Mercurial > moonlitnights
comparison old/stories/ccs-whatis.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights
[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
| author | rlm |
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| date | Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500 |
| parents | |
| children |
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| 1:dbe144217c71 | 2:fc00894c1d4a |
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| 1 Author’s notes: Hello! ^-^ I’m sorry this took so long. ^^;; I’d | |
| 2 wanted to write this for a while, so I’m glad to have finally written | |
| 3 it. ^-^ It’s basically a chance for me to show two ideas that have | |
| 4 been on my mind a lot lately. The first is that Tomoyo would love | |
| 5 Sakura no matter what, because her love is so sweet and pure. I think | |
| 6 she’s a lesbian, yes, but I think she would love Sakura even if | |
| 7 Sakura were a boy. Her love isn’t just a trivial thing. And the | |
| 8 second thing is that I think most of Sakura’s denseness about Tomoyo | |
| 9 lies in the fact that she plays into her gender role. Sakura can be | |
| 10 incredibly naïve about things, especially Tomoyo’s feelings for her. | |
| 11 For Sakura, she knows that boys get with girls and girls get with | |
| 12 boys. Because it’s just the way things work. She has no problem with | |
| 13 it when it doesn’t work that way like with Yukito and Touya, but she | |
| 14 doesn’t realize that she could love a girl, hence why she never | |
| 15 realizes Tomoyo’s perfect for her. ^^;; But anyway, I think that | |
| 16 would be different if she were a boy because she would see very early | |
| 17 on that Tomoyo was a potential love interest. Anyway, that’s enough | |
| 18 of my rambling. ^-^;; I’ve been having a lot of trouble lately, so | |
| 19 I’ve been writing this in the meantime. If you have any comments, I | |
| 20 would love to hear them. ^-^ Thank you! Oh, and I modeled the end | |
| 21 after the episodes of the series, right down to the Kero-chan’s | |
| 22 Corner and the Next Episode spot. ^-^;;; I just thought it would be | |
| 23 fun to add. ^-^ | |
| 24 | |
| 25 | |
| 26 What is Love | |
| 27 by the Amazoness Duo | |
| 28 amazonessduo@hotmail.com | |
| 29 | |
| 30 | |
| 31 | |
| 32 Cherry blossoms swirled about above the ground as if dancing to a | |
| 33 tune that only they could hear. A single auburn haired boy moved | |
| 34 along to the silent music as he made his way to school, skating along | |
| 35 gracefully. Skidding in a slow circle, he continued backwards for a | |
| 36 moment. There was something about the morning that made him feel | |
| 37 peaceful inside. School couldn’t dampen his spirits any. How could it | |
| 38 when it meant he’d get to see his friends and play soccer that | |
| 39 afternoon? And, of course, she would be there. A light blush crossed | |
| 40 his cheeks at the thought. He tried to force it away but he couldn’t | |
| 41 help it. “Hanyaan...” he sighed happily to himself. She always made | |
| 42 school worthwhile. She made everything seem worthwhile. Even the | |
| 43 crazy costumes she made him wear. But if it made her happy, he’d | |
| 44 gladly wear whatever she wanted. | |
| 45 Smiling to himself, Sakura hurried with renewed determination to | |
| 46 reach school, ignoring his dancing namesake along the way. School was | |
| 47 a much more pleasant experience when a pretty girl was waiting for | |
| 48 you. His hands on the straps of his backpack, Sakura skidded towards | |
| 49 the large gates. “Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura called brightly, | |
| 50 slowing to a stop near his friend. | |
| 51 “Ohayo, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo replied, smiling her trademark smile. | |
| 52 “A perfect arrival, as usual. The girls must all be thrilled with | |
| 53 Sakura-chan’s cute and cool arrival.” | |
| 54 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura blushed and rubbed the back of his head, | |
| 55 averting his gaze. Why did she have to say so many embarrassing | |
| 56 things all the time? He should get used to it, but she always managed | |
| 57 to embarrass him anyway. Ignoring that for the moment, he glanced | |
| 58 back at the pale girl to see what hairstyle she had for the day. Her | |
| 59 hair was done up in two highly decorated pigtails, blue ribbons | |
| 60 adorning them. One pigtail fell in front of her while the other lay | |
| 61 draped over her backpack. Absolutely beautiful. Smiling and blushing | |
| 62 faintly, Sakura slowly skated alongside his friend towards the front | |
| 63 doors. | |
| 64 “Sakura-chan looks so cute like that,” Tomoyo said with a sigh, a | |
| 65 hand resting on her cheek. “I got some more videotape last night. | |
| 66 Would you mind letting me videotape you some more later?” she asked | |
| 67 eagerly. | |
| 68 Sakura sweatdropped at his eccentric friend’s enthusiasm. “Sure, I | |
| 69 guess. But I don’t know why you’d want to videotape me. You should | |
| 70 really videotape something a little more interesting.” | |
| 71 “But there isn’t anything more interesting or more handsome than | |
| 72 Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo smiled brightly, a slight blush on her cheeks as | |
| 73 she looked off distantly. She could see Sakura looking around in | |
| 74 embarrassment, but that only served to spur her on. He looked so cute | |
| 75 when he was embarrassed. If only she could catch that on video. Oh | |
| 76 well, there was always next time. “I have the cutest costume for you, | |
| 77 too. I can’t wait to see you try it on. My inspiration for this one | |
| 78 was seeing you waving at those penguins at the zoo.” Seeing Sakura | |
| 79 blink in response, Tomoyo continued. “Sakura-chan will make the | |
| 80 cutest penguin.” ‘There,’ the pale girl thought to herself happily as | |
| 81 Sakura shook his arms, his embarrassment growing. Tomoyo simply | |
| 82 sighed delightedly as she continued towards her locker. | |
| 83 “Hoe... A penguin?” Sakura sighed in defeat. He had learned long | |
| 84 ago that it was pointless to argue about the costumes. Tomoyo knew | |
| 85 him far too well. The pale girl easily got him to wear whatever she | |
| 86 wanted him to. Besides, he’d worn worse than a penguin costume | |
| 87 before. And at least he wouldn’t be capturing Cards in this one. And | |
| 88 Tomoyo would be the only one to see it, so it wouldn’t be that big a | |
| 89 deal. “When do you want me to come over?” he asked, getting over his | |
| 90 initial shock swiftly. | |
| 91 “After soccer practice would be nice. You’ll probably be tired | |
| 92 after that, so I’ll call and make sure the limousine’s ready. I | |
| 93 already brought a fresh videotape to catch your soccer game today, so | |
| 94 I’ll record everything on the new tape. From Sakura-chan darting | |
| 95 across the field in his handsome soccer uniform to Sakura playing by | |
| 96 the poolside in his cute penguin costume, I will catch every precious | |
| 97 moment on videotape, and seal it all forever in my heart.” Tomoyo | |
| 98 tilted her head to the side, starry eyed. Today was already turning | |
| 99 out to be a wonderful day. She always loved going to Sakura’s soccer | |
| 100 games. She never really cared what was happening in the game itself. | |
| 101 Her eyes never left the auburn haired boy on the field anyway. It was | |
| 102 just fun to watch him with such determination, running all about. It | |
| 103 was much the same when she got to watch him capture Cards, though | |
| 104 that was even more fun because Sakura got to double as a life-sized | |
| 105 doll to dress up as well. But not only did she get to record his | |
| 106 soccer game, but she would also get to dress him up in her newest | |
| 107 costume. Tomoyo got out her books in a state of bliss. | |
| 108 “If you say so, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said quickly, a hand behind | |
| 109 his head. Tomoyo had him wrapped around her little finger and he knew | |
| 110 it. But what could he do about it? Not that he wanted to do anything | |
| 111 about it anyway. He was very comfortable this way. Even if Tomoyo did | |
| 112 delight in making him blush. “Oh, good morning, Li-kun!” Sakura waved | |
| 113 brightly to his perpetually scowling rival. He was happy to be | |
| 114 friends with the other boy now, though Syaoran was very difficult to | |
| 115 get close to. The other boy blushed and went the other way in a | |
| 116 hurry. “Hmm... I wonder what’s wrong with Li-kun. I hope he’s not | |
| 117 sick.” | |
| 118 Giggling next to her naïve friend, Tomoyo smiled sweetly. “Sakura- | |
| 119 chan’s so handsome and cool that even the boys like him,” she | |
| 120 explained, watching her cute friend intently with her lavender eyes. | |
| 121 Sakura simply blinked in confusion at her statement. “Maybe I’ll tell | |
| 122 Sakura-chan when he’s older,” she said reassuringly as she hoisted up | |
| 123 her backpack. | |
| 124 “Let me get that for you, Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura said quickly after | |
| 125 shaking off his confusion. He took Tomoyo’s backpack, following her | |
| 126 to class. The dark haired girl always looked so fragile, so petite. | |
| 127 So Sakura was happy to carry her bags for her. Tomoyo was like a | |
| 128 beautiful princess, kind and sweet to everyone, especially Sakura. | |
| 129 And princesses shouldn’t have to worry about things like bookbags. | |
| 130 “Thank you, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said in her pretty, singsong | |
| 131 voice. Walking slowly, she made her way to class. If the athletic boy | |
| 132 noticed her slowed pace, he didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to | |
| 133 miss a moment of his presence. | |
| 134 | |
| 135 Pulling on the shirt of his soccer uniform, Sakura looked down at | |
| 136 the gym bag next to him. Inside was a beautifully crafted pink and | |
| 137 violet teddy bear. It was Sakura’s good luck charm. He picked up the | |
| 138 small teddy bear and held it close. It still smelled of lavenders, | |
| 139 just like Tomoyo. Sighing softly, the Master of the Cards closed his | |
| 140 eyes. Tomoyo had given him this lovely gift several weeks ago. He had | |
| 141 taken it with him to every one of his games sense, and kept it with | |
| 142 him in bed every night. He was almost worried that it would start to | |
| 143 get frayed if he kept that up. But he wanted it there with him | |
| 144 wherever he went. It was his most precious gift, something that was | |
| 145 very dear to him. He had treasured it from the instant Tomoyo had | |
| 146 given it to him. | |
