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     1.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-28.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
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     1.4 +Dear Sakura: Broken Dreams
     1.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
     1.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
     1.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
     1.8 +
     1.9 +
    1.10 +
    1.11 +	It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Tomoyo’s carefully constructed
    1.12 +plans had all collapsed in such a short time. The wreckage of her
    1.13 +hopes and dreams, of her well planned efforts for Sakura, had her
    1.14 +lonely heart pinned helplessly to the floor. She was lost and afraid,
    1.15 +alone in an endless maze of despair that she had no hope of escaping.
    1.16 +Sakura’s beautiful new life was on the verge of ending tragically
    1.17 +because of Tomoyo’s recent trip to Hong Kong. She had given into her
    1.18 +feelings for Sakura and now the woman she loved was about to lose
    1.19 +everything because of it. Her plan to leave Sakura’s life quietly, to
    1.20 +fade away from Sakura over time had also been dashed by the
    1.21 +Cardmistress’s sudden appearance in Tomoeda. Everything Tomoyo had
    1.22 +done, she had done for Sakura. But it had all been for nothing, her
    1.23 +effort and prayers amounting to little more than broken dreams.
    1.24 +Despite how hard she had tried, how much she had given, it hadn’t
    1.25 +been enough. She hadn’t been able to safeguard Sakura’s beautiful
    1.26 +life that she herself had played a part in orchestrating. After all,
    1.27 +had she not played such an integral part in getting Sakura with her
    1.28 +prince, Syaoran, would they have come together on their own? But now
    1.29 +it all teetered on the brink, threatening to crush both Tomoyo and
    1.30 +Sakura underneath its weight. 
    1.31 +	All the dark haired heiress had ever wanted with all of her heart
    1.32 +had been Sakura’s happiness. Everything she had done had been for
    1.33 +those ends. From pushing Syaoran to tell Sakura his feelings and
    1.34 +later helping Sakura understand her feelings for the Chinese boy.
    1.35 +Fading out of Sakura’s life had been just another part of her plan
    1.36 +for Sakura’s happiness. To leave so that she couldn’t threaten the
    1.37 +wonderful life Sakura was leading with her beloved. But Fate had
    1.38 +cruelly stepped in right when things seemed to be perfect. Tomoyo had
    1.39 +finally crafted the beautiful life she had always envisioned for
    1.40 +Sakura. The woman she loved was happily married and protected and
    1.41 +would one day have a gorgeous child. It had all been set up. All
    1.42 +Tomoyo had to do was to slip away from Sakura’s life and hope that it
    1.43 +would always be joyous for the Mistress of the Cards. Tomoyo had
    1.44 +tried so hard, but it seemed that her hard work had never mattered at
    1.45 +all. Her remaining presence in Sakura’s life had possibly damaged it
    1.46 +beyond repair, had left Sakura’s shimmering future in doubt. The
    1.47 +lavender haired girl hadn’t even been able to escape before the
    1.48 +damage became too great, Sakura reaching Japan before she could
    1.49 +disappear forever. 
    1.50 +	“All I want is for the person I like to be happy. If they can be
    1.51 +happy, then that would be my greatest wish,” Tomoyo whispered to
    1.52 +herself, as if she were once again repeating to Sakura her reasoning
    1.53 +for not going after the one she loved. But now the words sounded
    1.54 +empty, hollow. If she didn’t have the knowledge that Sakura was
    1.55 +happy, then what did she have? The heart of her beloved Mistress of
    1.56 +the Cards couldn’t possibly survive the death of her happy life,
    1.57 +could it? So Tomoyo was left with nothing at all, not even the hope
    1.58 +for her friend’s future. Her lonely heart was stripped of even that,
    1.59 +the one thing that had made her life worth living, that had given her
    1.60 +empty life some substance. The heiress had gambled and lost. She had
    1.61 +placed her bets and now was the time that debts must be paid. Her
    1.62 +gamble for Sakura’s happiness had fallen through. So in a way, it was
    1.63 +her own fault that the brunette was on the brink of losing her new
    1.64 +and wonderful life in Hong Kong. She had been one of the driving
    1.65 +forces behind Sakura’s marriage to Syaoran, to her moving to Hong
    1.66 +Kong. And ironically, she had been the one to bring it so close to
    1.67 +ruin. 
    1.68 +	Bare feet shifted on cold metal as a pale ghost of a woman looked
    1.69 +out into the cold night sky. Above lay the sparkling stars in the sky
    1.70 +while below lay the shining lights of the many buildings that
    1.71 +stretched out endlessly into the dark horizon. