comparison old/stories/CCScharity.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights

[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
author rlm
date Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500
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1 Learning to Fly
2 Chapter 1
3 by
4 The Amazoness Duo- amazonessduo@hotmail.com
5 G.P.- pearsong1954@yahoo.com
6
7
8
9 The breeze off of the nearby ocean meandered playfully about on a path it neither knew nor
10 understood. It was free in a way that Syaoran Li, the heir to the illustrious Li Clan, could
11 never be. He felt some contempt for it as it's gentle, invisible fingers caressed his shirt to
12 his chest. What made it worse was that the breeze didn't know, nor care, for his jealous regards.
13 With all the power his position levelled him, with all the magical strength he possessed, he was
14 still as nothing to the wind. Oh, to be that free...
15
16 “You haven't said a word since the banquet. I hope it didn't fry your brain. And you were doing
17 so well, too. I had you all trained and everything.” A snap of fingers and an exhale of breath
18 followed a dark haired woman's exclamation as she feigned frustration. “Ieran is going to be so
19 disappointed that I broke her son.” Meiling Li, one time fiancee of Syaoran, walked along the
20 small stone fence aside and above her cousin. Long wisps of beautiful raven hair trailed behind
21 her, almost as one with the wind.
22
23 Whereas the wind seemed to fight against Syaoran, finding a barrier in him, it seemed to flow
24 effortlessly about his female companion, offering her no barriers. Perhaps it was because she was
25 at peace with the wind, with the very nature of the world we live in. Or at least at peace with
26 herself and her place within the world. Syaoran still found himself trying to find his place in
27 it all, which seemed unneccessary what with his destiny as the head of the Li Clan preordained.
28 Yet still he found himself unsure of his future and his place within it.
29
30 “I'm fine.” His voice was rough, strong. He liked how it sounded. No longer the child he had been
31 back during his time assisting with the Clow Cards, he was a man now. It was known throughout
32 China that he was the premiere wizard, nearly as strong as his mother in the ways of his families
33 mystical arts. With a lean body, handsome looks, and enormous potential as the next heir to the
34 most powerful family of magicians in China, he was heavily sought after to wed the daughters of
35 many different influential families. Yet none of them managed to sway the admittedly headstrong
36 young master of the Li Clan. The one and only Cardmistress was his lover, the one who would one
37 day join him. He was happy with his strength, with the man he was now.
38
39 In many ways, Meiling had made his transformation possible. Or was transformation too strong of a
40 word? It was more subtle than that. He held a confidence he had been lacking when he was younger.
41 No longer was he a slave to his fears of not being good enough for his mother, for the Li Clan.
42 It had taken all of his courage to tell his mother that he was dating the Cardmistress. Back
43 then, he had been afraid she would turn her icy, disappointed eyes into him and the small amount
44 of love he had garnered from her over the years would wither and die. But the great and all
45 powerful Ieran had simply agreed and asked him if there was anything else of import he wished to
46 discuss. Perhaps it was then that he discovered his mother had never expected him to be stronger
47 than Sakura. She had never expected him to be the one to take back the cards of their ancestor,
48 Clow Reed. Anger and relief in equal parts had flooded him until he had been almost unable to
49 excuse himself and collapse on his bed back in his room. His whole life, he had been the only boy
50 in his family, the heir to the head of the household, the one expected to handle the family's
51 problems despite being the youngest. All that time, his mother had treated his sisters with
52 warmth and caring while she had granted him a somewhat disappointed indifference. He had thought
53 it was because he hadn't been strong enough, that she had expected more from him, that he had to
54 be better to gain her approval. But it seemed to be something altogether different. Perhaps she
55 had only been preparing him for the harsh life that awaited him as the head of the Li Clan.
56
57 With that experience, Syaoran had slowly taken up more and more responsibilities within the
58 household. Oddly enough, it had been Meiling who stood behind him throughout it all. His
59 beautiful, dark haired cousin had given him the confidence in himself to perform his duties as
60 well as to cultivate an air of authority he had long lacked. When other family members had
61 giggled at his attempts to take charge of a situation, Meiling had barked at them to listen to
62 him. Meiling had supported him unfalteringly every day for the past few years, despite the fact
63 that she knew he had cancelled their engagement. Even then, she was always the first to support
64 him, the first to tell him how great he was, how strong and smart and capable he was. She was the
65 one to make him feel as if he could accomplish anything.
