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     1.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-13.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,456 @@
     1.4 +Dear Sakura
     1.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
     1.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
     1.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
     1.8 +
     1.9 +
    1.10 +	Life is a mixture of good and bad. Delightfully joyous
    1.11 +circumstances plagued by the most exquisite pain. Biting cold and
    1.12 +burning heart. In some ways, the very talons of sorrow and defeat
    1.13 +were what made joy taste all the sweeter to the lips, a fruit that
    1.14 +one was lucky to find but was gone all too quickly. While in the
    1.15 +shadows, waiting and lurking was the despair, eager to reclaim its
    1.16 +prize once delight and happiness had all but faded. Happiness was an
    1.17 +escape that faded all too quickly in the dim lights that filled one’s
    1.18 +life. That was not to say that they were any less spectacular. It
    1.19 +served to make them even more treasured in the hearts of those who
    1.20 +knew how rare such things really were. How cherished they should be
    1.21 +for simply being there. The sweetest joys were often tinged with the
    1.22 +bittersweet aftertaste of sadness. And through it all, life continued
    1.23 +it’s inexhaustible march forward. As a lone toy designer waited
    1.24 +patiently for the giant metal beast she was riding to make its way
    1.25 +back to Japan, her thoughts were filled with musings on her own
    1.26 +recent joy and pain.
    1.27 +	 Tomoyo found herself staring into the eyes of the teddy bear that
    1.28 +Sakura had made her. It was beautiful, if a little messy. But that
    1.29 +was something the dark haired woman loved about it. It was obviously
    1.30 +Sakura’s doing. She remembered one time when Sakura had made a yukata
    1.31 +for Syaoran. She had spent so long working on it, despite her
    1.32 +difficulty with sewing. And even if it hadn’t been the best looking
    1.33 +yukata, it had been crafted carefully and delicately with Sakura’s
    1.34 +warm and loving heart. Tomoyo understood this all too well. After
    1.35 +all, every costume she made and all of the outfits she would sew for
    1.36 +the brunette came from the bottom of her heart. The level of one’s
    1.37 +skill with thread and needle didn’t matter; it was what lay in one’s
    1.38 +heart while creating that truly brought out the beauty within. And
    1.39 +Tomoyo saw that reflecting back at her through the violet eyes of the
    1.40 +teddy bear she was holding. The bear was pink and white with a large
    1.41 +purple bow. It was stained with Tomoyo’s tears as she had held it
    1.42 +tightly to her, Sakura’s scent still clinging stubbornly to it. 
    1.43 +	Turning the bear over in her hands, the pale heiress ran her
    1.44 +fingers over a small dark patch that she had identified as some of
    1.45 +Sakura’s blood. She knew very well that Sakura had difficulty with
    1.46 +such tasks and the bandages on her fingers had been testament to
    1.47 +this. The thought of Sakura pricking herself while making the bear
    1.48 +was both sad and heartwarming at the same time. Knowing that Sakura
    1.49 +was in pain, physical or emotional, had always hurt Tomoyo infinitely
    1.50 +more than her own pain. Seeing Sakura hurting and knowing that she
    1.51 +was helpless to stop it dug into her heart. She would give anything
    1.52 +to take all of the brunette’s pain for herself, to suffer with all of
    1.53 +it if only it meant that Sakura would no longer feel it’s heavy
    1.54 +burden. But knowing that despite hurting herself, Sakura had
    1.55 +continued to pour her genki heart out into the teddy bear almost left
    1.56 +Tomoyo breathless. Surely she wasn’t worthy of such shining devotion.
    1.57 +It made the bear in her arms a truly wonderful gift, one that came
    1.58 +from the deep spring of love that Tomoyo had nearly tumbled into
    1.59 +during her visit. And just like in real water, she couldn’t swim in
    1.60 +it. She had found herself floundering, awash in the waves of
    1.61 +confusion that kept pushing her under. But that was one sea that she
    1.62 +would have been happy to drown in, the deep ocean of Sakura’s love.
    1.63 +Her fingers passed once more over the small dried patch of blood, a
    1.64 +small sacrifice from Sakura that left itself as a tiny badge on the
    1.65 +bear.