| 147 The myth of the teddy bears kept coming back to Sakura when he | |
| 148 would think about the little teddy bear. He had heard that if you | |
| 149 made a teddy bear and gave it to the person you liked, then if they | |
| 150 named it after you, you would both fall in love. It was a very cute | |
| 151 myth, and something he had heard Tomoyo explain before. So did that | |
| 152 mean this was for that purpose? Just in case, Sakura had immediately | |
| 153 named it after the pale girl. So her little teddy bear, Tomoyo, was | |
| 154 with her whenever her best friend, Tomoyo, couldn’t be. But was their | |
| 155 truth to the myth? | |
| 156 Sakura had been trying to ask Tomoyo out for the past week. But | |
| 157 every time he wanted to, he lost the nerve. He could talk to Tomoyo | |
| 158 about anything, but seeing her smile so prettily and asking what he | |
| 159 wanted to talk about always made him nervous when he was about to ask | |
| 160 her. What would she say? Did she like him? Well, that one kind of | |
| 161 seemed a given with how she talked about him. Actually, he was pretty | |
| 162 sure of that. And that gave him some courage to ask Tomoyo, but he | |
| 163 still couldn’t quite figure out what to say. She always had such | |
| 164 faith in him. What if it sounded stupid? Or worse, what if he | |
| 165 couldn’t get it out at all? He wanted to tell her how he felt before | |
| 166 someone else did, but he didn’t know how. | |
| 167 Sighing, Sakura placed his teddy bear back in his gym bag. Emerald | |
| 168 eyes sparkling determinedly, Sakura hurried towards the field. Tomoyo | |
| 169 would be watching, so he had to try his hardest for her. And then, | |
| 170 tonight, maybe he could tell her that he liked her. Besides, Tomoyo | |
| 171 was always there supporting him. She would help him through it, no | |
| 172 matter how nervous he could get looking into those stormy blue eyes. | |
| 173 Vowing to himself that he would tell Tomoyo that night, he ran the | |
| 174 rest of the way to the soccer field. | |
| 175 | |
| 176 “Sakura-chan looks so cute!!” Tomoyo squealed delightedly as she | |
| 177 zoomed in on her best friend. Before her stood a forlorn looking | |
| 178 penguin, it’s arms hanging at its sides. Sakura was looking back at | |
| 179 the camcorder, his face a mask of embarrassment. Tomoyo took a few | |
| 180 steps to the side to get another viewpoint. Reaching forward, she put | |
| 181 a finger on Sakura’s lips, drawing them up into a smile. “Much better!” | |
| 182 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura mumbled as Tomoyo’s finger pressed near his | |
| 183 lips. How did he let himself get talked into this? Oh yeah, Tomoyo | |
| 184 thought it was a good idea. That was generally all it took for Sakura | |
| 185 to do what Tomoyo wanted. Tomoyo was so nice and sweet that it was | |
| 186 hard not to do what she wanted. And the pale girl’s beautiful smile | |
| 187 more than made up for the discomfort of wearing a penguin costume. As | |
| 188 long as no one at school ever saw this videotape. | |
| 189 “Mr. Penguin sure has come a long way from the south pole. But I | |
| 190 hope he never has to leave.” Stepping around the embarrassed Sakura, | |
| 191 Tomoyo continued to videotape her friend. “Sakura-chan is such a shy | |
| 192 boy, isn’t he? But I don’t mind. It means he gets to be my model | |
| 193 alone.” | |
| 194 “Ano.. Tomoyo-chan, was there anything else you wanted me to try on | |
| 195 while I’m here?” Sakura interrupted. Though he wouldn’t admit it | |
| 196 unless Tomoyo prodded him, he did enjoy being Tomoyo’s model. His | |
| 197 mother had been a model for many years. Though he was a lot shyer | |
| 198 than his mother, he did enjoy modeling the pale girl’s outfits for | |
| 199 her. Especially with how thrilled Tomoyo always was to videotape him | |
| 200 in new things. It made him feel special to hear her in such delight. | |
| 201 Tomoyo made him feel special with everything she said and did. | |
| 202 Her hand on her chin, Tomoyo stood in thought for a moment. “Well, | |
| 203 there is one more costume that I’ve nearly finished. It wouldn’t take | |
| 204 more than a few minutes to sew on the last bit.” She continued to | |
| 205 scratch her chin thoughtfully as she recorded her cute penguin | |
| 206 attired best friend. | |
| 207 “That sounds great. I’ll just change out of this while I wait for | |
| 208 you to finish, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura said energetically. It would be a | |
| 209 little awkward, he was sure, but it couldn’t be worse than the | |
| 210 penguin costume, adorable as it was. And if it made Tomoyo happy, so | |
| 211 much the better. Besides, he just wanted to do everything he could | |
| 212 for his eccentric friend. His heart swelled as he replayed the words | |
| 213 again and again in his head. ‘Tomoyo-chan, I have something I want to | |
| 214 tell you..’ he began again. | |
| 215 “All right. Thank you so much, Sakura-chan. I can’t wait to see you | |
| 216 in it! You’ll be so cute, I know it.” Bowing to Sakura, the pale girl | |
| 217 turned and led Sakura back into the house before disappearing into | |
| 218 her room. She was eager to see Sakura in her new costume. It was a | |
| 219 little different from the other ones she had made over the years, but | |
| 220 she had no doubt that Sakura would pull it off perfectly. | |
| 221 Sakura headed to the bathroom where his school uniform was still | |
| 222 waiting. He pulled the shorts on first, glad to be out of the goofy | |
| 223 albeit extremely cute penguin costume. It was nice to be a normal boy | |
| 224 again and not a lost penguin. Smiling, he pulled on his shirt as he | |
| 225 wondered what exotic design Tomoyo’s new design would be. | |
| 226 | |
| 227 “Kawaii!! Sakura-chan is so pretty! You put all the girls to shame, | |
| 228 Sakura-chan!” | |
| 229 Sakura stared at the videocamera with a mortified look on his face. | |
| 230 He was in a beautiful blue dress with a long white apron, a la Alice | |
| 231 in Wonderland. Long, white stocking ran up his legs, disappearing | |
| 232 under the frilly skirt. He had cute pink ribbons in his hair and | |
| 233 small, pale blue gloves. “To..To..moyo-chan...” he got out weakly, | |
| 234 his face crimson as he finally worked up enough thought to try and | |
| 235 cover himself from the relentless camcorder. Tomoyo simply | |
| 236 sidestepped, getting a good look at his side. | |
| 237 “I knew you’d make a beautiful girl, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said | |
| 238 excitedly, a hand resting on her cheek. “You’re even prettier than | |
| 239 all of the girls at school.” Sighing happily to herself, Tomoyo | |
| 240 reached down and smoothed out the skirt a little more. Her darling | |
| 241 Sakura made a very handsome boy, but he also made a gorgeous girl. | |
| 242 Blushing, Tomoyo stood back up to videotape some more. She wanted to | |
| 243 have plenty of this for later. Sakura was just too cute not to | |
| 244 capture every instant. | |
| 245 “Do.. Do you really think so?” Sakura asked curiously, turning his | |
| 246 face to watch the pale girl. He blushed deeper when he saw her nod. | |
| 247 It was bizarre, certainly, but he found himself very happy to hear | |
| 248 that she thought he was prettier than the girls at school. It wasn’t | |
| 249 something he had ever thought about before, but it was nice to know | |
| 250 all the same. Especially if Tomoyo thought so. The lavender haired | |
| 251 girl disappeared out of his line of sight after a moment and he | |
| 252 whirled to catch sight of her, the long skirt flowing around him. He | |
| 253 blushed and held it down tightly, not wanting anything to get caught | |
| 254 on videotape. Tomoyo had given him a pair of panties to wear as well, | |
| 255 saying that it was to keep everything authentic. He blushed deeper as | |
| 256 he wondered if they were Tomoyo’s. He shook his head quickly, trying | |
| 257 to concentrate on the moment. But that wasn’t helping either. He was | |
| 258 currently dressed up in girls’ clothes, so thinking about the moment | |
| 259 probably wasn’t the way to go. | |
| 260 “Of course I do. You’re so beautiful, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered | |
| 261 gently, brushing Sakura’s bangs away from his eyes. She smiled at | |
| 262 him, no more than a few inches away. He really did look like a girl. | |
| 263 If Tomoyo didn’t know better, she would have been sure he was. Her | |
| 264 mind was already fast at work on other cute designs for her friend. | |
| 265 This little experiment had proven a brilliant success. Sakura was | |
| 266 cute in boys’ clothes and girls’ clothes. It opened up Tomoyo’s | |
| 267 costume designs to as of yet unknown heights. She was already excited | |
| 268 with the possibilities. “You’ll have to let me videotape you wearing | |
| 269 one of my school uniforms sometime,” Tomoyo stated simply, drawing | |
| 270 another dark blush from the boy she loved. He was just so cute. | |
| 271 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whined, unable to look away from Tomoyo’s | |
| 272 pretty lavender eyes. There was a small thrill about the whole thing. | |
| 273 Tomoyo obviously seemed to like it. Besides, wasn’t this the whole | |
| 274 reason he dressed up in Tomoyo’s designs anyway, because the dark | |
| 275 haired girl wanted him to? So how was this different from dressing up | |
| 276 as a penguin? Because he wasn’t crossdressing as the penguin! “This | |
| 277 isn’t much like dressing up as a penguin, Tomoyo-chan,” he said weakly. | |
| 278 The heiress looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling. “I never | |
| 279 said if you were a boy penguin or a girl penguin. You could have been | |
| 280 dressed as a girl penguin. In which case, it’s exactly the same | |
| 281 thing, Tomoyo surmised. Sakura simply sweatdropped as her reply. | |
| 282 Tomoyo sighed exquisitely at the beautiful sight before her. “I | |
| 283 always knew you were handsome, Sakura-chan. But you’re also gorgeous.” | |
| 284 Sakura could only blush deeper in response, finally pulling his eyes | |
| 285 away from Tomoyo as he stared down at stocking clad legs and cute | |
| 286 buckled shoes. He could hear Tomoyo walking around him, videotaping | |
| 287 this whole disturbing event for later viewing. “Could you lay down on | |
| 288 your stomach? If you could lift a leg into the air and place your | |
| 289 chin in your hands when you do, that would be so cute!” she heard | |
| 290 Tomoyo say. Sighing deeply, Sakura went to comply with his best | |
| 291 friend’s request. At least no one would ever see this. His brother | |
| 292 would never let him hear the end of it if he only knew. | |
| 293 | |
| 294 Finally back in his school uniform, Sakura sat on Tomoyo’s bed while | |
| 295 the lavender haired girl busily set about labeling her tape and | |
| 296 finding a spot for it amongst her huge collection of Sakura tapes. | |
| 297 Sakura was a little surprised to see himself all over his friend’s | |
| 298 room. This wasn’t his first time there, but he always found himself | |
| 299 surprised to see more and more of himself up whenever he went. There | |
| 300 were pictures of him all over as well as Tomoyo’s expansive videotape | |
| 301 collection. Her otherwise pristine desk was cluttered in only one | |
| 302 place, on Tomoyo desk with all of her costume designs. And even that | |
| 303 was an organized chaos. Everything seemed in place even as design | |
| 304 after design got stacked up on her desk. Sakura smiled as he saw a | |
| 305 picture of himself and Tomoyo in kimonos next to Tomoyo’s bed. | |
| 306 Tomoyo’s mother, Sonomi, had taken that picture a while back. Sakura | |
| 307 had been worried about how it would turn out, but Tomoyo had told him | |
| 308 that he was always cute so he shouldn’t worry about it. Turning to | |
| 309 look for his eccentric best friend, he could spy her kneeling before | |
| 310 her videotape collection, looking for the spot for her newest tape. | |
| 311 Tomoyo really was beautiful. Everything about her was so graceful, | |
| 312 almost as if it were all planned out. The pale girl looked so | |
| 313 delicate, her long lavender hair flowing behind her in those | |
| 314 beautiful pigtails. Sakura felt happy to be able to spend this time | |
| 315 with his friend. | |
| 316 “When do you have to be home, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo asked curiously | |
| 317 as she stood up and walked back towards the auburn haired boy. She | |
| 318 had known he was watching her, but hadn’t wanted to embarrass him | |
| 319 about it. And she was thrilled to have his eyes on her. She was | |
| 320 always happy to have his attention. | |
| 321 “Probably pretty soon. It’s my night to cook because onii-chan has | |
| 322 to work.” Sakura sighed, his hands behind his head. He didn’t want to | |
| 323 go home. Staying with Tomoyo sounded infinitely better than making | |
| 324 dinner. | |
| 325 “I’ll make sure the limousine can take you back home, then. You ran | |
| 326 so hard at soccer that I’m surprised you can move at all anymore.” | |
| 327 Tomoyo smiled at her weary best friend, rubbing his shoulders gently. | |
| 328 Sakura blushed at Tomoyo’s touch, looking around the large room. | |
| 329 “Un, but I wanted to play my best because you were watching me. I | |
| 330 wanted it to be a good game for you.” Fidgeting a bit, Sakura looked | |
| 331 down at his shoe, trying to concentrate on anything other than the | |
| 332 girl behind him. | |
| 333 “You played really well, Sakura-chan. But I like watching all of | |
| 334 your games, even when you’re distracted,” Tomoyo chirped up brightly. | |
| 335 “You’re always so cute out there on the field, kicking the ball | |
| 336 around everywhere. I love watching you.” A soft sigh drifted to the | |
| 337 auburn haired boy’s ear as Tomoyo continued rubbing his shoulders. | |
| 338 “Tomoyo-chan, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say for a | |
| 339 while,” Sakura got out nervously, finally getting himself to look up. | |
| 340 He turned to face Tomoyo, looking into her sparkling blue eyes. “I.. | |
| 341 You’ve always been my best friend and.. It’s always so nice when | |
| 342 you..” Sakura bit his lip, trying to decide what to say. It had all | |
| 343 sounded so much easier in his thoughts on the drive up. | |
| 344 Tomoyo tilted her head to the side thoughtfully as she watched | |
| 345 Sakura struggling. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a cloud of | |
| 346 butterflies as she slowly realized what Sakura was trying to say. | |
| 347 “Yes, Sakura-chan?” she asked helpfully. “You know you can tell me | |
| 348 anything.” ‘And if you want to tell me what I think you do, then | |
| 349 there is absolutely nothing for you to fear because I love you with | |
| 350 all of my heart.’ | |
| 351 “I really, really like you, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura got out at last, | |
| 352 his cheeks flushing as he looked at her. It took all of his will to | |
| 353 keep from averting his gaze. “More than anything or anyone. I’m just | |
| 354 so happy when I’m with you. I always feel so.. hanyaan. And I’ve been | |
| 355 thinking a lot since you gave me the teddy bear and all and I was | |
| 356 hoping that you might feel the same way and..” Sakura finally paused | |
| 357 to take a breath. “Will you go out with me, Tomoyo-chan?” His heart | |
| 358 froze as he waited for a reply. His reply came in the form of | |
| 359 Tomoyo’s arms wrapping tightly around him. A slow smile spread across | |
| 360 his face as he relaxed against the lavender haired girl. | |
| 361 “I would love to go out with you, Sakura-chan! More than anything | |
| 362 else in the world. Of course I like you. I always have. I’ve always | |
| 363 loved you, Sakura-chan.” Tomoyo’s heart nearly burst with the love | |
| 364 that wanted to escape to Sakura at the auburn haired boy’s lovely | |
| 365 words. She hugged him tightly, sighing. It was like the most | |
| 366 beautiful dream imaginable come true. She had hoped that she might be | |
| 367 Sakura’s special someone, that she might be the one to make him | |
| 368 happy. And now that he had spoken it, she felt deliriously happy, as | |
| 369 if she had been placed directly in the path of a tornado. It swept | |
| 370 her up with rapid and intense force, throwing her around in its | |
| 371 strength and ferocity. “Oh, Sakura-chan..” Tomoyo whispered | |
| 372 delightedly. | |
| 373 “Tomoyo-chan.. Arigato gozimasu!” Sakura stood up quickly, smiling | |
| 374 brightly. “I’ll try to come up with some place nice to take you, I | |
| 375 promise,” he said, bowing. | |
| 376 “I’ll be happy to go anywhere with you,” Tomoyo responded with her | |
| 377 trademark smile. | |
| 378 Sakura blushed and nodded quickly. “Un.. I’ll see you tomorrow, | |
| 379 Tomoyo-chan! Thank you!!” He hugged the pale girl again, fighting the | |
| 380 urge to stay that way when Tomoyo’s hands began stroking his back | |
| 381 warmly. But he knew if he stayed he would never be home in time to | |
| 382 finish dinner. And he was had to find the perfect place to take | |
| 383 Tomoyo on their date. Determination glinting in his eyes, he smiled | |
| 384 to Tomoyo before heading to the door. “Bye, Tomoyo-chan!!” | |
| 385 “Goodnight, Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo waved to the athletic boy as he | |
| 386 hurried out her door. Sighing deliciously, Tomoyo collapsed on her | |
| 387 bed. Sakura had asked her out. He had finally asked her out. Her one, | |
| 388 true love liked her. Life was, indeed, full of very pleasant | |
| 389 surprises, especially when Sakura was involved. “Hanyaan,” she | |
| 390 whispered, taking a cue from Sakura. | |
| 391 | |
| 392 “He really is cute in a dress,” Sonomi admitted, tilting her head to | |
| 393 the side. “He doesn’t look much like Nadeshiko-chan, but those eyes | |
| 394 are so much like hers. You can tell he’s her daughter. I mean, her | |
| 395 son.” The elder Daidouji woman shook her head as she sat with her | |
| 396 daughter, watching the younger girl’s latest tape. Sonomi often | |
| 397 enjoyed watching them with Tomoyo, thrilled to get a glimpse of | |
| 398 Nadeshiko’s youngest son. Nadeshiko’s curious eccentricities even | |
| 399 showed through in her son’s strange name. And aside from getting | |
| 400 glimpses of Nadeshiko’s child, it was the perfect time to spend | |
| 401 together with her own daughter. | |
| 402 “Hai, very cute. I want to see if he’ll let me videotape him in my | |
| 403 school uniform,” Tomoyo commented, brushing back some dark hair from | |
| 404 her eyes. She was still in a daze about earlier, but she had been | |
| 405 eager to show her latest video to her mother. She was certain Sonomi | |
| 406 would enjoy it the same way she did. “He makes a very cute girl.” Her | |
| 407 hand went to her chin thoughtfully. “He makes a very cute girl and a | |
| 408 very cute boy. Sakura-chan is cute no matter which gender he is.” | |
| 409 Sonomi laughed softly as she watched the camera angle change. “I’d | |
| 410 have to say he’s a little cuter as a girl. If he wasn’t standing so | |
| 411 awkwardly it would be impossible to tell. Maybe you can make him | |
| 412 dress that way after you start dating. And I think it would be | |
| 413 adorable if you can videotape him in your school uniform. You’ll have | |
| 414 to show me that tape as soon as you get it.” | |
| 415 “Hai, okaa-sama. I hope I can get it soon myself. And it would be | |
| 416 cute if he’d let me dress him like that on our dates. But I’ll | |
| 417 probably have to wait a little while before he will. Sakura-chan can | |
| 418 be so shy, so I want to wait a little while. I’m just so happy to be | |
| 419 dating him in the first place. He’s so perfect. I love him so much.” | |
| 420 Watching her lovesick daughter, Sonomi smiled. She was happy to see | |
| 421 Tomoyo in love. It reminded her so much of when she had been younger | |
| 422 with her cousin, Sakura’s mother, Nadeshiko. And seeing her daughter | |
| 423 so excited did her heart good. Her daughter’s happiness was one of | |
| 424 the most important things to her. It was so nice to see her about to | |
| 425 start dating. And Nadeshiko’s son, no less. It was almost like Fate | |
| 426 had arranged the whole thing. So maybe Sonomi could stop hating Fate | |
| 427 so much. Maybe just a little bit. “I know, dear. I know.” Sonomi | |
| 428 pulled Tomoyo to her side, feeling Tomoyo’s heart beating swiftly. | |
| 429 Bending down, she kissed her daughter’s forehead, resting her head on | |
| 430 Tomoyo’s as she went back to watching the tape. | |
| 431 | |
| 432 “Hoe...” Pacing the length of his room, Sakura nearly walked | |
| 433 directly into the wall. Reeling back, the startled boy’s shoulders | |
| 434 slumped and a sigh escaped him. His thoughts were moving along the | |
| 435 same lines as his body, moving all around but getting nowhere but | |
| 436 dead ends. Flopping down on his bed, the auburn haired boy stared up | |
| 437 at the rood. He’d been struggling with his thoughts for the past two | |
| 438 hours. Giddiness still burst through him whenever he thought back to | |
| 439 the fact that his angelic best friend had agreed to go out with him. | |
| 440 But that only strengthened his determination to find the perfect | |
| 441 place to take her. But where? What could be perfect for a date with | |
| 442 such a perfect girl? ‘I’ll be happy to go anywhere with you,’ Tomoyo | |
| 443 had said. And Sakura didn’t doubt the eccentric heiress for a moment. | |
| 444 But he couldn’t let that stop him from finding out where to take his | |
| 445 new girlfriend. Clenching his fists and narrowing his vision, Sakura | |
| 446 got back to work. | |
| 447 “This is too hard! I can’t think of anything. Tomoyo-chan is so much | |
| 448 better at these things than I am,” Sakura lamented just a short time | |
| 449 later. And it was true. Tomoyo was usually the one to invite him | |
| 450 places or the one who could figure out difficult details such as the | |
| 451 one Sakura found himself pondering. He knew that she could think up | |
| 452 someplace for the two of them to go. But that was his job, wasn’t it? | |
| 453 Or was it? The lavender haired girl always did such a better job at | |
| 454 figuring these kinds of things out, even if it did get him in some | |
| 455 awkward situations like the penguin fiasco earlier. But still... He | |
| 456 had asked her out. He should come up with where he was going to take | |
| 457 her. He couldn’t exactly call her up and ask her to decide for him. | |
| 458 Rolling onto his stomach, Sakura hugged his pillow, his legs moving | |
| 459 absentmindedly in the air. A movie? No, that didn’t sound good. How | |
| 460 often did they really go to movies anyway? Dinner? Where would they | |
| 461 go? Touya might know a few good places with how often he worked at | |
| 462 restaurants, but Sakura doubted he had the money to afford anything | |
| 463 really nice. A picnic in the park? But they already did that all the | |
| 464 time. What would be special about that? Only... It always felt | |
| 465 special when they would go together, just the two of them. They would | |
| 466 sit and talk for hours, watching the beautiful world around them and | |
| 467 just enjoying each other’s company. And Tomoyo was so sweet and | |
| 468 gentle. She would listen carefully to everything Sakura had to say, | |
| 469 always helpful with whatever was on his mind. And she always said the | |
| 470 nicest things, even if they were embarrassing. | |
| 471 “I said, ‘What’s too hard?’. You know I can figure it out, whatever | |
| 472 it is. I’m good at these things,” Kero stated confidently as he | |
| 473 floated down onto Sakura’s bed, his arms crossed. “C’mon, Sakura- | |
| 474 chan. You can tell me.” | |
| 475 Sweatdropping, Sakura looked back at the Seal Beast curiously. Is | |
| 476 help generally wasn’t as helpful as Tomoyo’s. What he lacked in | |
| 477 genuine helpfulness, he sure made up for with self-confidence. “I’m | |
| 478 trying to decide where to take Tomoyo-chan on our date,” he said | |
| 479 quickly, his cheeks reddening as he buried his face into her pillow. | |
| 480 “Huh? I have no idea how you can make Tomoyo-chan late. Hmm...” The | |
| 481 Seal Beast contemplated Sakura’s muffled concerns, scratching his | |
| 482 chin with one tiny paw. “You could always steal her shoes. Or lock | |
| 483 her in a broom closet. Or I could distract her. Depends what you need | |
| 484 her late for.” | |
| 485 “Date! Date!! I need to decide where to take Tomoyo-chan on our | |
| 486 date!” Sakura repeated, sitting up and hoisting the pillow above his | |
| 487 head in case the floating teddy bear decided to joke about the | |
| 488 situation. His cheeks darkened considerably as he saw the sly grin | |
| 489 spread across Kero’s face. | |
| 490 “Date, you say? Well, if there’s one thing the mighty Cereberus | |
| 491 knows, it’s a thing or two about love. Just listen to me and you’ll | |
| 492 be reaching first, second, and third base in no time! Hell, with my | |
| 493 advice, you’ll be hitting field goals and scoring bogeys!” Kero | |
| 494 grinned as he walked up to Sakura, nudging him in the side. The | |
| 495 Cardmaster had no idea what Kero was talking about, but his blush | |
| 496 worsened nonetheless. “Boy, have you come to the right place. Because | |
| 497 I’m not only the Beast of the Seal, I’m the Beast of Love.” His tiny | |
| 498 eyebrows raised up and down suggestively as he looked up at the green | |
| 499 eyed boy. | |
| 500 Before Sakura could respond to Kero’s delusions of grandeur, the | |
| 501 door burst open. Touya looked into the room, spotting Sakura on the | |
| 502 bed. Kero collapsed by Sakura’s side, lying lifeless in the hopes | |
| 503 that Sakura’s older brother hadn’t heard them talking. “Umm... Hi, | |
| 504 onii-chan. What’s wrong? If this is about the dishes, it’s your day. | |
| 505 I checked.” He smiled, pulling Kero onto his lap as he waited for his | |
| 506 older brother to either agree or make some outrageous claim about it | |
| 507 being Sakura’s day for the dishes. But he’d glanced at the schedule | |
| 508 and he was sure. Reasonably sure, at any rate. | |
| 509 Touya closed the door behind him after he entered the room. He paced | |
| 510 back and forth for a moment as if trying to decide what to say. He | |
| 511 finally sat on the bed and stared at his younger brother fixedly for | |
| 512 a long moment. Sakura returned his gaze uneasily for a bit before | |
| 513 looking away. “So you’re going on a date?” | |
| 514 Sakura’s face immediately darkened once more at Touya’s question. It | |
| 515 sounded more like an accusation than a question at the moment. He | |
| 516 looked around, his cheeks flushed as he tried to think of a suitable | |
| 517 answer. Finally giving up that venue, Sakura nodded in agreement. He | |
| 518 needed to remember not to talk so loud with Kero when Touya was home. | |
| 519 “With Tomoyo-chan?” | |
| 520 Again Sakura nodded, feeling more and more embarrassed as time went | |
| 521 by. What did Touya want? Was he there to tease him about it? Why did | |
| 522 he care who his younger brother was dating? | |
| 523 “I thought so. It’s obvious she likes you. I was waiting for you to | |
| 524 get the hint,” Touya said matter-of-factly. He watched in amusement | |
| 525 as Sakura’s embarrassment quickly changed to a frown, his younger | |
| 526 brother squeezing the stuffed animal in his arms tightly. | |
| 527 “I’m not that dense. I’ve known it for a while. She did give me that | |
| 528 teddy bear and all,” Sakura argued, squeezing poor Kero in his | |
| 529 frustration. His brother always got him riled up like this. Oh, if he | |
| 530 was only taller than him... | |
| 531 “Sure...” Touya said unconvincingly, raising an eyebrow. He knew how | |
| 532 dense his little brother could be at times. It was a surprise that he | |
| 533 ever figured it out. But that wasn’t the point at the moment. | |
| 534 “Doesn’t matter. You finally figured it out. I’m proud of you, | |
| 535 monsters. And you asked her out at that? So you’re ready to go on | |
| 536 your first date?” Despite his usual arguments with Sakura, he really | |
| 537 did care for his little brother’s well being. He just showed it in an | |
| 538 odd way at times. And since his father wasn’t here to offer Sakura | |
| 539 some friendly dating advice, he would have to fill in. At Sakura’s | |
| 540 quick nods, Touya continued. “So you don’t know where to take her?” | |
| 541 Again, a nod. “Here.” The older boy tossed a paper to Sakura, the | |
| 542 auburn haired boy immediately picking it up. “It’s a festival. Tomoyo- | |
| 543 chan probably would’ve invited you there in a few days anyway. She | |
| 544 always does. Why not make it a date? Besides, she’ll look cute all | |
| 545 dressed up in a yukata, so you might as well have an excuse for | |
| 546 whatever you wind up doing with her behind the trees.” Touya smirked | |
| 547 before pain shot through his leg. Sakura’s foot remained planted | |
| 548 against his leg where he had kicked him. | |
| 549 “Onii-chan...” Sakura growled, his eyes narrowed. Touya’s eyes | |
| 550 narrowed as well as the two brothers stared each other down, one | |
| 551 being considerably taller than the other. But Sakura either didn’t | |
| 552 notice or didn’t care. Just as quickly as his ire had appeared, it | |
| 553 faded away as Sakura took another glance at the flier. “That might be | |
| 554 a good idea. It would be fun. And it would be a nice place to take | |
| 555 Tomoyo-chan. Maybe I can win her a prize or something, too.” | |
| 556 “Yeah, you never know. Yuki and I already planned on going, so I | |
| 557 figured the two of you would probably be there as well. And it works | |
| 558 well enough. Maybe if you’re busy making eyes at Tomoyo, you’ll stop | |
| 559 making them at Yuki,” Touya reasoned, his head tilted to the side for | |
| 560 a moment. He grinned as Sakura crossed his arms, fuming. | |
| 561 “It’s not like that! Yukito-san’s just... Ohhh!! Onii-chan!!” Sakura | |
| 562 humphed and stared at his older brother again. He didn’t know why his | |
| 563 older brother always teased him about Yukito. The older boy was very | |
| 564 nice, much nicer than his older brother, and it was fun to be around | |
| 565 him. Not unlike Tomoyo, in fact. But it wasn’t the exact same thing. | |
| 566 Aside from Yukito being a boy, he didn’t have that same feeling of | |
| 567 love and warmth that encompassed Sakura whenever he was with Tomoyo. | |
| 568 But it was pointless explaining it all to Touya, especially when he | |
| 569 was too embarrassed about the whole thing to come up with a good | |
| 570 argument. | |
| 571 Putting an arm around his younger brother, Touya drew the younger | |
| 572 boy closer. “All right, you better listen up, Sakura-chan. There are | |
| 573 some things you need to know before your date.” | |
| 574 Sweatdropping, Sakura wondered if he would’ve been better off with | |
| 575 Kero’s talk. | |
| 576 | |
| 577 Licking his dry lips, Sakura slowly reached out for the doorknob. | |
| 578 His hand shook lightly as he grasped the doorknob, his palms sweaty. | |
| 579 His brows furrowed as he tried to concentrate, to push off the | |
| 580 nervousness that toyed with him. This was his first date. He was | |
| 581 about to go out with his best friend. What would change after this? | |
| 582 What would happen? Well, only one way to find out, right? Steeling | |
| 583 himself, Sakura opened the door. The sight that awaited him took his | |
| 584 breath away. “Tomoyo-chan...” he whispered, catching eye of the pale | |
| 585 beauty before him. “You’re... gorgeous...” Emerald eyes studied the | |
| 586 stunning figure before him. Beautiful pale skin looked to have an | |
| 587 ethereal glow all it’s own wherever it peaked out of the yukata, both | |