66
67 Meiling was his backup when he couldn't finish things on his own. When he had been told to
68 search through some family records for an important document, she had stayed up all night with
69 him, helping him through all the large, musty volumes that filled the huge library. Bringing them
70 tea every few hours, Meiling had been right alongside him as they poured through the thick,
71 boring manuscripts.
72
73 So much of his newfound sense of self, his gained self-confidence, came from Meiling's unwavering
74 support. He felt like he could handle taking over the household, which was slowly becoming a
75 reality. All thanks to the help of his strongwilled cousin. All of his self-doubts, his fears and
76 weaknesses, felt as if they were being ironed away, smoothed out of himself. He was pleased with
77 what he saw in the mirror and what he heard when he spoke. It was strong and honorable and he
78 liked it. Sakura would be so glad when she saw him again. He would show her how he had grown, how
79 much more in control he was. He would sweep her off her feet.
80
81 “So you can speak!” Meiling clapped her hands delightedly, grinning as she startled Syaoran from
82 her thoughts. From personal experience, she knew she was one of a few lucky people who could drag
83 Syaoran from his moody thoughts. He came kicking and screaming sometimes, but she could force him
84 into the here and now nonetheless. It was for his own good, she always told herself. Better to
85 make him pay attention than to be ignored.
86
87 Glancing up at his cousin, resplendant in her beautiful red and yellow dress, he nodded. “Thanks
88 for your help at the banquet, Meiling. I really thought Fanren was going to argue about my idea
89 for a minute.”
90
91 Amber eyes seemed to sparkle gleefully as slim shoulders shrugged. “She was going to. But she
92 wasn't going to fight the both of us. She still doesn't like the idea, but she doesn't have to.
93 You're the new head of the household, not her. Besides, if she really wants to fight over it, you
94 can always bring up her plethora of lovers. That would shut her up real quick. Your mother
95 tolerates it because she keeps it quiet. You could make a big fuss over it once you're in charge
96 though. She'd stop fighting with you just so you'd leave her alone about it.
97
98 ”Silence followed for
99 a moment. It was at this moment that Syaoran realized Meiling could fight extremely dirty when
100 she wanted to. The revelation was both exciting and frightening at the same time. He decided to
101 push that away for the moment. “I'd... rather not piss off Fanren if I can help it. She's still
102 my big sister. If we can resolve it without her hating me for the rest of my life, I'm happier.
103 Besides, it all seemed to get resolved when you threw in with me. She didn't want to have to
104 argue with both of us.”
105
106 “If you say so. She'll have to get used to you being in charge sooner or
107 later, no matter how much older she is,” Meiling stated. Her arms spread out like wings, keeping
108 her balance despite the increasingly harsh sea wind.
109
110 A part of Syaoran's mind flinched at the thought. Fanren was his eldest sister. Memories of his
111 older sisters dressing him in their old clothes, going through their makeup to make him look like
112 their pretty little sister, their personal dress up doll, made his cheeks turn a light shade of
113 crimson. The thought of threatening Fanren with the knowledge of her many lovers seemed
114 impossible in the light of those memories. She was still his older sister. He'd always be the
115 baby to her, which was why it was so hard for her to entirely defer to him. But at least Fanren
116 had given in with Meiling's help. The thought of trying to force his fiery older sister to submit
117 in any situation didn't strike him as pleasant. Whereas his mother had an icy strength to her,
118 Fanren's spirit was fiery. He liked to think that he himself held his mother's reserve of ice
119 cold strength, but he couldn't be entirely sure.
120
121 “....ting engaged soon. He's from that Chang family. That one with all the scholars? I hear
122 they've got some magic in the family, too. So I guess it makes sense,” Meiling was finishing, a
123 few paces ahead of Syaoran by now. The wind continued to play with her hair, sending the pigtails
124 trailing behind her, almost far enough out for Syaoran to reach if he tried.
125
126 “Hmm?” Syaoran gathered himself, looking up to his slightly younger cousin. Thoughts swirled in a
127 fragmented pattern as they tried to piece themselves back together. What had she been saying? A
128 touch of anxiety began eating at him. He quashed it immediately. If there was anything he hated
129 with a passion, it was fear. He never wanted to fear, to worry, again. Such a feeling was
130 unfitting someone of his post. But all the same, Meiling's next words left him shaken.
131
132 “What are
133 you going to do when I'm not here to force you out of your thoughts? You'll never go do anything
134 fun. I'm the one who drags you out to go dancing or to see movies or even to go to the park.