    1.66 +	Sakura. That’s what she had named the bear. The name had flown into
    1.67 +her mind the instant she had received it. After all, you were
    1.68 +supposed to name your teddy bear after the one you loved. If you were
    1.69 +lucky, it meant that they would fall in love with you as well. Tomoyo
    1.70 +had explained that to Sakura years earlier. Sakura had been about to
    1.71 +make one for Yukito when she asked why Tomoyo wasn’t making a bear
    1.72 +for her special someone.  The dark haired woman had replied that she
    1.73 +only wanted the one she loved to be happy. But she had wanted so
    1.74 +dearly to make a bear for Sakura, to give it to her along with her
    1.75 +love. Instead, she had sat by while Syaoran made one for Sakura and
    1.76 +Sakura eventually gave hers to the Chinese boy. She had never made a
    1.77 +bear for anyone and she found herself regretting that. Even if Sakura
    1.78 +hadn’t been able to understand, even if she had never known why,
    1.79 +Tomoyo wished that she had been able to make one for her beautiful
    1.80 +friend. But her love had to be locked away, unable to come forth in
    1.81 +such an obvious display. Not that she hadn’t been obvious enough at
    1.82 +other times, now that she thought about it, but after explaining the
    1.83 +bear in relation to her special someone, even dense Sakura would have
    1.84 +been able to figure out that she was the one who held Tomoyo’s heart
    1.85 +by strings. And up till now she had never received a teddy bear. Not
    1.86 +that she had minded at all. Just like the boys she had turned down in
    1.87 +high school when they had asked for dates, it just didn’t matter. Her
    1.88 +one, true love was the only one in her heart. She was all right if
    1.89 +that meant never getting flowers, or teddy bears, or chocolates as
    1.90 +tokens of love. She could be happy as long as she knew her true love
    1.91 +was. Even if she wasn’t with her.
    1.92 +	But now Sakura had gone back and made her a teddy bear, something
    1.93 +that Tomoyo had long given up on back in her youth. The gesture had
    1.94 +surprised and amazed her. It was supposed to be from her special
    1.95 +someone, Sakura had said. It _was_ from her special someone. It was a
    1.96 +gift that she had never even allowed herself to hope for. The very
    1.97 +thought that Sakura had made it specifically for her, that she had
    1.98 +given her such an incredible gift was almost too much to handle. She
    1.99 +hoped that Sakura would find her final costume soon after she left.
   1.100 +She had left it on the bed in the small room she had occupied. It was
   1.101 +still unfinished, but she wanted Sakura to have it regardless. She
   1.102 +didn’t think she would make another costume after the wedding dress,
   1.103 +so she would leave it unfinished for Sakura to do with as she pleased.
   1.104 +	Hugging the bear closer, Tomoyo hardly seemed to notice the
   1.105 +turbulence that suddenly began to buffet the plane. Such things were
   1.106 +trivial and didn’t matter much to her in her current frame of mind.
   1.107 +Part of her cried out, hoping that the plane would crash into the
   1.108 +waves beneath them, slipping into the rough waters below. It would be
   1.109 +a fitting end to her visit. The image of herself still strapped to
   1.110 +her chair, eyes closed serenely, her hair fluttering about in the
   1.111 +water as she held the bear beneath the waves entered her mind. She
   1.112 +took the thoughts in stride, the dark imagery failing to worry her.
