Mercurial > moonlitnights
comparison old/stories/dearsakura-22.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 |
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1 Dear Sakura | |
2 by Amazoness Duo and G.P. | |
3 amazonessduo@hotmail.com | |
4 pearsong1954@yahoo.com | |
5 | |
6 | |
7 “Where the hell is she?” Syaoran scowled as he found himself at the | |
8 starting point of his search, his empty bedroom. He had awoken to | |
9 find Sakura missing, her side of the bed barely slept in. His | |
10 brunette wife was almost always there when he got ready for work. He | |
11 had thought that she had been downstairs making breakfast or waiting | |
12 for him, but Sakura hadn’t been there either. His concern escalating, | |
13 the Chinese sorcerer had made his way through the entire house, | |
14 twice, to no avail. Sakura was nowhere to be found. | |
15 Sighing, Syaoran once again poured over the room he and his wife | |
16 shared. One of her small bags was gone. It was the one Tomoyo had | |
17 given her as a going away present when Sakura had agreed to come back | |
18 to Hong Kong with him. The only reason he remembered was because the | |
19 sickeningly cute bag held most of Sakura’s things for her gym class, | |
20 so it was often next to their bed so it would be readily available | |
21 for her in the morning. But her school supplies lay next to the bed | |
22 in disarray, as if Sakura had dumped them all out before taking the | |
23 bag. That didn’t make any sense. What good would an empty bag do? | |
24 Continuing his search, the frustrated man scoured the room for | |
25 anything else that might be a clue to his wife’s whereabouts. He | |
26 couldn’t tell if anything else was missing, but he found enough of | |
27 her things hurriedly tossed to the side that he could guess that | |
28 there were. His eyes slowly scanned the room before stopping on the | |
29 desk that lay against the far wall. On top of it lay his Lazan Board, | |
30 but there was a curious empty spot next to it. "The Sakura Book!” he | |
31 nearly yelled out. The familiar pink book was nowhere to be seen. | |
32 Sakura sometimes took it with her when she wanted to speak to the | |
33 Cards or when she simply wanted it nearby, but it always wound up on | |
34 that desk. A terrible sense of foreboding swept through the Chinese | |
35 sorcerer. | |
36 Running down the stairs, Syaoran forced past his older sister, | |
37 Shiefa, brusquely. He hardly paid attention to her as he continued | |
38 through the house. Where had Sakura gone off to? Why would she leave | |
39 so suddenly? Was there some new danger? He paused for a moment in | |
40 front of the door to the garden. He had to relax. He had told Sakura | |
41 time and time again that if she cried it would keep her from getting | |
42 anything done. It was the same as this situation. If he panicked, he | |
43 wouldn’t be able to resolve the situation. Nodding to himself, he | |
44 tried to clear his thoughts. Sakura obviously hadn’t had time to grab | |
45 more than a few things, so she was obviously in a hurry. She had | |
46 taken the Book of Sakura with her, so it could have something to do | |
47 with the Cards. Hadn’t she mentioned some dream that had concerned | |
48 her lately? He couldn’t recall what it had been about exactly. So | |
49 perhaps she had rushed off to whatever this new magical emergency | |
50 was. But then why hadn’t she told him? He may not be as powerful as | |
51 she, but he had vowed to protect her. Tomoyo had made him promise | |
52 that the night before their wedding. It had been an unexpected visit | |
53 from the dark haired girl, one he hadn’t quite understood. Why would | |
54 the Daidouji girl come to him rather than to Sakura the night before | |
55 their wedding? She was obsessed with his bride to be, after all. But | |
56 she had come to him that night. Her normal smile hadn’t been on her | |
57 face and that had immediately worried him that it might have | |
58 something to do with Sakura. But after he had finally allowed her | |
59 inside, Tomoyo had watched him carefully for what felt like an | |
60 eternity, studying his very soul. When she finally spoke, her soft | |
61 voice sounded extremely far away, as if she had traveled the world | |
62 over and was too exhausted to take another step. They had spoken for | |
63 a short time, mostly about Sakura, though Syaoran had been uneasy the | |
64 entire conversation. Finally, Tomoyo had walked up to him and looked | |
65 him straight in the eyes. For someone who had faced countless | |