135 You're hopeless.” The smile on her lips didn't meet her eyes as she walked backwards along the
136 fence, eyeing her onetime fiancee. “I'm getting married,” she said after a brief pause. She
137 hurried before Syaoran could respond. “I'm my mother's oldest daughter and I'm unmarried. Mom
138 doesn't have as many kids as your mother has, so she can't afford to squander her bargaining
139 chips. She's been looking for someone for me to marry for a while now. To 'bolster the strength
140 of the Li Clan' is how she put it, I think.” Another shrug of her athletic shoulders. “It got to
141 the point where she began to arrange my marriage to the only son of the Chang family. I think
142 we're getting married in August.”
143
144 “But... you can't!” His voice wasn't as controlled as he wanted it to be. When upset or angry, he
145 still lost a bit of that vital control he longed for. His voice had come out harsh, too harsh.
146 Too... afraid? No, it was Meiling's life. It didn't concern him. Maybe it was that she was
147 getting married off. But hadn't she always been in a situation where she would be married off?
148 First him and now this Chang boy. His stomach clenched at the thought of this person taking away
149 his... best friend. Another realization. Meiling was his best friend. Perhaps his only friend.
150 And she was being taken away from him. Fear and anger and frustration all threatened, crashing
151 like stormy waves against the walls of control he had so diligently crafted. Now he wasn't so
152 sure they would hold. His mind raced desperately for a way to solve the problem. “You don't have
153 to have an arranged marriage. I stepped out of mine. I told mother I was going to be with
154 Sakura.” As soon as it was out of his mouth, he immediately regretted it. In an unspoken pact, he
155 and Meiling rarely discussed his love life with Sakura. Meiling didn't want to hear about it,
156 didn't want to think about it. And this scenario was infinitely worse. He had stepped out of his
157 engagement to Meiling in order to be with Sakura. Unlike himself, Meiling had not wanted to end
158 their engagement.
159
160 Amber eyes that would be beautiful in almost any light got incredibly frosty in the blink of an
161 eye. Though Syaoran couldn't tell what had changed about Meiling's posture or demeanor, her aura
162 was much, much crisper now, matching the biting wind that had risen. “This is political. The
163 family is strengthened from my marriage to the heir to the Chang Clan. And, whether you want to
164 believe it or not, you being with Sakura is also political. You want to know why your mother
165 didn't put up so much as an argument for why you couldn't be with her? Because she's the
166 Cardmistress. She has the book that belonged to our ancestor. Having you marry her, to bring both
167 her magic and her Sakura Cards back into our family, is the next best thing to if you had managed
168 to get the Cards in the first place.” Turning to look forward, she continued to walk briskly
169 along the stone fence. Syaoran had to hurry to keep up. “So my mother probably wouldn't care even
170 if I told her I 'didn't want to' marry him. And I have no reason not to marry him.”
171
172 Continuing on
173 in silence for a moment, the sounds of the street beneath his shoes sounded distant and false.
174 Not only had he lost his precious control for a brief moment, but he had also hurt Meiling with a
175 stupid comment he should have known better than to let slip out of his mouth. “Do you love him?”
176 It took all his effort to make the question sound casual, to keep it from revealing how concerned
177 he was for its answer. If she didn't have a reason to not marry him, then maybe...
178
179 “No. I haven't even met him. But what do I have to wait around for? Your sisters are starting to
180 get married off. My brother's already engaged. I don't want to be the only daughter sitting
181 around here like a dusty old maid. Then what? I get to sit around and watch you and Sakura get
182 married and have kids while I sit at home? At least I'm doing the family some good by marrying
183 him. I don't have to like him to have his kids. Who knows. Maybe I'll fall for him.” The last was
184 mean and she knew it. Part of her still wanted to make him jealous. The rest of her was just
185 tired and lonely and exhausted. The love she held for Syaoran had blossomed when she had been a
186 small child. The seedling had grown into something that filled her entire being. And yet, the
187 past few years she had watched him in love with another. Never once had he seen her crying over
188 him, tearry eyed in her bed, wishing they had never gone to Japan. She had waited and hoped that
189 maybe, just maybe, he would eventually choose her. But now that seemed unlikely. She would never
190 love anyone the way she loved Syaoran, but she wouldn't sit and wait like an old pet.