   1.113 +If she were to die in such a way, then she would be happy. She would
   1.114 +have seen her darling Sakura one last time in life and would be ready
   1.115 +to fade from her life. But her mother was still waiting for her back
   1.116 +home and Sakura would undoubtedly hear about such a disaster. No, she
   1.117 +would have to find a quieter way to slip out of Sakura’s life. She
   1.118 +knew that she had to fade away. And soon. This trip had been a
   1.119 +blessing, but it had frightened her at times. Her continued presence
   1.120 +in Sakura’s life could have drastic consequences if Sakura were to
   1.121 +ever discover who her special someone was. The love that she had felt
   1.122 +from Sakura had been intoxicating, wrapping around her like silk
   1.123 +spider webs, unable and unwilling to get free from their hold. But if
   1.124 +that love were to continue developing, it could be disastrous not
   1.125 +only for Sakura’s marriage, but her entire new life as well. It was
   1.126 +too dangerous. And far too painful. Being so close to Sakura, feeling
   1.127 +the warmth in her heart, it was maddening for Tomoyo. So close yet so
   1.128 +far. She knew that she could never be with the smiling brunette,
   1.129 +could never love her the way she wanted to. Being so close was an
   1.130 +exquisitely delightful torture, giving her secret thrills at sharing
   1.131 +so much with Sakura, but with a heavy undercurrent of frozen icicles
   1.132 +of pain slashing mercilessly at her heart. Her masks had become
   1.133 +ineffectual, leaving her completely defenseless in Sakura’s presence.
   1.134 +Watching Sakura’s marriage so closely, never being able to truly be a
   1.135 +part of Sakura’s happiness, it would quickly destroy her. She was
   1.136 +already broken. Tomoyo knew that. The cracks were becoming evident in
   1.137 +her surface, the underlying structure starting to buckle. She would
   1.138 +not last much longer in Sakura’s life, especially after the moments
   1.139 +they had shared. The pain, the loneliness would quickly consume her.
   1.140 +Watching Sakura and smiling, trying so hard to pretend that she was
   1.141 +all right, she couldn’t keep it up anymore. She was tired. Oh, so
   1.142 +tired. Her masks lay heavy on her shoulders and she could no longer
   1.143 +work up the will to wear them as she once had. Yet she would continue
   1.144 +to as well as she could for Sakura’s sake… until she could fade away.
   1.145 +She was nothing more than a specter from Sakura’s past. It was about
   1.146 +time that she made her exit. 
   1.147 +	Her current train of thought sent fresh tears streaming down her
   1.148 +ivory cheeks, falling helplessly to the teddy bear in her arms. She
   1.149 +didn’t want to leave Sakura. She didn’t want to fade out of her life.
   1.150 +After this trip, all she wanted was to be with her, to hold on to the
   1.151 +woman she loved with all of her heart. But she knew she couldn’t. And
   1.152 +she wouldn’t last much longer in Sakura’s life. Her pain had built up
   1.153 +intensely inside of her for years now, growing steadily as she kept
   1.154 +it all inside, never once showing her friend the torment in her
   1.155 +heart. And it was rapidly becoming too much for her. Staying in
   1.156 +Sakura’s life was making it grow stronger, the longing for Sakura
   1.157 +becoming more painful, the pain as she watched Sakura’s marriage even
   1.158 +more acute. She had to fade away. For herself and for Sakura. It was
   1.159 +the only way. Staying would only bring more heartache and pain. There
   1.160 +was still a chance that she could survive with only her memories of
   1.161 +Sakura. Her mother had lasted all these years with memories of
   1.162 +Nadeshiko. Perhaps she could do the same. The pain would never lessen
   1.163 +in her heart and her love would never fade in the slightest, but she
   1.164 +would know that Sakura was happy and that she was only a distant
   1.165 +memory to her. No matter how much that hurt Tomoyo, she knew it was
   1.166 +quickly becoming the only way out. 