66 hardships and numerous battles, Syaoran had thought he was prepared | |
67 for anything. But Tomoyo’s infinite gaze, her stormy blue eyes seeing | |
68 deep past all that he was... Syaoran had flinched. He had barely | |
69 heard her speak and it took him a moment to piece together what he | |
70 had heard. She wanted him to promise that he would take care of | |
71 Sakura, that he would make her happy. Her words had irritated him, | |
72 and he had grown angry with her at the time. “What are you talking | |
73 about? Of course I’ll take care of her,” he had said. | |
74 Tomoyo had merely stared at him, her deep eyes never losing their | |
75 hold on his. His anger seemed to pass through her as if she hadn’t | |
76 even noticed it. “I want you to promise that you will always make | |
77 Sakura happy. I want you to keep her safe,” she said in her gentle | |
78 voice, but there had been no questioning her. Despite her gentle | |
79 façade, her words were laced with steel. He would protect her, he | |
80 would make her happy, or... He didn’t even want to know the | |
81 consequences. He tried to laugh at the thought now, of this pale and | |
82 weak girl doing anything to him if he didn’t fulfil his promise, but | |
83 he couldn’t bring himself to find any humor in the situation. He knew | |
84 in his heart that Tomoyo had been dead serious that day, that there | |
85 was no falling short on his side of the deal. There was something | |
86 about the dark haired girl that had frightened him. He had agreed | |
87 with her demands quickly, hoping she would leave him alone. But she | |
88 had waited a moment longer, still staring at him. Brushing back some | |
89 hair, she offered him a small smile and a nod before turning around. | |
90 He hadn’t seen her leave and he had almost convinced himself that she | |
91 had merely been a ghost before he finally got a hold of himself. | |
92 Finding himself in the garden, Syaoran walked out into the chilly | |
93 morning, holding himself as the bitter wind rushed past him. That | |
94 promise felt as if it had been made a lifetime ago. But still, a | |
95 promise is a promise. And even more than that, this was his wife. He | |
96 was supposed to protect her. So where had she gone to without him? If | |
97 it was something to do with her magic, then why wouldn’t she bring | |
98 him along? It didn’t make any sense. A small spring of anger welled | |
99 up inside him as he fought against the cold. She needed him, didn’t | |
100 she? Of course she did. But then why hadn’t she told him of whatever | |
101 this was? Why would she run off without him? He was her husband. He | |
102 was the one that she was supposed to come with for everything. But | |
103 recently, she had spent all of her time talking about that Daidouji | |
104 girl. He had gotten so sick of hearing ‘Tomoyo’ all around the house. | |
105 Even Fanren had started talking about her! He knew she was Sakura’s | |
106 friend, but he hated seeing the one he loved talking about another | |
107 all the time, even if it was just another girl. He had gotten angry | |
108 at her over it, but he thought that had been resolved. Besides, he | |
109 didn’t talk about other people all the time, so why should she? | |
110 Shaking his head, Syaoran once again tried to clear his thoughts, | |
111 but the jealousy and anger wouldn’t go away. Even if Sakura was the | |
112 most powerful magical being on the planet, why would she hurry off | |
113 without him? Did she think she didn’t need him for this? What if | |
114 something terrible happened that she needed him to save her from? | |
115 Tomoyo sure as hell couldn’t save her. For all Sakura had talked | |
116 about her recently, the pale girl could never help her with some | |
117 magical problem. That was why she needed him for something like this. | |
118 It was foolish to rush off on her own. Now he would have to find her, | |
119 and, most likely at the last possible instant, save her. | |
120 Syaoran’s scowl grew darker as he stepped out among the flowers. He | |
121 was liking this less and less. What the hell could Sakura be up to? | |
122 He was her husband. He had a right to know, even if this didn’t have | |
123 anything to do with the Cards. They were married and he was the one | |
124 she should be going to with her problems so he could fix them. But | |
125 instead, she always turned to Tomoyo, crying out her problems in | |
126 letters and telephone conversations that cost a big chunk of Sakura’s | |
127 paycheck because she wouldn’t get off the phone until it was pitch | |
128 black outside. But could Tomoyo ever fix her problems? No. She was | |