191
192 There was nothing he could say at this point. Words would fail him and he knew it. They had never
193 been his strong point anyway. Almost all of their arguments were won by Meiling because of that.
194 But he felt incredibly empty as he watched her ahead of him.
195
196 Hopping off the low fence, Meiling landed lightly in her sandals. “I need to get home to help
197 mother for the preparations. I'll stop by tomorrow to see how things are going. Goodnight,
198 Syaoran.” With that, she left, not bothering to look back over her shoulder.
199
200 “Goodnight, Meiling.” The words were not enough and they sounded tiny and irrelevant in his ears.
201 The hollow, empty sounds plagued him as he watched her receding back. He should have said
202 something, done something to make it better. Instead, he had succeeded only in sticking his foot
203 in his mouth. He was about to lose his best friend to some boy she didn't even know because of
204 the family honor he had devoted his life to. He felt weak. The support for everything he had
205 built was suddenly slipping away. He would be strong enough on his own, wouldn't he? Without her,
206 he could still handle it, right? Doubts nagged at him, doubts he had long suppressed. The girl he
207 had long depended on without realizing was suddenly getting ready to leave. And there was nothing
208 he could do about it.
209
210 “Fuck!!” Fist cracked against stone in a battle that was shortlived. Pain
211 crackling through his knuckles, Syaoran hoped Meiling had been far enough away not to hear him.
212 He hit the stone again. And again. He didn't want to let her go. It was like losing the one
213 pillar he had to keep things together. But it wasn't his choice to make.
214
215 Slumping against the wall, he slid down into a sitting position. 'Don't go, Meiling,' he wanted
216 to say. 'Stay with me,' his younger voice pleaded. Tears built in his eyes, damned tears he had
217 long thought dried out. His sisters had been playing with him again, something he had always
218 loved when he was a child. They'd dressed him up in their most beautiful old clothes, made him as
219 pretty as any young girl his age, and had played with him all afternoon. And then his mother had
220 come. His mother never told his sisters to leave him alone back then, never scolded them for
221 playing with him in such ways. She simply sent them away. It was time for some of Syaoran's
222 lessons. He had to learn to be strong. He had to learn to be a man because he would one day lead
223 the Li Clan. And his older sisters all bowed to their mother and made their hasty retreat.
224 Leaving him with his mother's cold, disapproving glare. That glare was so different from the
225 smiles and giggles of his sisters as they played with him. He hated it. And he had begged his
226 fleeing sisters to stay. To not leave him alone with those cold, disappointed eyes. But they
227 always left. And he was always alone with her. Fighting his dragons. Trying to be the man his
228 mother demanded him to be. And now, when he was fighting again for control of the Li Clan, the
229 brilliant smile and light that Meiling bestowed upon him was about to flee. And he knew he would
230 be left in darkness again. 'Don't go...' his voice from years long gone cried out. Sakura. He
231 still had Sakura. Pulling out his cell phone, her number was speed dialed in seconds.
232
233 Trrrrrrriiiiil. Trrrrrrrrrrrriiiil. Trrr.... “Hello?” Her soft voice was still as bright and warm
234 as it had been when he had fallen for her as a child. “Hello? Syaoran?”
235
236 “Sakura...” His voice was
237 steady, calm, and for that he was glad. His earlier signs of weakness had been erased. He barely
238 felt the tears trickling down his cheeks. He was in control again.
239
240 “Syaoran! How are you? I was
241 just talking to Tomoyo-chan about you.” A pause. “I miss you.”
242
243 “Mmm... I miss you, too. I'm fine.”
244 His voice was sounding better by the minute. “Just wanted to check up on you. How've things been
245 going?”
246
247 “Oh, they're fine. We've finally got everything moved in. Oh, Syaoran, you should see the place!
248 It's so cute! I really, really have to thank Sonomi-san for finding us such a nice place. And
249 it's really close to the campus, too, kind of between my campus and Tomoyo's. I still have to
250 take the tram, but... well, I could take the limo that Sonomi has take Tomoyo-chan to school, but
251 then I'd feel even guiltier. I mean, she already got this place for us. Hoe... I need to find a
252 way to thank her. Can you think of anything?” Sakura finally paused for a breath.
253
254 “No,
255 nothing.”
256
257 “Well, I'll have to think of something.” Then, away from the phone. “Yeah, right there
258 is fine, Tomoyo-chan.” Back to the phone. “You really should come out soon, Syaoran. It's such a
259 nice place. The view at night is gorgeous. Tomoyo-chan and I stayed up last night and the city
260 looks so beautiful. It's lit up like a thousand different stars. The cars look like little
261 shooting stars under us.”