   1.167 +	Wiping her tears away with shaking fingers, Tomoyo smiled softly
   1.168 +and politely turned down a flight attendants offer of help. Looking
   1.169 +out the small window near her seat, the dark haired woman watched the
   1.170 +clouds beneath them. The sun gleamed brightly from behind them,
   1.171 +coloring the sky in beautiful oranges and pinks as it slowly began to
   1.172 +fade away. “The sun is the most beautiful before it disappears,”
   1.173 +Tomoyo whispered softly to the teddy bear. “That is what this trip
   1.174 +was for. My beautiful memories of Sakura-chan before I fade away. At
   1.175 +least we got to be together one last time. I’ll always cherish those
   1.176 +memories and the time we spent together.” A soft smile crossed her
   1.177 +lips. It was a heartfelt smile. Yes, this would be the last time she
   1.178 +would see Sakura, but like the setting sun, it was gorgeous. Tomoyo
   1.179 +had no regrets about the trip or her time spent with Sakura. It had
   1.180 +been a beautiful gift that was bestowed upon her and she thanked
   1.181 +whoever it was that had blessed her with Sakura’s friendship in the
   1.182 +first place for the wonderful memories that would always be etched
   1.183 +into her soul. Every second with Sakura had reminded her of just how
   1.184 +much she loved the brunette. It had shown her once again that all she
   1.185 +really wanted was for Sakura to be happy. Each magical moment had
   1.186 +been like the sweetest dream, even down to their parting. It had been
   1.187 +terribly painful to leave Sakura. Her legs had nearly refused to take
   1.188 +her away from the other woman. But even then, Sakura’s gift had
   1.189 +shined through the darkness of the moment. It had been as if Sakura
   1.190 +had wrapped her battered heart gently in a soft quilt, cradling it
   1.191 +from the pain. Yes, she would always treasure this trip and the
   1.192 +pieces of Sakura’s heart that she held close to her own. When they
   1.193 +were together, it had felt like all of the pieces to the puzzle had
   1.194 +been brought together. Sakura had fit all of the missing pieces in
   1.195 +her heart and soul. Tomoyo had felt complete. The loneliness was
   1.196 +gone, the void in her heart was answered. She felt happy when she was
   1.197 +with Sakura. Even if she couldn’t be the one to make Sakura happy,
   1.198 +Sakura certainly was the one who made her happy. 
   1.199 +	“I could never thank you enough for this trip, Sakura-chan. It was
   1.200 +the most wonderful time of my life. Being with you must be a glimpse
   1.201 +of Heaven,” Tomoyo whispered as she held the teddy bear in her lap.
   1.202 +For a moment, she saw it as her own child, coming with her on some
   1.203 +business trip. Is that what would happen? Would she find herself with
   1.204 +a child to ease her loneliness and to try to fill the void in her
   1.205 +life as her mother had? She knew that her mother had been happy to
   1.206 +have her, Tomoyo’s young life giving her own meaning. The idea was
   1.207 +very tempting, to raise a child of her own. Perhaps she could even
   1.208 +convince Touya to supply the sperm for the child. She could get a
   1.209 +very skilled doctor for the procedure. After all, she didn’t need to
   1.210 +be with anyone to have a child. There were other procedures for that.
   1.211 +In Vitro-Fertilization. And if half of it was coming from Touya, then
   1.212 +it would be very close to the child she and Sakura would have had
   1.213 +they been able to conceive one. A faint smile crossed her lips at the
   1.214 +thought, images of Sakura in boys’ clothes once again filling her
   1.215 +mind. A cute little girl. A child all her own. Yes, she’d have to
   1.216 +look into it. She held the teddy bear closer. 
   1.217 +	 The entire trip had left her small and relatively weak body
   1.218 +exhausted, but sleep seemed light years away. Tomoyo’s mind was far
   1.219 +too consumed by the trip itself and it’s implications to worry about
   1.220 +such things as sleep. It had fulfilled one of her fondest dreams, to
   1.221 +kiss Sakura with all of the love she could muster. And even more
   1.222 +surprisingly, Sakura had returned it with a fervor she never would
   1.223 +have imagined in the brunette. It had been a magical, fairy tale like
   1.224 +kiss and that alone stood out as a symbol in her mind of the
   1.225 +affection Sakura had showered upon her during her visit. She still
   1.226 +found herself confused by it, but now there was nothing she could do
   1.227 +about it. She would soon be back home in Japan, far away from the
   1.228 +beautiful bride and her sweet and soul stirring kisses. But it left
   1.229 +Tomoyo a little uneasy. Behind the confusion surrounding Sakura’s
   1.230 +love, she saw something that resembled her own love remarkably. Like
   1.231 +a crystal clear mirror, it seemed to reflect her own love, beaming
   1.232 +from within Sakura. As if the Red String of Fate that was heavily
   1.233 +knotted around her heart also tugged at Sakura’s. This gave Tomoyo
   1.234 +pause, considering Sakura’s words on the night before she left. Even
   1.235 +Sakura’s confession had sounded like one confessing a secret love.