| 588 at Tomoyo’s arms and her pretty face. Her long, lavender hair was | |
| 589 done up in elegant braids, spilling down her back. Shimmering stormy | |
| 590 blue eyes shined luminously. Her small body shifted gracefully as the | |
| 591 angelic girl bowed before Sakura. Her long hair pooled to one side | |
| 592 before she stood back up, the precious silken strands falling back | |
| 593 into place. | |
| 594 “Thank you very much, Sakura-chan. You look very handsome. I wish I | |
| 595 had my camcorder with me.” One of Tomoyo’s pale hands went to her | |
| 596 flushed cheeks as she sighed, watching Sakura intently. She had | |
| 597 struggled with the decision of whether or not to take the camcorder | |
| 598 with her for the past few days but had finally decided against it. | |
| 599 She immediately regretted it upon seeing her prince all dressed up in | |
| 600 a yukata. What a darling picture it would have made! | |
| 601 “You look just like mother,” Touya said after a moment’s pause. He | |
| 602 had come to the door to wish the two a goodnight as he waited for | |
| 603 Yukito to arrive, but had been astonished by the figure at the door. | |
| 604 It was like one of the pictures of his mother from long ago brought | |
| 605 to life. He had originally thought it was his mother’s spirit | |
| 606 visiting them again, but only the stormy blue eyes had given away the | |
| 607 figure’s true identity. | |
| 608 Sakura was about to protest his brother’s statement, but he had to | |
| 609 admit that Tomoyo certainly looked similar to the photos he had seen. | |
| 610 He couldn’t remember his mother well, as she had died when he had | |
| 611 only been three years old, but Tomoyo had the same captivating | |
| 612 appeal, the same delicate beauty. “Hai...” Sakura shook himself out | |
| 613 of his trance quickly, noticing the odd way Touya was staring at | |
| 614 Tomoyo. Taking Tomoyo’s hand quickly, Sakura stared at her brother | |
| 615 before stepping outside with her. “Bye, onii-chan!” he said quickly. | |
| 616 He didn’t want to share Tomoyo with anyone tonight, not even for | |
| 617 glimpses of their mother. He wanted to be alone with her on this | |
| 618 special night of theirs. He smiled softly at the beautiful girl in | |
| 619 front of him, nearly melting at the pretty smile she granted him in | |
| 620 return. “Tomoyo-chan.” It took him a long moment to realize he was | |
| 621 staring again. Looking down sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his | |
| 622 head. “We should probably get going now, huh?” | |
| 623 “If that’s what Sakura-chan wants to do,” Tomoyo replied, soft | |
| 624 fingers entwining with the auburn haired boy’s. He was so cute. And | |
| 625 the way he had looked at her sent a trill through Tomoyo’s heart. A | |
| 626 date with Sakura. It was finally happening. The heiress had to | |
| 627 struggle to remain in the here and now, already thinking about things | |
| 628 like marriage and children and mountain sized piles of videotape. But | |
| 629 even with the sweet little secrets the future hinted at, the present | |
| 630 was a very pleasant place to be. It was right with Sakura, right | |
| 631 where she always wanted to be. | |
| 632 Sakura nodded quickly, his cheeks still tinted pink. “Yeah, we’ll | |
| 633 just go.” He laughed a little nervously, but it slowly began to fade | |
| 634 away as Tomoyo nodded her agreement, still holding his hand. He | |
| 635 smiled happily at his best friend, for once feeling the genuine | |
| 636 elation of the night in full without the worrisome nervousness that | |
| 637 had accompanied so much of the past several days. The two slowly | |
| 638 began walking, leaving the limousine that had dropped Tomoyo off at | |
| 639 Sakura’s house as well as Tomoyo’s bodyguards far behind. Sakura was | |
| 640 surprised at how easy this all felt. He had thought that this would | |
| 641 be such a difficult thing, being on a date with Tomoyo. But it was | |
| 642 still Tomoyo. He still felt comfortable with her, happy and warm. | |
| 643 Things had changed only subtly. He saw Tomoyo in a new light, not | |
| 644 just as his kindly best friend, but as his beautiful angel. Yes, they | |
| 645 were on a date. But that really wasn’t all that different from what | |
| 646 they had been doing all of these years. The only difference was that | |
| 647 now Sakura knew where his heart lay. And it was an intoxicating | |
| 648 experience. He could feel Tomoyo’s love for what it was rather than | |
| 649 the curious thing he had wondered about for so long. And his own | |
| 650 heart reveled under the attention, blooming like a lovely flower | |
| 651 under its tender yet deep touch. It all gave so many new layers to | |
| 652 just being with Tomoyo, all of them exciting for the master of the | |
| 653 Cards. | |
| 654 Tomoyo once again bemoaned her lack of a camcorder as she watched | |
| 655 Sakura out of the corner of her eye. Her free hand rested on her | |
| 656 cheek as she sighed joyously. Had she died? Was she dreaming? Or was | |
| 657 this a taste of heaven? If it was, Tomoyo could think of no better | |
| 658 way to spend eternity than with the boy who had so effortlessly | |
| 659 captured her heart. She would have to personally thank whatever God | |
| 660 or Goddess reigned over this world for crafting such a lovely soul as | |
| 661 her darling Sakura. Usually content simply with recording Sakura’s | |
| 662 life, Tomoyo found herself exhilarated at the prospect of actually | |
| 663 sharing in it, tasting it so closely rather than from behind the | |
| 664 camera. It was new and uncharted territory, something that existed | |
| 665 only in her dreams up till now. But with Sakura gently leading her, | |
| 666 she had no fear as she stepped out hand in hand with her love into | |
| 667 the movie of Sakura’s life. Not being born with magic, the lavender | |
| 668 haired girl couldn’t sense it the way her best friend could. But she | |
| 669 felt a different magic as they continued along, one that immersed her | |
| 670 heart and soul deeper than any other form of magic ever could. Like | |
| 671 an entire ocean, it swelled and encompassed her, holding her tightly | |
| 672 in its depths. It was almost too much, an emotional overload of pure, | |
| 673 unadulterated joy. Tomoyo felt as if she were drowning in it, her | |
| 674 heart nearly ready to burst. Smiling a sparkling, genuine smile, | |
| 675 Tomoyo rested her head on Sakura’s shoulder, her long braids draping | |
| 676 down across the two of them. | |
| 677 Blushing faintly, Sakura continued along towards the festival, his | |
| 678 mind going blank. Tomoyo’s long, dark hair lay across his shoulder | |
| 679 and down the left side of his back, swaying gently as they moved. The | |
| 680 heiress’s cute head was resting pleasantly on his shoulder, | |
| 681 distracting him. The two walked along, hand in hand in a much closer | |
| 682 proximity that they usually did. The poor auburn hair kept blushing | |
| 683 as he tried to get a handle on his thoughts. It certainly felt nice | |
| 684 to have Tomoyo so close, to have his best friend so near. He could | |
| 685 hear his heartbeat ringing in his ears, almost frightening him that | |
| 686 it would give away his nervousness. But even faced with such a new | |
| 687 and potentially terrifying situation, Sakura could still feel | |
| 688 Tomoyo’s effusive love wrapping like silk ribbons around his heart, | |
| 689 binding his soul as thoroughly as he himself bound the Cards. It | |
| 690 was... wonderful. Having Tomoyo so close was a new experience, but it | |
| 691 was a beautiful one. The heiress felt so soft and delicate next to | |
| 692 him. ‘I knew Sakura-chan would come and save me,’ Tomoyo had once | |
| 693 said. ‘Of course I would. I’d always have to save my Tomoyo-chan. I | |
| 694 can’t ever let anything bad happen to her,’ Sakura thought to | |
| 695 himself. ‘Besides, if I didn’t, Sonomi-sama would kill me.’ He | |
| 696 sweatdropped at the latter, remembering Tomoyo’s mother’s phone call | |
| 697 the night before. Sakura had lost track of how many times he had | |
| 698 promised to look after Tomoyo for the elder of the Daidouji women. | |
| 699 Almost too soon, the young lovers finally came across the festival. | |
| 700 Lights sparkled brightly against the dark backdrop of the darkening | |
| 701 night as elegantly dressed boys and girls hurried about, playing | |
| 702 games and enjoying themselves about the festival grounds. It was | |
| 703 something the two had gone to often enough before, but never under | |
| 704 the context of a date. It left Sakura with a puzzled feeling of where | |
| 705 to begin and what to do. Tomoyo simply smiled at Sakura’s curious | |
| 706 look, squeezing his hand gently with her soft fingers. That lessened | |
| 707 the genki boy’s nerves as he returned her smile. People moved past | |
| 708 the cute couple like a busy stream, flowing past them on all sides. | |
| 709 Sakura pulled Tomoyo closer as people swept past, trying not to get | |
| 710 pulled along in the current. Still trying to decide where to go, | |
| 711 Sakura’s jade eyes fell upon a booth selling food. His stomach seemed | |
| 712 to think it was a great idea. While nowhere near as bad as the | |
| 713 perpetually hungry Kero and Yukito, Sakura had forsaken eating | |
| 714 earlier when his nervous stomach had refused to hold anything. But | |
| 715 now that he was finally with Tomoyo, his stomach reawakened. “Would | |
| 716 you like something to eat?” Sakura asked, turning to the dark haired | |
| 717 girl. | |
| 718 The petite girl shook her head prettily, her dark hair moving back | |
| 719 and forth as she did. She wasn’t hungry herself, but she could | |
| 720 practically hear Sakura’s stomach even above the cacophony of the | |
| 721 festival. “No, that’s all right, Sakura-chan. I’m not very hungry. | |
| 722 What would you like to eat?” She followed emerald eyes to one of the | |
| 723 stands and slowly began towards it when a small gap in the large | |
| 724 crowd formed. The two waited, pressed tightly together as other | |
| 725 people continued to line up at the delicious smell wafting out from | |
| 726 the stand. Tomoyo brushed back lavender hair from her eyes with her | |
| 727 free hand to get a better look of her companion. Stormy blue eyes | |
| 728 watched the energetic auburn haired boy as he looked around | |
| 729 curiously. The heiress sighed happily, taking Sakura’s hand with both | |
| 730 of her own. Her fingers trailed over their entwined fingers, enjoying | |
| 731 the soft skin under her touch. He was so cute. There was something | |