262
263 “Yeah, I'd like that, Sakura. Maybe I can check it out soon.”
264
265 “Really?
266 I'd love that, Syaoran. It's been so long. It'd be so great to see you again.” Sakura sighed
267 softly, the sigh she always gave when she was lonely. He got it a lot on their phone calls.
268
269 “I'll try to see what I can do, then,” he promised.
270
271 “Thanks, Syaoran,” her cheerful voice responded. “Ack... I have to go now. Tomoyo-chan needs my
272 help to move something. Well, she didn't say she needs my help, but you know how skinny and
273 fragile she is. She's trying to lift it herself, but....” Away from the phone, he can still hear
274 her voice. “Tomoyo-chan, let me help you with that. You're going to get hurt if you try to carry
275 that by yourself.” Pulling the phone to her ear, her voice was clear again. “We sent the
276 bodyguards her mother had sent home after they helped get everything up to the apartment. We
277 didn't want them to have to wait for us to figure out how we want the layout.”
278
279 “Go
280 ahead and help Daidouji. I'll call you later.”
281
282 “Syaoan, I hope I can see you soon,” Sakura said,
283 her voice a lot whisper.“Me too, Sakura-chan.” Maybe if she were near, he could stave off this
284 collapse. And then the phone went silent as he let it turn off.Nothing was better. Icy tears
285 rolled down his cheeks as the wind got more and more violently, making the leaves scractch
286 against anything like distant, insane laughter. No one heard the cries in his head. Or perhaps
287 they didn't care. Nonetheless, he was left all alone in the cold.
288
289 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
290
291 “And that one? Does it have a name?” After all of her years as the head of a large toy company,
292 Sonomi Daidouji still managed to hold onto an almost childlike glee at times. Her harshly cut
293 diagonal hairstyle and her business suit seemed at odds with the thin violet bow she had tied
294 around her neck. She was, as her employees would attest, eccentric. As Tomoyo would be quick to
295 add, she was also an extremely caring woman. Like a lioness, she would care for her cubs with the
296 utmost care. But if ever any harm threatened one of her love ones, she would sink her claws in
297 faster than the blink of an eye.
298
299 Currently, the brunette was in one of her former moods, as she often was when around her lovely
300 daughter. The particular business they were doing could have been delegated to others, but Sonomi
301 hadn't assigned anyone to that particular task yet, so she had decided to do it herself. It was
302 well known that she was the hardest worker at Daidouji Toys. And since she was never one to miss
303 out on time she could spend with her daughter, Tomoyo, she had dragged her daughter along.
304
305 “Yes,
306 this one is to an Inaka Tsushimoto,” Tomoyo soft, singsong voice replied, reading off the list.
307 “It's one of the working toy camcorders. It fits with the hobbies she listed. I think she'll like
308 it.” The pale girl smiled beautifuly when she looked up, a sight that always stunned her mother
309 for a second or two. Tomoyo bore a stunning resemblence to the late love of Sonomi's life.
310
311 “I'm sure she will,” Sonomi replied, pulling up the next box. They were getting toys ready for
312 delivery to a children's hospital. Children's hospitals were not an unfamiliar sight to the elder
313 Daidouji woman. Her cousin, Nadeshiko, ever accident-prone and always eager to try anything,
314 despite the danger involved, mixed with a weak constitution to begin with, sat in the small
315 hospital beds more times than Sonomi would like to count. But being her protective older cousin,
316 Sonomi had always been there, sometimes staying the night with Nadeshiko when they would let her.
317 'I don't want Nadeshiko-chan to stay here alone,' she had once told her mother. 'She'll get bad
318 dreams.' And so Sonomi had stayed to protect her darling cousin from the specter of bad dreams.
319 'The shot doesn't hurt so bad, but I don't like to look at it,' Nadeshiko had once told her, eyes
320 tearing up even as she smiled, holding onto Sonomi's hand with a death grip as the doctor gave
321 her the injection. Sonomi's hand tightened on the box reflexively, almost thinking she would find
322 her small cousin's hand in her grip. But as had been the case for too many years now, it wasn't
323 so.