   1.236 +More than anything, she wanted to take that love and nurture it with
   1.237 +her own, delighting in its shimmering radiance. 
   1.238 +	Tomoyo wasn’t used to being confused. In fact, she very rarely was.
   1.239 +Her mother loved her dearly, but she was gone often with her work so
   1.240 +Tomoyo had relied heavily on her keen perception of people and their
   1.241 +hearts for most of her life which is why she was having such a
   1.242 +difficult time lying to herself that Sakura’s love was anything else.
   1.243 +Tomoyo was a terrible liar, especially to herself. But if it was
   1.244 +love, then what could she do? She had already wasted her chance to be
   1.245 +with Sakura. Sakura was already married and in a new life. She
   1.246 +couldn’t interfere. She just wanted Sakura to be happy and getting
   1.247 +involved would just make things difficult for the poor magical girl.
   1.248 +Her thoughts were finally interrupted by the pilot announcing their
   1.249 +descent into Tokyo. Tomoyo was glad for the distraction. She held her
   1.250 +teddy bear close as the plane made its way towards the airport below.
   1.251 +“I love you, Sakura-chan,” she said out loud, half hoping that it
   1.252 +would be heard and answered from across the sea.
   1.253 +
   1.254 +	Sonomi Daidouji looked down at her watch impatiently. “It’s been
   1.255 +half an hour. What if something’s happened to my darling little
   1.256 +Tomoyo-chan?” she asked no one in particular. Her voice held a tinge
   1.257 +of mania in it, an overprotective quality within her that had only
   1.258 +grown stronger since the loss of her beloved Nadeshiko. Her daughter
   1.259 +was the only person that mattered in her life anymore and she
   1.260 +couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to the pale girl. “I
   1.261 +knew I should have sent the bodyguards with her.” 
   1.262 +	Looking down at her laptop, the businesswoman sighed. She was too
   1.263 +flustered to attempt to get any work done. Her mind was concentrating
   1.264 +on other things. Her finger lingered over the shut down command, her
   1.265 +attention on the picture of Nadeshiko that she used as a background.
   1.266 +Though Nadeshiko had been a model for a number of years, this picture
   1.267 +was one of a kind. Nadeshiko had sent it explicitly to her around the
   1.268 +time she had been pregnant with Tomoyo. It was almost as if she’d
   1.269 +known. There was a sweet, simple letter attached.  It mentioned
   1.270 +nothing of the man Sonomi had come to hate, Nadeshiko’s husband,
   1.271 +Fujitaka, or even of the birth of Sakura that must have been near at
   1.272 +the time. It was merely a few words that Sonomi had read over and
   1.273 +over until the ink had gotten smeared with her fingerprints and even
   1.274 +then, they were vivid in her memory. ‘Thank you for always looking
   1.275 +out for me, Sonomi-chan. Even if I don’t see you much anymore, I
   1.276 +still hear your voice when I’m going about my day. You’ll always be
   1.277 +in my heart.’ Three years later, she had died. Sonomi had never
   1.278 +gotten to ask her why she had sent the letter. It just hadn’t seemed
   1.279 +important while she was in the hospital. Sonomi’s mind had latched
   1.280 +onto other things at the time. Her failure to protect Nadeshiko and
   1.281 +the knowledge that she would soon lose her dearest cousin in this
   1.282 +life was unbearable. It made everything else seem trivial. It was
   1.283 +ironic that the only thing able to bring her back to Nadeshiko after
   1.284 +the marriage to Fujitaka was her impending death. And she had once
   1.285 +again been left without her. 
   1.286 +	But, as Nadeshiko had said, she was always in her heart. The
   1.287 +picture that Sonomi kept on her desktop and by her nightstand was not
   1.288 +one of Nadeshiko the model, Nadeshiko the mother, or Nadeshiko the
   1.289 +bride. It was simply her beloved Nadeshiko, her sweet little cousin.
   1.290 +And that was all Sonomi ever really wanted. She had other pictures of
   1.291 +Nadeshiko around the house and at her office, but this was her
   1.292 +favorite. The words always followed in Nadeshiko’s gentle voice when
   1.293 +she would look upon it. “Nadeshiko-chan, please look out for my
   1.294 +daughter,” she said softly. 