| 732 almost feminine about him, which the heiress found very adorable. | |
| 733 Tomoyo loved to watch him, as evidenced by her collection of | |
| 734 videotape. She loved everything about the overemotional boy and | |
| 735 wanted to capture it all on film. As Sakura finally got the food he’d | |
| 736 been waiting for, the two began to move along through the beautiful | |
| 737 festival grounds. Sakura looked around at the well decorated | |
| 738 surroundings while Tomoyo’s attention remained solely captive of the | |
| 739 green eyed boy. After all, she thought to herself, he was far more | |
| 740 fascinating than the most amazing festival. | |
| 741 Nibbling on the meat bun he had bought, Sakura walked hand in hand | |
| 742 with Tomoyo past the different festivities. His mind wandered as they | |
| 743 walked. He could remember some exciting things that had happened at | |
| 744 festivals in his life, but this was completely different. It seemed | |
| 745 that important things often happened at them, several Clow Cards | |
| 746 having shown up nearby over the time he had been capturing them. | |
| 747 Throughout it all, Tomoyo had been his constant companion and | |
| 748 confidante, helping him and videotaping him and outfitting him with | |
| 749 the cutest and most ridiculous looking costumes imaginable. And here | |
| 750 they were once more. But this wasn’t exactly the same thing as it had | |
| 751 once been. He felt a warm glow inside of himself at the thought. No, | |
| 752 this wasn’t the same old thing at all. He felt overwhelmed by the | |
| 753 moment, by his beautiful best friend holding his hand. He felt energy | |
| 754 welling up inside with nowhere to go. He felt so happy to be there | |
| 755 with her. Squeezing Tomoyo’s hand tightly, Sakura grinned at the pale | |
| 756 girl. All of the concern he’d had about this night felt completely | |
| 757 worth it if only for that single moment. “Tomoyo-chan, I...” Sakura | |
| 758 began, unsure of exactly what he wanted to say, but knowing he needed | |
| 759 to do something before his heart burst. | |
| 760 “Hi, Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan!” Chiharu called out to the two, | |
| 761 Yamazaki in tow. She waved to the two as she approached, glad to see | |
| 762 someone that she recognized amongst the sea of people. “How are you | |
| 763 doing?” she asked as they came to a stop in front of them. | |
| 764 “Hi, Chiharu-chan!” Sakura intoned happily. “We’re fine. We’re just | |
| 765 trying to decide what to do now.” Finishing off his meat bun, he | |
| 766 licked his fingers clean before smiling at the two. | |
| 767 “Sakura-chan’s never been on a date before and neither have I, so | |
| 768 we’re both trying to figure things out. Do you have any suggestions, | |
| 769 Chiharu-chan?” Tomoyo’s melodious voice sang amidst the banter of the | |
| 770 crowd. Smiling politely, the pale girl tilted her head to the side. | |
| 771 Even with her eyes close, she could tell that Sakura was blushing | |
| 772 deeply. Yes, life was good indeed. | |
| 773 “Oh, so Sakura-chan finally asked you out? What a shame. I heard | |
| 774 that Li-kun was going to ask you. But that’s not a problem. In | |
| 775 Antarctica, women can have as many as ten husbands at a time. So you | |
| 776 just have to move there, Tomoyo-chan.” Yamazaki nodded, his ever- | |
| 777 present smile plastered on his face despite the look that Chiharu | |
| 778 shot him. He hugged a pink rabbit tightly and grinned more, waiting | |
| 779 for Chiharu to either correct him or hit him in the arm. He was used | |
| 780 to it by now. She’d been doing it since they were little kids anyway. | |
| 781 Besides, it was cute. | |
| 782 “Really? That’s all right, though. Sakura-chan’s the only husband I | |
| 783 want, so I think I’ll stay here in Japan,” Tomoyo replied, her stormy | |
| 784 blue eyes blinking open as she continued smiling her trademark smile. | |
| 785 She turned to Sakura, delighting at his ever darker blush. | |
| 786 “So you’re finally dating? Darn. Rika-chan wins the pool, then. We | |
| 787 were wondering when you finally would.” Chiharu frowned for a moment, | |
| 788 staring at Yamazaki before turning back to the other couple. “I don’t | |
| 789 think I can give any advice. Things just kinda happen. That’s how | |
| 790 relationships go, I suppose. Even if it would be nice if they made | |
| 791 more sense sometimes.” Sighing, she brushed back some curly hair. | |
| 792 Watching the pink bunny in Yamazaki’s arms, Sakura felt his | |
| 793 curiosity gnawing at him. “Where did you get that, Yamazaki-kun?” | |
| 794 “This? His name is ‘Elephant’. Chiharu-chan won it for me at that | |
| 795 booth over there. Chiharu-chan is very good at hitting things.” | |
| 796 Chiharu sweatdropped. Yamazaki was very often a pathological liar, | |
| 797 but for once she didn’t need to correct him. Of course, she could | |
| 798 detect a hint of humor in his voice about the last part of it. “Yeah, | |
| 799 it’s not that hard. They have some nice prizes back there. I collect | |
| 800 stuffed animals, so I like to pick up some things whenever I go to | |
| 801 places like this.” | |
| 802 “Sugoi! Thanks!” Sakura smiled as he waved to the two, hurrying | |
| 803 with Tomoyo close behind. It sounded perfect. What better way to | |
| 804 remember their first date than a cute little stuffed animal? It did | |
| 805 sound romantic. All he had to do was win something cute for the pale | |
| 806 heiress. His emerald eyes burned with an enthusiastic determination | |
| 807 as they hurried towards the booth. Unfortunately, someone was already | |
| 808 there, a large pile of stuffed animals next to him. | |
| 809 “I want that one next, Syaoran!” A Chinese girl pointed excitedly | |
| 810 towards a large bear in the back of the booth. Meiling stood guard | |
| 811 over the large pile of stuffed animals at her feet. She didn’t notice | |
| 812 the approaching couple, nor did she care. She was on a date with | |
| 813 Syaoran. That was all that mattered to her at the moment. And woe to | |
| 814 anyone who decided to get in her way. But for the moment, her | |
| 815 attention was focussed specifically on her fiance winning another | |
| 816 prize for her. She could easily win them herself, but what was the | |
| 817 point in that? She wanted them to come from Syaoran. Then they would | |
| 818 be fit to decorate her room because they would come from the boy she | |
| 819 loved. “Great job, Syaoran!” she cried out as the bear quickly joined | |
| 820 the rest of the captive stuffed animals. She hugged the boy from | |
| 821 behind, squeezing him tightly. | |
| 822 Syaoran sighed as he pulled up a handful of rings again. “Which one | |
| 823 do you want this time, Meiling?” He didn’t like being out here with | |
| 824 all these people. He wasn’t an overly social person. Staying home | |
| 825 would have been a perfectly fine night for him, but Meiling had | |
| 826 insisted they go to the festival. She did seem to be enjoying | |
| 827 herself. And she did look cute in the small, blue Chinese dress she | |
| 828 wore. So maybe it wasn’t all bad. But Syaoran found himself pouring | |
| 829 himself into the games rather than bothering with the social part of | |
| 830 the whole setting. It was much easier to focus on the competition | |
| 831 than the people. “Hello, Li-kun!” a voice piped up cheerfully near | |
| 832 his ear. Turning to spy the owner of the voice, Syaoran frowned in | |
| 833 irritation. Who was trying to distract him? He didn’t feel like | |
| 834 dealing with whoever it was at the moment. He turned to glare at the | |
| 835 intruder, but his cheeks flushed as he saw Sakura’s smiling face. He | |
| 836 quickly looked away, back towards the booth. Sakura was one of his | |
| 837 only friends at the school. Meiling was his best friend, of course, | |
| 838 but Sakura was one of his only male friends. Sure, there was | |
| 839 Yamazaki, but they were more acquaintances than friends. But Sakura | |
| 840 was nice to him. Even after he had been such an asshole to the naïve | |
| 841 Cardcaptor at first. And his increase in magical power had attracted | |
| 842 him the same way Yukito’s magic had. Tomoyo must have noticed, | |
| 843 because she had mentioned it every now and then. It embarrassed him | |
| 844 greatly, though not quite as much as some of what Meiling did at | |
| 845 school. | |
| 846 “Wow!! You’ve done a great job, Li-kun!” Sakura looked at the huge | |
| 847 pile of prizes Syaoran had won and the nearly bare walls of the booth | |
| 848 he was playing at. “Could I try? I want to win something for Tomoyo- | |
| 849 chan.” He smiled happily at the Chinese boy, Tomoyo by her side. He | |
| 850 finally had some idea of where all that energy could go, of what to | |
| 851 do about the building feelings inside of himself. And he could get | |
| 852 something for Tomoyo on top of all that. Apparently Syaoran had | |
| 853 thought the same thing. And Meiling looked very happy about it all. | |
| 854 Sakura could see a superdeformed Tomoyo in his mind, hugging some | |
| 855 cute stuffed animal tightly. Smiling determinedly, Sakura tried to | |
| 856 spot something to aim for. | |
| 857 Syaoran nodded dumbly, handing the rings over to Sakura. He thought | |
| 858 about trying to win a prize to give to the other boy, but with | |
| 859 Meiling present, he estimated that he would only live approximately | |
| 860 two seconds after giving it to Sakura. Hardly enough time to see how | |
| 861 the other boy would react. Sighing, he let his fiance drag him back | |
| 862 from the booth and into a tight embrace. Feeling his frown disappear | |
| 863 as Meiling rested against him, Syaoran watched the auburn haired boy | |
| 864 getting ready to try. He would move to the next booth himself, but he | |
| 865 didn’t know if Meiling was done with this one or not. | |
| 866 Focusing on the task at hand, Sakura gripped onto one of the rings | |
| 867 in front of him. Being pretty athletic, he was pretty good with most | |
| 868 physical things. Tomoyo had once said that he could have even made | |
| 869 the cheerleading team had he wanted to. Sakura was happy on the track | |
| 870 team, though, so he had blushingly told the eccentric girl that he | |
| 871 wouldn’t be switching anytime soon. But all of that didn’t make him | |
| 872 any less nervous. He wasn’t just playing around with this. It wasn’t | |
| 873 simply a diversion. It was for Tomoyo. That spurred him forward, as | |
| 874 well as seeing the heiress watching from his right. Feeling the | |
| 875 bubbling energy inside of him, Sakura tossed the ring. The small area | |