324
325 Nowadays, Sonomi seldom had occasion to be in a hospital setting herself. She was incredibly
326 healthy and her daughter was reasonably so. Thought somewhat frail looking, Tomoyo wasn't plagued
327 by the sicknesses that had occasionally haunted Nadeshiko. For that, Sonomi was grateful. But
328 nonetheless, Sonomi still had an attachment to the small children locked away in those hospital
329 rooms, many without loving older cousins to look out for them, getting shots that looked worse
330 than they felt. So the businesswoman wished to take away a small measure of that pain. In a way,
331 she was still searching for Nadeshiko, or the memory of the other girl, at any rate.
332
333 “Sakura-chan loves the appartment. She wanted me to thank you for her. She bowed cutely many
334 times and said she'd do anything at all to make it up to you,” Tomoyo said excitedly, her stormy
335 blue eyes sparkling the way they often did when she spoke of Sakura. “I believe her words when
336 she first saw the appartment were 'Hoe... It's so beautiful! We have to give it back to
337 Sonomi-san! I can never pay her back for this!' There was lots of cute gesticulating and general
338 Sakura-chan cuteness, but I'd need to give you the videotape to show it all accurately.”
339
340 A warm laugh escaped the older woman. Sakura made her happy in two ways. The first was that
341 Sakura was the daughter of the woman she loved, and through Sakura, Sonomi could she glimpses of
342 her dear Nadeshiko. The second was that Sakura made her daughter deliriously happy, which was
343 always a wonderful sight for the elder Daidouji woman to behold. “Anything, huh? Then she'll
344 finally marry you?”
345
346 “Mother,” Tomoyo chided gently, still going through the list she held,
347 checking boxes. “Sakura-chan is still dating Li-kun.”
348
349 “Hmph... I never liked that boy,” Sonomi
350 said, frowning. Pulling another box closer, she began to wrap it, expertly tying a ribbon onto
351 the present. A present to a girl who didn't have any idea who she was. She hoped the girl would
352 smile. “Then how about a day... two days...” She shook her head, smiling as she decided. “A week
353 of passionate sex for my daughter. If Sakura-chan's dating that boy, she could at least make up
354 for it by making you come into my office with a great, big smile. But you have to tell me how she
355 moans. She's Nadeshiko-chan's daughter, after all.”
356
357 “She moans very cutely,” Tomoyo stated
358 matter-of-factly. “Very soft and cute and in little sounds now and then. As if they just bubble
359 out.” Her mother raised an eyebrow, wondering how Tomoyo was privy to such information. The
360 heiress smiled. “Sakura-chan thinks about her boyfriend sometimes. I just happen to be near
361 enough to hear what happens.” Of course, that sometimes took some doing, but it wasn't past the
362 lavender haired girl. Going back to her list, she shakes her head slightly, her hair swishing
363 about. “I think by 'repaying you', Sakura-chan doesn't mean 'sleep with your daughter'.”
364
365 “Well,
366 then what does she mean?” Sonomi asked, sounding mock stern. Tomoyo's giggle undid her facade and
367 she couldn't help but smile herself. Yawning, Sonomi stretched, letting her weary eyes fall
368 closed for a moment. She'd worked past a full day at her normal job alone. Now she and Tomoyo had
369 been at the office for half the night already.
370
371 Watching her mother for a moment, the lavender haired girl tapped her pen against her lips
372 thoughtfully. “You really should get some rest, mother. You work yourself too hard. If you keep
373 this up, you'll be joining Nadeshiko-san too soon and Sakura-chan and I will both miss you too
374 much.”
375
376 If there was one thing that made her life worth living, it was certainly her daughter. And having
377 Sakura and Tomoyo so close after all these years was almost like having two daughters. 'Our
378 daughters,' she sometimes thought, gazing at her portrait of Nadeshiko. “Someone has to get all
379 this done. Everyone here is too busy to do our charity work as well as their normal work but the
380 charity work is too off and on for me to hire full time help to do it.”
381
382 Another thoughtful look
383 from Tomoyo before the pale girl commented. “I can do it for you. I know your office well enough
384 and you can trust me with handling the charity. You can give me clearance to get whatever toys or
385 items we need for the different charities and I can get them all together. I'm a student, so I
386 can't work full time, but I have enough time to devote to the charity.”