   1.295 +	Sonomi had spent the entire trip to the mountains in the vacation
   1.296 +house plagued by worries and concerns for her daughter. She felt a
   1.297 +little ashamed at what Tomoyo would think if she knew she had been
   1.298 +smoking the entire time. But she couldn’t help it. Her mind had been
   1.299 +in shambles, a hopelessness that had shrouded her soul sneaking up
   1.300 +like a curse to strike down her only daughter. It hardly seemed fair.
   1.301 +And Sonomi, the athletic and overprotective woman she was, once again
   1.302 +failed to save those close to her. Just like she had been unable to
   1.303 +protect Nadeshiko from HIM, she was unable to protect Tomoyo from the
   1.304 +pain that had enveloped her own life. Her mind had been consumed with
   1.305 +thoughts of her poor Tomoyo in Hong Kong, painfully aware of the boy
   1.306 +that had married Sakura. She knew that she herself couldn’t have
   1.307 +handled seeing Nadeshiko during her marriage to Fujitaka. It must
   1.308 +have been terrible for Tomoyo. Which is why she had tried to get
   1.309 +Tomoyo to come up with her to the mountains. She only wanted to
   1.310 +protect her daughter from the sorrow and the hurt. Her dreams had all
   1.311 +been nightmares during her restless sleep at the vacation home,
   1.312 +always reliving either Nadeshiko’s wedding or her funeral. She would
   1.313 +wake up screaming, tears streaming down her cheeks to an empty
   1.314 +vacation home filled with smoke, silent except for the ghost of her
   1.315 +daughter’s musical voice playing at the edge of her thoughts. 
   1.316 +	Tomoyo’s return to Japan filled her with a sense of relief,
   1.317 +although an afterthought of dread followed it. She really had no idea
   1.318 +what had happened during Tomoyo’s trip and was afraid that her
   1.319 +daughter had been thoroughly crushed by it all. Knowing she was
   1.320 +coming back let her rest a bit easier because now she could once
   1.321 +again keep an eye on the younger woman, trying to help however she
   1.322 +could. She needed to know that her baby was all right, that she had
   1.323 +survived the painful ordeal. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan, I wish you had come
   1.324 +with me instead. I can’t stand to know that Sakura-chan is hurting
   1.325 +you.” A sigh escaped her. If there was one thing that Sonomi hated
   1.326 +(Fujitaka), it was (Fujitaka) not being able to protect the ones
   1.327 +dearest to her. It was that feeling of utter helplessness that held
   1.328 +her bound while she desperately wanted to make things better.  And it
   1.329 +had struck first with Nadeshiko and now with her own daughter. It
   1.330 +drove her crazy to be unable to keep her darling daughter safe from
   1.331 +the pain and torment she had lived through. Her long fingers wrapped
   1.332 +around the last cigarette in her purse. She rolled it over between
   1.333 +her fingers thoughtfully. No, being self-destructive certainly
   1.334 +wouldn’t help Tomoyo. She could almost hear her daughter’s voice
   1.335 +asking her politely not to use the little paper stick. Sighing, she
   1.336 +tossed it into the nearest trash can. 
   1.337 +	“Okaa-sama?” a tired voice asked behind her. Sonomi whirled around,
   1.338 +eyes settling on the visage of her exhausted daughter. Tomoyo had
   1.339 +dark bags under her eyes and her body seemed nearly too tired to walk
   1.340 +another step. Her smile was soft and sweet, her stormy blue eyes
   1.341 +sparkling with a mixture of emotions. Sadness, loss, joy, relief. She
   1.342 +seemed far too tired to struggle with her masks, though Sonomi could
   1.343 +see through her daughter’s charades easily enough. It looked like the
   1.344 +dark haired woman had been crying, her cheeks puffy and red and her
   1.345 +eyes bloodshot. She was holding a pink and white teddy bear and one
   1.346 +bag she had carried on with her. Sonomi’s arms wrapped around the
   1.347 +younger girl, pulling her nearly off her feet. Despite Tomoyo’s
   1.348 +exhaustion, the heiress nearly flew into her mother’s arms,
   1.349 +collapsing moments afterwards. “Okaa-sama... It’s so good to see
   1.350 +you,” she whispered. Her voice was near breaking. 