129 merely a shoulder to cry on. But somehow, Sakura always felt better | |
130 about everything. And that made Syaoran even more jealous about the | |
131 attention that someone else was receiving from his wife. Sakura would | |
132 crawl back into bed after writing a long letter or after she had been | |
133 on the phone with Tomoyo for entirely too long and she would smile | |
134 happily, as if she were completely refreshed and wrap her arms around | |
135 him before falling asleep. He was glad to see Sakura happier, even if | |
136 it puzzled him, but he was angry that it was through someone else. He | |
137 knew that he didn’t think Sakura needed to talk about everything and | |
138 that he didn’t always feel like listening after a hard day at work, | |
139 but he was still frustrated that he wasn’t the one making her feel | |
140 better. | |
141 Tomoyo’s visit had proven even worse for the Chinese sorcerer. She | |
142 had managed to captivate the hearts of his family, in particular his | |
143 older sister, Fanren. Even his mother seemed to take favor with the | |
144 pale beauty! How could she get Ieran-sama’s attention when even he | |
145 failed under her scrutiny? That had infuriated him. His wife had been | |
146 so obliviously happy during the Japanese girl’s stay, spending every | |
147 conceivable moment with her. The thing that had gotten to him the | |
148 most was that Sakura had looked happier during Tomoyo’s brief stay | |
149 than he could ever remember her, even during the honeymoon. He hadn’t | |
150 been able to wait for Tomoyo to leave so things could get back to | |
151 normal again. But they hadn’t been able to. Sakura had seemed even | |
152 more distant lately, her conversations invariably leading back to the | |
153 dark haired girl. He had lost his temper several times and though he | |
154 regretted it now, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He just didn’t | |
155 want to hear about her anymore in his house. Sakura was his wife, | |
156 damn it! No one else’s. No one else had claim to her. He was the one | |
157 she should always come to for help. He was the one who should always | |
158 make her happy. He should be the one she was always talking about! | |
159 So wrapped up in his burning jealousy was Syaoran that he barely | |
160 noticed the rustle of leaves in a tree above and the sound of | |
161 branches shifting as someone leapt out. He felt the wind whip past | |
162 his face as he narrowly dodged the leaping form. His eyes quickly | |
163 focused on his attacker, his body shifting to a fighting stance. | |
164 “Meiling?!” he blurted out in surprise. His beautiful cousin stood | |
165 before him in a short, blue Chinese dress that barely fell past her | |
166 thighs. Intricate lavender flowers lay entwined across the deep blue. | |
167 Her amber eyes met his with an anger that sent ripples through him. | |
168 In a fluid movement that looked more like a dance than an attack, her | |
169 fist lunged for him. Syaoran ducked it easily. “What the hell are you | |
170 doing?” he shouted at her, blocking a kick. He tried to sense any | |
171 magic coming from her to see if she had been enchanted, but he could | |
172 feel nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. All he had to do was glance | |
173 at those burning amber eyes to see the fury that held her. | |
174 Meiling kicked again, driving Syaoran back with her strong legs. | |
175 This man had once been her fiance, the man that she had loved with | |
176 all of her heart. The man that she still loved. Which is why she was | |
177 still so angry with him. How he could have left her for some Japanese | |
178 girl was completely beyond her. Had he simply been infatuated with | |
179 Sakura’s magic? That was part of why he fell for the white haired | |
180 boy, so it was reasonable. And as Sakura had grown in magical power, | |
181 so had Syaoran’s feelings for her, as if the two ideas were linked | |
182 firmly together. Whatever the reason, he had spurned his cousin’s | |
183 affections and instead married the Cardmistress. To say that Meiling | |
184 had been distraught was an understatement. Dreams of marrying her | |
185 beloved Syaoran had been with her since childhood. The bitter taste | |
186 of defeat, of having the once she loved so callously toss her aside | |
187 had been maddening. How he could dare do that to her when she had | |
188 given him everything had picked at her heart the same way a | |
189 thoughtless person pulls away a butterflies wings. Her wings had been | |
