|
rlm@2
|
2189 mattered was that she was with Tomoyo once more. And for once, the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2190 warm
|
|
rlm@2
|
2191 feelings in her heart made sense to their owner. It tossed her like
|
|
rlm@2
|
2192 a balloon,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2193 turning her around and around until she didn’t know where she was.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2194 But it
|
|
rlm@2
|
2195 didn’t matter. Now she wouldn’t ever be lost again. She wasn’t fully
|
|
rlm@2
|
2196 aware of
|
|
rlm@2
|
2197 when she had come to the realization that Tomoyo had captured her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2198 heart, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
2199 she knew Tomoyo had as surely as Sakura had captured any cards.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2200 Tomoyo had
|
|
rlm@2
|
2201 bound her heart to her long ago. “I love you, too,” she whispered in
|
|
rlm@2
|
2202 response to
|
|
rlm@2
|
2203 Tomoyo sweet voice in her ear.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2204 It was her again. Tomoyo knew it. She was enveloped in Sakura. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2205 warm touch, her soft hair, her wonderful scent. It wrapped Tomoyo up
|
|
rlm@2
|
2206 in
|
|
rlm@2
|
2207 ribbons of sheer joy. She never wanted to be free of the ribbons
|
|
rlm@2
|
2208 that wound
|
|
rlm@2
|
2209 themselves tightly around her heart and soul. The pain, the cracks
|
|
rlm@2
|
2210 in her soul
|
|
rlm@2
|
2211 began to heal from Sakura’s presence, soothing her battered spirit
|
|
rlm@2
|
2212 and warming
|
|
rlm@2
|
2213 the icy chill that had threatened to consume her heart. Her pain
|
|
rlm@2
|
2214 meant nothing in
|
|
rlm@2
|
2215 the face of Sakura’s love. It was as if it had never been there at
|
|
rlm@2
|
2216 all. Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
2217 hands slowly began running through Tomoyo’s hair, smoothing away all
|
|
rlm@2
|
2218 of
|
|
rlm@2
|
2219 Tomoyo’s worries at the same time. “Sakura-chan... I knew that you
|
|
rlm@2
|
2220 would
|
|
rlm@2
|
2221 rescue me,” she whispered softly. Stormy blue eyes opened to meet
|
|
rlm@2
|
2222 emerald
|
|
rlm@2
|
2223 orbs gazing back into them. The dark haired girl smiled contentedly,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2224 her heart
|
|
rlm@2
|
2225 almost overflowing with the outpouring of her love and the influx of
|
|
rlm@2
|
2226 Sakura’s.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2227 She had been the princess locked up in the castle, cursed to an
|
|
rlm@2
|
2228 eternal night. And
|
|
rlm@2
|
2229 like she had always hoped, Sakura had pulled her out into the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2230 sunshine. Leaning
|
|
rlm@2
|
2231 closer, Tomoyo marveled at the even deeper blush that colored
|
|
rlm@2
|
2232 Sakura’s face as
|
|
rlm@2
|
2233 Sakura realized what she intended. Sakura met her softly, their lips
|
|
rlm@2
|
2234 pressing
|
|
rlm@2
|
2235 together. The two girls held each other as if afraid the other would
|
|
rlm@2
|
2236 slip away.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2237 Tomoyo was surprised at the vigor with which Sakura returned the
|
|
rlm@2
|
2238 kiss,
|
|
rlm@2
|
2239 shattering the cage that had held Tomoyo completely and setting her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2240 adrift in
|
|
rlm@2
|
2241 Sakura’s arms. Kissing back as passionately as she could, the dark
|
|
rlm@2
|
2242 haired girl’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
2243 arms went around Sakura’s shoulders, pulling her closer. “Sakura-
|
|
rlm@2
|
2244 chan is a very
|
|
rlm@2
|
2245 good kisser,” Tomoyo said breathlessly as their lips finally parted.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2246 “Tomoyo-chan, was that your tongue?” Sakura asked quietly, her
|
|
rlm@2
|
2247 cheeks flushing scarlet. “Hoe...” Resting her head on Tomoyo’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
2248 shoulder, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
2249 felt Tomoyo’s gentle embrace as her musical giggle filled Sakura’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
2250 mind.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2251 Whatever had happened, she was glad for it. She had to have a
|
|
rlm@2
|
2252 guardian angel.
|
|
rlm@2
|
2253
|
|
rlm@2
|
2254 Sam found himself kneeling in a church in prayer when he finally
|
|
rlm@2
|
2255 came
|
|
rlm@2
|
2256 to his senses. That didn’t seem too awkward. He had been a priest
|
|
rlm@2
|
2257 before during
|
|
rlm@2
|
2258 another leap, after all. But he didn’t seem to be a priest this
|
|
rlm@2
|
2259 time. The long white
|
|
rlm@2
|
2260 dress seemed to indicate that he was a nun instead. Another girl
|
|
rlm@2
|
2261 stood in front of
|
|
rlm@2
|
2262 him, her mousey brown hair done up in a high pony tail with a black
|
|
rlm@2
|
2263 bow. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
2264 wore what looked like a black magician’s outfit with a pink skirt
|
|
rlm@2
|
2265 and held a top
|
|
rlm@2
|
2266 hat in one hand. “Seira-chan? You don’t look so well.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
2267 “Oh boy...”
|
|
rlm@2
|
2268
|
|
rlm@2
|
2269
|
|
rlm@2
|
2270
|