   1.351 +	“Tomoyo-chan!” Sonomi began smoothing down her daughter’s lavender
   1.352 +hair as she held onto the weak figure in her arms. “I was starting to
   1.353 +worry. I was starting to think something happened to your plane.”
   1.354 +Choking back tears that suddenly threatened the businesswoman, she
   1.355 +shook her head, smiling. “I’m just glad to see you, Tomoyo-chan.
   1.356 +Here, let the bodyguards get the rest of your bags and we’ll head
   1.357 +straight home. You look like you haven’t slept in days. We’ll get you
   1.358 +right in bed as soon as we’re home.” Standing back to get a better
   1.359 +look at her daughter, Sonomi couldn’t help but smile wider. Her worry
   1.360 +seemed to evaporate now that Tomoyo was back in Japan. Now she could
   1.361 +protect her again. Now she would be safe. “I’m so glad to have you
   1.362 +back, Tomoyo-chan.” Giving her daughter another quick hug, Sonomi
   1.363 +finally stepped back. 
   1.364 +	A soft sigh escaped Tomoyo’s lips. She was home now. The whole trip
   1.365 +was behind her now. But it still felt fresh and alive in her memory,
   1.366 +as if she was reliving it at the very moment. Seeing her mother took
   1.367 +away the edge to her pain. It was still there, but much more distant.
   1.368 +She always felt safe when her mother was nearby. Her indomitable
   1.369 +spirit was something Tomoyo had always admired about her mother, and
   1.370 +it always made things feel better when she was there. "Arigato
   1.371 +gozaimasu,” Tomoyo said, bowing. One of the darkly dressed women
   1.372 +standing behind her mother took her bag, though she held tightly onto
   1.373 +the teddy bear. Two others returned with the rest of her luggage. 
   1.374 +	Sonomi led the way towards the limousine, standing very near
   1.375 +Tomoyo, half afraid that her daughter would simply collapse. “If
   1.376 +you’re too tired, I can carry you the rest of the way,” Sonomi
   1.377 +offered, watching her daughter out of the corner of her eyes. “I used
   1.378 +to all the time when you were younger, Tomoyo-chan.” A bright smile
   1.379 +played across her lips at the memories. Her tiny little daughter
   1.380 +asleep in her arms as she would carry her off to bed. She still did
   1.381 +that occasionally when she found Tomoyo asleep while watching her
   1.382 +videotapes of Sakura. The young woman she saw next to her seemed to
   1.383 +be replaced by the tiny daughter of yesteryear, happy to see her
   1.384 +mother again after a business trip. But the look in her eyes brought
   1.385 +Sonomi back to the present. There was something in those eyes that
   1.386 +was far too old for the young woman, an ancient pain and knowledge.
   1.387 +She was mature for her years.  She always had been. She had always
   1.388 +surprised Sonomi, brightening up her otherwise lonely and busy life. 
   1.389 +	Tomoyo smiled at the offer, but shook her head politely. Long dark
   1.390 +hair fluttered from side to side. “No, that’s all right, Okaa-sama. I
   1.391 +think I can make it on my own.” She was happy to see that her mother
   1.392 +was still as sweetly overprotective as ever. It had always been
   1.393 +something she could rely on when she was younger. When she was tucked
   1.394 +away in bed, she had always known that her mother would keep an eye
   1.395 +on her. And that if anything went wrong, Sonomi would be the first to
   1.396 +her rescue. It was a comforting thought. Of course, Tomoyo tried
   1.397 +extra hard not to worry her mother because of that overprotective
   1.398 +nature. In the same way Tomoyo didn’t want Sakura to feel bad because
   1.399 +of her, she tried to do the same for her mother. But Sonomi always
   1.400 +foiled her attempts by seeing straight through her masks, looking
   1.401 +directly into her soul. She still didn’t know how her mother managed
   1.402 +it when no one else seemed capable, but the only answer her mother
   1.403 +ever supplied was simply that: She was her mother. 