387
388 The older woman rolled the
389 idea over in her head before shaking it. “You couldn't handle it by yourself. It's taking the two
390 of us to get through it all, Tomoyo-chan. You'd be exhausted by the end of the first night. Then
391 I'd have to drag you home to bed and fire my precious little girl just so she'd get some sleep.”
392 Tomoyo nodded, having already thought of that. “Then Sakura-chan can help me. You and I have
393 managed to handle most of the charity between the two of us. I can take over for you. I know it
394 well enough. I've been helping since you started it. And Sakura-chan and I make a good team. We
395 can handle it. Sakura-chan feels guilty that you got her such a nice appartment. She can pay you
396 off by working for you on the charity. It gets her job experience and she'll feel a lot better
397 about the appartment.”
398
399 Leaning back in her chair, the businesswoman considered. A small grin
400 played across her face. “Then I get to see the two of you more, too, if you're working here, even
401 if it is only part time. All right. Tell Sakura-chan about it later. If she agrees, you two can
402 get started tomorrow. For now,” Sonomi stretched, yawning. “Go home and get some sleep,
403 Tomoyo-chan.”
404
405
406 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
407
408 “Thank you so much, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura hugged her friend tightly for the third time, wearing
409 only her green pajama top. “I'd love to work for Sonomi-san! I felt so bad about her letting me
410 stay in this nice place.” Her sweatdrop lasts only a moment before she smiles happily again. “Now
411 I can finally repay her for all of the kindness she's shown me.”
412
413 Returning the smile, Tomoyo stood
414 calmly in the dress she'd returned from Daidouji Toys in. “Mother practically sees you as family,
415 Sakura-chan. She wants to make sure you're happy. You're very special to her. You're very special
416 to many people.” Granted, Sonomi would rather have Sakura as a daughter-in-law than a daughter,
417 but Tomoyo decided to leave that fact out.Sakura turned about, looking back towards her room.
418 Soft, light blue panties peaked out from under the pajama top as Sakura raised a hand to her
419 chin, thinking. Tomoyo continued to smile her patented smile, wishing she had her camcorder. It
420 was in her room on her bedside table, right where she'd left it. Damn.
421
422 Her arms dropping
423 dramatically, Sakura sighed miserably. “Hoe... I don't have any business clothes. I'll look so
424 out of place at Sonomi-san's business.”
425
426 “You'll look fine in whatever you wear, Sakura-chan.
427 Mother will probably just worry that your beauty will distract the staff.” Tomoyo shrugged
428 lightly, her dark hair shifting over her shoulders.
429
430 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura laughed nervously,
431 rubbing the back of her head. She had known Tomoyo for well over a decade. Despite having heard
432 well over a million flattering comments from the pale heiress in the time she had known her,
433 Sakura still got flustered every time. She was starting to think she'd never entirely get used to
434 it. Deciding to put it aside for now, as she had so often in the past, she changed the subject.
435 “So tomorrow's our first day? I should get an outfit ready. This is my first job. Maybe I should
436 call onii-chan and ask what you do the first day. But then he might lie and I'll do something
437 stupid. Grrrr... Maybe I could ask Yukito to hit him if he lies. Only Yukito-san would never hit
438 onii-chan, even though he really should sometimes because...” Light fingers on her cheeks slowed
439 down Sakura's thoughts, bringing her back to the present, her anxiety spun through her like a
440 spiders web. Tomoyo's soothing, stormy blue eyes met her own shining emeralds, her friend's
441 incredibly soft fingers cupping her cheeks. And for a moment, Sakura was breathless, her heart
442 still pounding a thousand miles a minute, but her thoughts tapering off into
443 nothingness.
444
445 “Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo began softly. “Breath.” She didn't start again until she saw
446 that Sakura was taking in air through her lips once more. “You're not going in for an interview.
447 My mother has known you for almost as long as I have. And she loves you almost as much as I do.
448 She's happy that you're working for her. You don't need to wear anything to impress her and you
449 don't need to do anything special at all. You're special enough the way you are. Just be you.