190 stolen from her and she could no longer soar. All because some hussy | |
191 had come along and stolen the attention of the only one she had ever | |
192 loved. She would never forgive Sakura for taking away her Syaoran. | |
193 But at the same time, she couldn’t forgive Syaoran either. ‘But I | |
194 gave you everything,’ she had whispered when she had learned of the | |
195 wedding. Syaoran had tried to explain it to her, but she ran off. She | |
196 hadn’t let him see her tears. But as soon as she was alone, they came | |
197 bitterly and with a vengeance. ‘I loved you and I gave you | |
198 everything. I gave you my heart. Why couldn’t you accept it? Is there | |
199 something wrong with it? Is it not good enough?’ she had asked | |
200 herself in the midst of her tears. But no answers had ever come to | |
201 her, from her own heart or from Syaoran. | |
202 Though the marriage had only been half a year ago at the most, | |
203 Meiling could have sworn it had been an eternity. Forced to watch her | |
204 beloved cousin and his blushing bride had driven her near the | |
205 breaking point. To see the man she loved with another woman, to know | |
206 that her lonely heart would never receive his attention was too | |
207 sickeningly cruel. How Tomoyo dealt with it, she couldn’t begin to | |
208 fathom. All she knew was the pain. It was her constant companion, a | |
209 travel guide to life that she had been unlucky enough to come across. | |
210 And all the while, Syaoran had never once shown any sympathy, any | |
211 remorse for breaking her heart. How thoughtless! How cruel! How dare | |
212 he!?! Meiling renewed her assault with further vigor, her rage | |
213 fueling her near dance-like attacks. | |
214 Syaoran kept on the defensive, but he was beginning to tire. | |
215 Meiling had gone crazy. That was the only explanation. Why else would | |
216 she fight him like this? It made no sense. He decided that the only | |
217 way to finish this battle would be to take her out. She seemed in no | |
218 mood to give up. With a sigh, he lunged forward. He felt bad for what | |
219 he had to do, but it had to be done. He and Meiling had sparred often | |
220 enough in the past and he nearly always won. So he would have to | |
221 defeat her here and find out just what was going on. He waited | |
222 patiently for her to collapse, but to his surprise, his fist missed | |
223 her entirely. His eyes widened as he saw her leg dart out. A painful | |
224 realization hit him seconds before her leg did. She was a whole lot | |
225 faster than he had ever imagined. This fight had been hers from the | |
226 beginning. Pain blossomed through him like a sudden and unexpected | |
227 supernova. The wind rushed out of him in a frenzied path to escape | |
228 his burning lungs. His stomach called out in agony as he first | |
229 hunched over and then collapsed to the ground altogether. “How..?” he | |
230 got out weakly. | |
231 Meiling crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing as she | |
232 watched the man lying in pain on the grass below her. “Didn’t think I | |
233 could beat you, huh? You thought I’d always settle for second place | |
234 with you, is that it? I always got second and you always got first as | |
235 children. You always came in ahead of me.” Brushing a dark pigtail | |
236 over her shoulder, she knelt next to her prone cousin. “I let you | |
237 win. I loved you, so I was happy to let you win as long as I could be | |
238 the one to finish next to you. I loved how happy it made you, how | |
239 exhilarated you always were when you succeeded. You always had this | |
240 thirst for victory, for winning. And I was pleased to let you drink | |
241 its nectar from my hands.” She shrugged absently as she stood up, | |
242 stretching. “And let’s face it, Syaoran. Martial Arts was never your | |
243 thing. You were always better at magic anyway.” | |
244 Trying to catch his breath, Syaoran struggled with what she was | |
245 telling him. So all those times that he had beaten her as a child, | |
246 every sparring match he had won, they were because she had let him? | |
247 This girl who had been there for almost all of the life he could | |
248 remember, who had always trailed just behind him, had allowed him to | |
249 pull ahead simply because of her feelings for him? Memories came back | |
250 in a flood, of her making careless mistakes when they were sparring | |
251 or slowing just enough when they were sprinting to allow him to pass. | |
252 He sighed painfully. It seemed that not only his stomach would | |