   1.404 +	The two women and their small entourage finally made it to the
   1.405 +limousine out in the airport parking lot. One of the bodyguards
   1.406 +opened the door for the two of them and they slid inside the
   1.407 +comfortable interior. “How was your trip, Tomoyo-chan?” Sonomi asked
   1.408 +at last, almost afraid of the answer. To her surprise, Tomoyo giggled
   1.409 +softly, smiling brightly in response. 
   1.410 +	“It was wonderful, Okaa-sama. It was absolutely amazing. Seeing
   1.411 +Sakura-chan again was like a fairy tale. She was a beautiful
   1.412 +princess, capturing me away in a small tower in her heart during my
   1.413 +visit. I don’t think I’ve ever had dreams nearly so pleasant. It was
   1.414 +perfect, mother. I thought after so long, I would be in the way while
   1.415 +I was there, that I should try to distance myself during the trip.
   1.416 +But I couldn’t. Not with Sakura-chan. She pulled me out from behind
   1.417 +the curtains and wouldn’t let me go. We talked for hours and hours,
   1.418 +her voice is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard, and we held
   1.419 +onto each other. She did my hair like she used to when we were little
   1.420 +girls and we danced late into the night together, all alone amidst
   1.421 +the crowd.” Her stormy blue eyes closed as she tilted her head to the
   1.422 +side, her cheeks flushing slightly at the memories. “We kissed under
   1.423 +the moonlight. She has incredibly soft lips. Sakura-chan is a very
   1.424 +good kisser.”
   1.425 +	Sonomi clasped her hands together, very nearly startling Tomoyo out
   1.426 +of her reverie. Her eyes shone like diamonds, an electric thrill
   1.427 +coursing up her spine. “Tomoyo-chan, you kissed Sakura-chan?” She
   1.428 +couldn’t have been happier if she’d been told that she had kissed
   1.429 +Nadeshiko. In fact, it felt almost the same. She saw so much of
   1.430 +herself and Nadeshiko in the two girls. These little things between
   1.431 +their daughters almost felt like she herself was living through it.
   1.432 +For a second, she saw Nadeshiko sitting beside her, a small smile on
   1.433 +her lips and beautiful black ribbons in her hair. She looked quite a
   1.434 +bit like Tomoyo at that age, actually. And Sakura even resembled
   1.435 +herself in some small ways. Sonomi hugged her daughter tightly,
   1.436 +delight dancing through her. “Tomoyo-chan, that’s fantastic! You’ll
   1.437 +have to tell me every single detail!”
   1.438 +	Tomoyo giggled softly and nodded. So often she kept her love for
   1.439 +Sakura to herself, locked up in her heart. She was very happy to be
   1.440 +able to share that with her mother. Her mother was nearly as obsessed
   1.441 +with Sakura as she herself was, being Nadeshiko’s daughter and all,
   1.442 +and it was wonderful to have someone to talk about it with. If anyone
   1.443 +understood her love for Sakura, it was her mother who had gone
   1.444 +through much the same thing with Nadeshiko. Smiling happily, Tomoyo
   1.445 +added, “And I have plenty of videotape from the trip. Not as much as
   1.446 +I would have liked, but I have some nice footage.” 
   1.447 +	“I can’t wait to see it all, Tomoyo-chan,” Sonomi said eagerly. She
   1.448 +felt delightfully giddy at the prospects of what had happened during
   1.449 +Tomoyo’s trip. There was even a trill of hope in her heart, one she
   1.450 +hadn’t felt in an incredibly long time. In a way, her hopes and
   1.451 +dreams had been passed on to Tomoyo. She knew that Tomoyo obviously
   1.452 +wasn’t with Sakura, but the idea of a kiss was a gripping thought.
   1.453 +"But first, you’re going to get some sleep. Then you can tell me all
   1.454 +about it.”
   1.455 +	“I would like that very much, mother,” Tomoyo replied, hugging the
   1.456 +bear named Sakura to her chest. Yawning tiredly, she felt her mother
   1.457 +pull her closer. Before long, she was asleep with her head on
   1.458 +Sonomi’s shoulder.
   1.459 +