450 That's all anyone wants.”
451
452 Sometimes Sakura wondered if Tomoyo would kiss her. It was a dumb
453 thought, she told herself, and something she shouldn't be thinking, but at moments like this, it
454 resonated in her head. She had learned years ago when they were teenagers that her best friend
455 was in love with her. Though she could be dense, and even Sakura knew that she could be, Tomoyo
456 couldn't keep her feelings a secret forever. An embarrassing revelation for Sakura, but not one
457 she couldn't accept and move on with. Tomoyo was Tomoyo. And when she stopped and thought about
458 it, Tomoyo being in love with her didn't change anything about that. In a way, it just shed light
459 on so much that Sakura hadn't understood before. Tomoyo's devotion to her took on a new light. In
460 many ways, nothing had changed. Sakura merely had a name for Tomoyo's affection for her. In other
461 ways, Sakura was now accutely aware of her best friend's feelings. No longer afraid of Sakura
462 finding out, Tomoyo had become more and more generous in how she went about showing her
463 affection. No longer confined to vague statements and showings of her love, the lavender haired
464 girl could now outright tell her, or show her. It was embarrassing, but Sakura had accepted it as
465 she always had Tomoyo affection. With lots of stammering and blushes. Despite being perfectly
466 open about her love for the Cardmistress, Tomoyo never once tried to get between Sakura and
467 Syaoran. And that puzzled Sakura to some extent. And at times like this, when Tomoyo was so
468 close, so soft, so.... so very Tomoyo, Sakura wondered why Tomoyo didn't kiss her. Why her
469 beautiful best friend didn't take the kiss she so obviously wanted.Tomoyo's hands were gone and
470 Sakura was blushing now, hoping she hadn't looked too goofy for the past moment, staring wide
471 eyed at her best friend. “I know, Tomoyo-chan,” she stated quickly. “I just want everything to go
472 perfectly. It's my first job and I really don't want to disappoint Sonomi-san. She's been so
473 wonderful to me.”
474
475 Smiling softly, the pale girl nodded. Sakura was always so cute when she was
476 hyper. Which was most of the time. Sakura's emotions were to Tomoyo like vibrant colors to an
477 artist or musical notes to a musician, a feast for the sensations. Living with Sakura, being so
478 near her, it was like living inside your favorite painting, enveloped in the colors or lost in
479 the music. Sakura's emotions hit like a tsunami, and Tomoyo loved to stand outside and let it
480 wash over her. “You'll do fine, Sakura-chan. It's just you and me and the charity comittee. We'll
481 be putting it together in our spare time after classes. We've been working together for years.
482 It's the same thing. It's just that this time we're trying to bring miracles to people who need
483 them.”
484
485 “Miracles?” That sounded nice. When all was said and done, Sakura had caught the Cards
486 because it was her duty. Because she had to stop the Catastrophe. But she had't really been able
487 to make anything better because of it, she had only kept things from getting worse. Now she was
488 the world's most powerful magician and, as Kero told her, she 'didn't do anything fun' with her
489 magic. The chance to actually help people sounded like a welcome change. She nodded swiftly.
490 “Hai! We'll bring all sorts of miracles, Tomoyo-chan!”
491
492 Taking Sakura's hands, the lavender haired
493 girl squeezed them in her own. “I knew you'd want to, Sakura-chan. We'll do even more than mother
494 expected. We'll do more than give a few gifts to those in need here and there. We'll bring
495 miracles to all sorts of people. We'll be shooting stars for people to wish on. A pair of
496 shootings stars high up in the sky.”
497
498 The imagery sounded beautiful to Sakura. It seemed fitting
499 that she and Tomoyo would be partners in this. Working with Tomoyo always comforted her. No
500 matter how hard things got, she knew she could count on her best friend. So it sounded perfect
501 that she would be going into her new job with Tomoyo by her side.
502
503 “For now, though, Sakura-chan should get some sleep. You have a test tomorrow that I hope you
504 were studying for while I was gone and then we need to head to work to pick up everything,”
505 Tomoyo said, slowly letting go of Sakura's hands.
506
507 The brunette nodded slowly. “Yeah, if I can get
508 any sleep.” She was far too excited about the new events to be able to shut off her mind for
509 sleep. She had hoped to study with Tomoyo a bit for her test the next day, but that thought was
510 lost to her. Despite the fact that they went to different Universities, Sakura having not quite
511 made it into Tokyo University with her incredibly intelligent and perceptive friend, she still
512 felt more at ease when Tomoyo helped her study. For now, that would have to wait.
513
514 “That's all
515 right. I don't think I'll be able to sleep, either. I'll have visions of Sakura-chan clad in
516 nothing but panties all night long.” Turning to head to her room, Tomoyo sighed dreamily with not
517 a sound of distress. Cheeks burning a brilliant rouge, Sakura watched Tomoyo's elegant form
518 walking away from her.
519
520 “I'm wearing a shirt,” she squeaked in self-defense.
521
522 “Not in my dreams,
523 you're not,” Tomoyo replied before she disappeared into her room for the night.