253 bruise, but his ego as well. “What were you thinking?” he asked | |
254 angrily, forcing himself up on his hands. He turned his firey gaze on | |
255 her, but she didn’t look like she was in a mood for it. Her own | |
256 smoldering eyes made his feel like simmering coal in comparison. | |
257 “I won. I refuse to live in your shadow anymore, Syaoran. I refuse | |
258 to let you continue hurting me like this. I won't lie down and let | |
259 you force your damned marriage in my face.” Meiling began to walk | |
260 away from him, the wind playing idly with her hair. “So I’m finished. | |
261 I’m not going to let myself stick around and wait for things to work | |
262 out. I’m leaving, Syaoran. My life is my own. I just took it back | |
263 from you. I gave you my heart and if it’s not good enough for you, | |
264 then I might as well leave.” Tears sparkled in her eyes as she turned | |
265 to face him one last time. “I love you, Syaoran. And I always will. | |
266 But I won’t let you hurt me anymore. Goodbye.” And with that, she | |
267 leapt into the trees. | |
268 “Meiling! Meiling!!” Syaoran cried out after her. But it was too | |
269 late. She was already gone. “Damn it!” Struggling to his knees, the | |
270 Chinese sorcerer winced as pain shot through his belly. “What else | |
271 could go wrong today?” he muttered to himself, walking back towards | |
272 the house. Just what was he supposed to tell his mother, the | |
273 matriarch of the Li family? He dreaded the thought. She would not be | |
274 pleased about Meiling’s sudden decision. ‘Probably like she wasn’t | |
275 pleased with my decision to marry Sakura-chan instead of Meiling,” he | |
276 thought disparately. | |
277 “Sakura-chan’s gone!!” | |
278 “Ack!!” Syaoran reeled back, getting ready to attack the demon that | |
279 had leapt out at him. His heart finally slowed as the Seal Beast came | |
280 into view, concern etched all over it’s small yellow head. Syaoran | |
281 pushed past him, not in the mood to deal with Kero’s antics at the | |
282 moment. | |
283 “Hey, brat, I said ‘Sa-ku-ra-chan-is-gone’. What, you don’t speak | |
284 Japanese all of a sudden?” Kero asked irritably. He never did much | |
285 like the Chinese sorcerer and Sakura’s marriage to him hadn’t changed | |
286 the situation. Syaoran wouldn’t even let him sleep in the same room | |
287 as Sakura like he used to! | |
288 “I know that! I’ve been looking for her all morning,” Syaoran | |
289 replied angrily, wishing that the stuffed animal could be busy doing | |
290 anything besides pestering him at the moment. “I’ve looked | |
291 everywhere.” He sighed resignedly. | |
292 “Everywhere, huh?” The Seal Beast smirked proudly, crossing his | |
293 arms. “I guess you need to get glasses, boy, because you missed | |
294 something.” Producing a letter out of nowhere, Kero grinned | |
295 triumphantly. He was always happy to outwit people he didn’t like and | |
296 Syaoran ranked very highly on his list. | |
297 Syaoran snatched the letter away from the flying teddy bear | |
298 instantly, skimming through it. He knew that style too well. He had | |
299 seen Sakura reading these when he had been drifting off to sleep. It | |
300 had to be from Tomoyo. And sure enough, it was. The letter was polite | |
301 and explained to Sakura that she had to say goodbye, that she would | |
302 be going away. “Crap!” Syaoran tossed the letter, hurrying upstairs, | |
303 Kero in hot pursuit. | |
304 “So what is it? Do you know where she is?” Kero asked impatiently. | |
305 He didn’t know what the letter meant, only that it was important. The | |
306 fact that it said that Tomoyo was leaving and that it had been found | |
307 near where Sakura kept her keys worried him. | |
308 “Sakura-chan’s gone back to Japan. She’s trying to stop Daidouji- | |
309 san,” Syaoran said over his shoulder, cramming clothes into a | |
310 suitcase. It all made sense now. Why Sakura had been so hellbent on | |
311 Tomoyo for the past few weeks, why she had been so happy to see | |
312 Tomoyo during her visit, why she had needed the dark haired girl so | |
313 much. And he wasn’t about to let some rich girl steal his wife away | |
314 from him. Sakura was his and he was going to make sure it stayed that | |
315 way, no matter what happened. Slamming the clasps on his suitcase, he | |
316 stood up and scanned the room one last time for anything he might | |
317 need. | |
318 “So we’re going back to Japan to find Sakura-chan? Oh yeah!!” Kero | |
319 exclaimed, bringing his small arm down in an excited gesture. “Let’s | |
320 get goin’, kid!!” |