| 876 around him went silent as it flew into the wall, bouncing off | |
| 877 speedily. “Gomen nasai!” he apologized quickly, bowing. He wanted to | |
| 878 use this as a chance to use all of those energetic feelings inside, | |
| 879 but that had been a little too much. | |
| 880 “That was amazing, Sakura-chan. I’m sure that would have made it | |
| 881 all the way back home if the wall hadn’t stopped it,” Tomoyo said | |
| 882 helpfully, as Sakura stood in embarrassment for a moment. She knew | |
| 883 that Sakura was shy and easily embarrassed, despite his outgoing | |
| 884 nature. She tried to give him all the support and love she could | |
| 885 throughout everything he went through. It helped bolster that endless | |
| 886 determination that welled up within the cute bishounen. | |
| 887 Concentrating once more on the game in front of him, Sakura pulled | |
| 888 up another ring. This time he would win Tomoyo a cute prize, just | |
| 889 like Syaoran had for his girlfriend and Chiharu had for her | |
| 890 boyfriend. He just had to concentrate. Again he saw the cute image of | |
| 891 Tomoyo holding onto a stuffed animal in his mind, smiling warmly at | |
| 892 him. His cheeks warm at the thought, Sakura let the ring fly off of | |
| 893 his fingertips. He remembered the bear that Tomoyo had painstakingly | |
| 894 crafted for him, that he held onto every night when he went to sleep, | |
| 895 that went with him to all of his games. He wanted to give Tomoyo a | |
| 896 cute stuffed animal to keep nearby as well. Something a little softer | |
| 897 than an eraser. He watched anxiously as the ring appeared to fly in | |
| 898 slow motion, spinning in the air like some magical disk. Though it | |
| 899 had left his fingers, his mind and heart never left it as it skimmed | |
| 900 through the air, begging the disk to make it, to land where it needed | |
| 901 to. With a clang, it ricocheted past the poor booth owner. | |
| 902 | |
| 903 “Thank you again, Sakura-chan. It’s so lovely. I think it looks a | |
| 904 bit like you,” Tomoyo stated thoughtfully, holding up the stuffed | |
| 905 kangaroo next to Sakura’s embarrassed face. True enough, it did look | |
| 906 a bit like the auburn haired boy. They stood next to Tomoyo’s | |
| 907 limousine, her bodyguards waiting to take her back home. She didn't | |
| 908 want to leave her darling Sakura yet, or ever for that matter. But at | |
| 909 the same time, she couldn’t wait to recount the night’s wonders to | |
| 910 her mother who was undoubtedly waiting for her only daughter’s return | |
| 911 despite the fact that she had work the next day. It was a comforting | |
| 912 thought to know that she had someone waiting for her to hear of what | |
| 913 had happened and one of the only things that made the night ending | |
| 914 bearable. Especially with no videotape to show for it. Tomoyo vowed | |
| 915 to tape their second date. She would have to keep a record of such | |
| 916 things. After all, what was more important than Sakura’s love life? | |
| 917 “You’re welcome, Tomoyo-chan. I should have just bought you | |
| 918 something instead. I can’t believe it took me seventeen tries. And | |
| 919 for just a tiny kangaroo.” Sakura stared at the ground sheepishly. He | |
| 920 was normally good at such things, but he just couldn’t focus while he | |
| 921 had been playing the game. His mind kept going back to Tomoyo. | |
| 922 Despite all of the energy swirling within him and his need to win | |
| 923 something for the beautiful pale girl, he had kept missing. But that | |
| 924 had always been a problem for him. He was very good at most athletic | |
| 925 things he tried, but whenever he was distracted he would make a lot | |
| 926 of mistakes. Tomoyo had told him it was cute, that she enjoyed that | |
| 927 as much as she enjoyed when he was doing well. She had said she had a | |
| 928 tape full of just his cute little mishaps. Somehow he didn’t find | |
| 929 that very comforting. Tomoyo had a very strange idea of ‘cute’. | |
| 930 But other than the trouble he’d had getting a hold of the stuffed | |
| 931 animal, the night had been magical. He and Tomoyo had spent the whole | |
| 932 night at the festival, simply enjoying each others company. In | |
| 933 retrospect, Sakura could hardly remember who else had been there. It | |
| 934 hardly seemed to matter. After a while, the huge crowds had just | |
| 935 faded away, leaving the two of them amidst the beautiful night. There | |
| 936 had been several embarrassing moments, but it had been a wonderful | |
| 937 first date. Tomoyo had helped him through it all, getting rid of the | |
| 938 nervousness that went along with a first date, taking that away and | |
| 939 leaving him with a gloriously warm excitement. Now he again found | |
| 940 himself unsure of what to say or what to do. He didn’t want Tomoyo to | |
| 941 go. He didn’t want the night to end, for their date to have to come | |
| 942 to a close. It was the most spectacular thing that had ever occurred | |
| 943 in his life. It had a magic that his Cards couldn’t begin to contend | |
| 944 with. “Tomoyo-chan,” he whispered at last. “I don’t want you to go.” | |
| 945 “Neither do I, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo replied, hugging the stuffed | |
| 946 animal in her arms gingerly. “I don’t ever want to be away from | |
| 947 Sakura-chan. I want to stay with you forever. But if I have to leave | |
| 948 tonight, it’s only so the next night can come even quicker. Tonight | |
| 949 was lovelier than anything I could ever have dreamed. I’m sure that | |
| 950 hundreds of beautiful nights await you, Sakura-chan. I hope they’ll | |
| 951 all come quickly.” Brushing Sakura’s cheek, Tomoyo smiled at the | |
| 952 pretty boy, stormy blue eyes meeting emerald orbs. Her heart fought | |
| 953 the idea of leaving her dearest Sakura for any reason whatsoever. She | |
| 954 had to go home, she knew that. But logic didn’t often understand | |
| 955 love. “The sooner I wake up, the sooner I can see you again. It’s | |
| 956 like dreaming. The sooner you fall asleep, the sooner you can join | |
| 957 your shining dreams.” | |
| 958 “But I don’t want to dream.” Sakura sighed, placing his hand on top | |
| 959 of Tomoyo’s pale one. He felt Tomoyo’s fingers trailing across his | |
| 960 cheek. He smiled slowly. He felt bittersweet about the night ending. | |
| 961 He didn’t want Tomoyo to go, but he couldn’t wait to collapse in bed | |
| 962 and run it all over in his mind. Maybe he would tell Kero about it. | |
| 963 And like Tomoyo had said, the sooner he went to sleep, the sooner | |
| 964 they would be together again. “Arigato, Tomoyo-chan. For everything.” | |
| 965 “You don’t have to thank me for anything, Sakura-chan. I love you. I | |
| 966 only want to see you happy. If I can see you happy with me, then I | |
| 967 can’t think of a sweeter gift. But this kangaroo comes close.” Tomoyo | |
| 968 giggled softly as she held the kangaroo up in her other arm. She | |
| 969 regretted not having such a lovely night on videotape, but it was | |
| 970 something that she would always have burned into her mind’s eye. She | |
| 971 wouldn’t be able to play it back on videotape, but that wasn’t so | |
| 972 bad. It would be in her heart when she needed it. Her fingers slowly | |
| 973 pulled away from Sakura’s cheek. “You’re so cute, Sakura-chan.” | |
| 974 Blushing at Tomoyo’s compliment, the auburn haired boy stared at his | |
| 975 sandal clad feet for a moment. Looking up again, he smiled at the | |
| 976 pale girl before him. She was always telling him how cute he was, how | |
| 977 handsome he looked. But she was easily the most gorgeous girl in | |
| 978 school, or of anyone Sakura had ever seen. She was exquisitely | |
| 979 beautiful, like a terribly delicate flower. He wanted to say | |
| 980 something, to put a nice spin on the end of the night, but words | |
| 981 stumbled in his mind. Finally, impulsively, he leaned forward and | |
| 982 kissed the pale girl before him. If Tomoyo was startled, she didn’t | |
| 983 show it. Sakura felt Tomoyo’s petal soft lips against his own, | |
| 984 blushing intently at the feel of their kiss. Before he could pull | |
| 985 away, he felt Tomoyo kiss him back. It was incredibly slow and | |
| 986 rapturously sweet, taking the genki boy by surprise. His arms went | |
| 987 around the petite heiress, pulling her closer as he kissed. Long, | |
| 988 dark tresses brushed past him as Tomoyo’s hair came loose from some | |
| 989 of the intricate braids. Warm lips kissed for what felt like a | |
| 990 painfully short eternity before they finally pulled away. Sakura | |
| 991 blinked as he watched the heiress before him, a red blush on her pale | |
| 992 cheeks. “I love you, Tomoyo-chan,” he whispered. | |
| 993 “I love you, too, Sakura-chan. I always have,” Tomoyo replied, | |
| 994 giving Sakura a soft kiss once more before crawling back into the | |
| 995 limousine. Smiling brightly, the overjoyed girl waved to Sakura. | |
| 996 “Goodnight, Sakura-chan!” And with that, the long black car drove away. | |
| 997 Sakura watched for a long time, his hand on his lips. “Hanyaan!” He | |
| 998 smiled happily, his hands held tightly before him. What a perfect | |
| 999 night! Of course, he doubted he would be able to get to sleep now. | |
| 1000 Especially after that kiss. It had been so... so... Sakura couldn’t | |
| 1001 begin to describe it as anything other than delicious. It had drawn | |
| 1002 him in, wrapping him up in those ribbons from Tomoyo’s heart. He had | |
| 1003 once heard that kissing was how two souls touched and now he was sure | |
| 1004 of it. | |
| 1005 “It sure looks like you had fun,” a voice said next to Sakura. | |
| 1006 “Onii-chan...!” Sakura turned quickly, his fists balled up, ready to | |
| 1007 explode at his older brother for watching. He immediately stopped | |
| 1008 when he looked. Where Touya should have been stood a large, white | |
| 1009 rabbit. It stared at him for a moment, it’s whiskers shifting as it | |
| 1010 tilted its head to the side. | |
| 1011 “I still think she looks like mom,” the rabbit was saying as Sakura | |
| 1012 fainted dead away. | |
| 1013 | |
| 1014 | |
| 1015 “... And then we kissed in the dream,” Sakura finished up, her hair | |
| 1016 a mess and her rollerskating a little off as she and Tomoyo headed | |
| 1017 for school. She shook her head in confusion. It had all felt so real, | |
| 1018 even the slow, soul warming kiss. Blushing, Sakura put a hand to her | |
| 1019 lips as she skated alongside her perceptive best friend. She had | |
| 1020 woken up in a daze, the dream lingering in her mind as she had | |
| 1021 struggled to get dressed. She had almost expected to find the boys’ | |
| 1022 school uniform waiting for her. Dressing quickly and ignoring Touya’s | |
| 1023 usual morning taunts, she had hurried to meet with Tomoyo on the way | |
| 1024 to school, eager to tell her friend about the bizarre dream. The | |
| 1025 patient heiress was always the first one she came to with her | |
| 1026 troubles, real or imagined. Like a loving mother or a gentle sister, | |
| 1027 Tomoyo would always help Sakura through whatever it was that had | |
| 1028 gotten to her. She was extremely important to Sakura, probably the | |
| 1029 most important person in her life. | |
| 1030 Tomoyo considered the dream for a long moment, holding her bookbag | |
| 1031 in front of her. Her long, high ponytail waved behind her as she | |
| 1032 walked. A pale hand rested on her chin as she thought. Sakura had | |
| 1033 come to her with strange dreams before, but none quite so bizarre as | |
| 1034 this one. “Did you like the kiss?” she asked at last, tilting her | |
| 1035 head to the side. | |
| 1036 “Tomoyo-chan!!” Sakura’s face went crimson at Tomoyo’s words. She | |
| 1037 stared down at the street below, watching her rollerblades. How was | |
| 1038 she supposed to answer that? She had certainly liked the kiss. It had | |
| 1039 been a perfect end to a perfect night. But it had been with Tomoyo. | |
| 1040 And that was part of why it had been so perfect. But how was she | |
| 1041 supposed to put all of that into words? If only she were a boy things | |
| 1042 would make so much more sense. Especially things with Tomoyo. Just | |
| 1043 like her dream had shown her. It would be wonderful to be able to | |
| 1044 date Tomoyo, to spend all of her time with the pale girl. Too bad the | |
| 1045 dream hadn’t been real. Well, except the rabbit part. Sakura sighed | |
| 1046 as she continued skating. “Un, I liked the kiss. It was very nice,” | |
| 1047 she said quietly, blushing. “You were a really good kisser in the | |
| 1048 dream. It felt all.. hanyaan.” | |
| 1049 Sakura shuddered as she skated, remembering the kiss as best she | |
| 1050 could. | |
| 1051 Nodding thoughtfully, Tomoyo followed alongside Sakura. Now whereas | |
| 1052 kissing Sakura wasn’t an uncommon dream for Tomoyo, she was surprised | |
| 1053 to hear that Sakura had dreamt about it. Of course, dreams often made | |
| 1054 little sense, so it could be just about anything. But still... | |
| 1055 “Sakura-chan would make a very cute boy. You made a very good prince | |
| 1056 in the play last year. But I like you better as a girl. I think it’s | |
| 1057 much cuter that way. Besides, I’m not as good at designing boys’ | |
| 1058 clothes, so it’s easier for me this way. Of course, if Sakura-chan | |
| 1059 were a boy, I would just have to try harder with the costumes.” | |
| 1060 Tomoyo tilted her head to the side curiously, running the whole | |
| 1061 scenario over in her mind. It certainly was an interesting one. She | |
| 1062 sighed at last. “It’s too bad I can’t videotape Sakura-chan’s dreams. | |
| 1063 That sounds so cute!” | |
| 1064 Sakura sweatdropped as she watched her friend’s reaction. Why | |
| 1065 should she have guessed that Tomoyo would react that way? But then, | |
| 1066 the brunette didn’t think she would ever fully get used to the weird | |
| 1067 things Tomoyo said about her. “Even though we were dating? You would | |
| 1068 still want to watch that?” Sakura asked curiously. | |
| 1069 “Especially if we were dating. I haven’t gotten to record any of | |
| 1070 Sakura-chan’s love life other than her crushes. It would be so cute | |
| 1071 to record her actually dating and to see what happened. I would love | |
| 1072 to record every second of our dates if you asked me out,” Tomoyo | |
| 1073 explained, smiling her trademark smile. It sounded like such a lovely | |
| 1074 dream. Now why couldn’t she have more like that? It had everything, | |
| 1075 especially a cute romance with Sakura with the added allure of a kiss | |
| 1076 at the end. She sighed dreamily, gazing at her brunette friend. | |
| 1077 Shaking her head, Sakura looked ahead. Cherry blossoms danced and | |
| 1078 swirled ahead of them, oddly reminiscent of the dream she had had. It | |
| 1079 felt strange to hear that Tomoyo would agree to go out with her. But | |
| 1080 she was thrilled to hear it for some reason. Her mind wandered back | |
| 1081 to the dream again, to the date. She felt saddened that it had all | |
| 1082 been a dream, that they hadn’t shared that time together, that she | |
| 1083 couldn’t be with Tomoyo. It felt so empty. “If I were a boy, I would | |
| 1084 definitely ask you out, Tomoyo-chan. You’re so smart and pretty and | |
| 1085 fun. Whoever you date will be very lucky.” Sakura blinked rapidly, | |
| 1086 rubbing at her eyes. She didn’t know why she felt so desolate after | |
| 1087 that dream. But now that it was all over, she felt like she had lost | |
| 1088 something of vital importance and she couldn’t get it back. If only | |
| 1089 she were a boy, then she would ask Tomoyo out and they could relive | |
| 1090 all of that beautiful dream and what would have surely been to come. | |
| 1091 Tomoyo watched Sakura, stopping along underneath the trees. Sakura | |
| 1092 slowly came to a halt as well. Her emerald eyes shimmered with | |
| 1093 unspent tears. Tomoyo held Sakura’s hand in her own, looking up at | |
| 1094 the girl on rollerblades. “I wouldn’t want to date another boy. Or | |
| 1095 another girl. I wouldn’t want to date anyone who isn’t Sakura-chan.” | |
| 1096 She smiled sweetly up at the other girl, placing a hand on her cheek. | |
| 1097 She could feel a wet trail of a teardrop against her palm. Sakura | |
| 1098 sniffled again, another tear sliding down her other cheek. Tomoyo’s | |
| 1099 heart nearly snapped in two as she watched the lost and lonely look | |
| 1100 on Sakura’s face. She doubted that Sakura even understood why she was | |
| 1101 feeling the way she was. It still amazed the pale girl after what she | |
| 1102 had heard. It was a dream come true, but it felt unbearably painful | |
| 1103 to see it hurting her unknowing Sakura. Leaning forward, Tomoyo | |
| 1104 decided to show Sakura what she meant. After all, Sakura could be a | |
| 1105 little dense sometimes, but maybe she could find a way to explain | |
| 1106 things. She had promised to tell Sakura when they were older. | |
| 1107 Tomoyo’s lips kissed Sakura’s softly, her entire body tingling from | |
| 1108 the small touch. She slowly kissed the quietly crying girl, brushing | |
| 1109 away Sakura’s tears with her fingertips. The brunette’s lips quivered | |
| 1110 against her own as Sakura stood on the verge of sobbing openly. | |
| 1111 Pulling away after the short kiss, Tomoyo smiled at the brunette, | |
| 1112 both hands going to her wet cheeks. “I love you, Sakura-chan.” | |
| 1113 “Tomoyo-chan...” Sakura whispered quietly. Her voice almost caught | |
| 1114 in her throat, coming out painfully. It wasn’t until then that she | |
| 1115 realized she was crying. Warm tears spilt past her cheeks, dripping | |
| 1116 down her chin. She sniffled weakly. “Tomoyo-chan!” She cried out, | |
| 1117 grasping onto the pale girl. She hung tightly onto her best friend, | |
| 1118 shaking in her grasp. She felt her body begin to relax as Tomoyo | |
| 1119 began to rub her back gently. Letting out a choked breath, Sakura | |
| 1120 hiccuped, her sobbing slowly trailing off. Hiccuping again, Sakura | |
| 1121 stood at arms length from Tomoyo, wiping at her eyes. She smiled | |
| 1122 warmly after wiping away her tears. “I.. I love you, too, Tomoyo- | |
| 1123 chan.” Tomoyo’s demeanor shifted in those few seconds. Sakura | |
| 1124 couldn’t quite tell what had changed about Tomoyo, but the pale girl | |
| 1125 seemed to glow with the light of an angel, a radiant joy cascading | |
| 1126 off of her. She looked simply gorgeous. Sakura stood in stunned | |
| 1127 silence for a moment before shaking her head. Something seemed wrong. | |
| 1128 Like she hadn’t quite finished everything. But what...? Oh! “Tomoyo- | |
| 1129 chan, I.. umm.. I was wondering..” Sakura took a deep breath. She had | |
| 1130 already done this once, even if it had only been a dream. Seeing | |
| 1131 those shining stormy blue orbs, Sakura pushed forward. “Tomoyo-chan, | |
| 1132 will you go out with me?” she asked quickly. | |
| 1133 Tomoyo didn’t miss a beat, though she was wondering how easy it | |
| 1134 would be to have a heart attack from what had happened in just the | |
| 1135 last few minutes. At least she’d die happy. “I would love to go out | |
| 1136 with you, Sakura-chan,” the heiress sang joyously. The look of relief | |
| 1137 that spread across Sakura’s face made her heart melt. She would have | |
| 1138 been happy to help Sakura throughout her life no matter what | |
| 1139 happened, but it seemed infinitely better to be there with Sakura for | |
| 1140 it. She wasn’t thinking about where the date would take place or | |
| 1141 when. Such things were trivial. It was that Sakura had asked that | |
| 1142 mattered. It was that they would. | |
| 1143 Smiling delightedly, Sakura once again began for school, skating | |
| 1144 alongside Tomoyo, hand in hand. “Hanyaan..” she whispered. The dream | |
| 1145 seemed incredibly far away now, only a distant shadow. Life could be | |
| 1146 endlessly more fascinating than even the most beautiful dreams. | |
| 1147 | |
| 1148 Kero: Now it’s time for Kero-chan’s Corner!! Hi, everybody! Did you | |
| 1149 have fun? Did you all follow the adventures of boy Sakura and his | |
| 1150 date with Tomoyo? We all know it would have been better if I had been | |
| 1151 able to give Sakura-chan that advice I was talking about earlier. But | |
| 1152 maybe this time she’ll ask me about it, ne? Anyway, for today, we’ll | |
| 1153 check out Sakura’s clothes. Basically, they were just the boys’ | |
| 1154 school uniform and a cute shirt and shorts. She also wore her yukata, | |
| 1155 but I wasn’t in that scene, so does it even matter? Remember what | |
| 1156 happened to the girl who got everything she ever wanted. She lived | |
| 1157 happily ever after. Bai bai!! | |
| 1158 | |
| 1159 Next Episode: | |
| 1160 Sakura: Syaoran’s lost the engagement ring he was going to give | |
| 1161 Meiling. Can I help him find it before Meiling finds out? Also, Kero | |
| 1162 eats cake. And lots of it. And will all of this talk of marriage get | |
| 1163 Tomoyo thinking? Hoe.. I’m too young to get married! Next on | |
| 1164 Cardcaptor Sakura: ‘Sakura and the Engagement Ring’. Let’s watch it | |
| 1165 together. Release!! | |
| 1166 . |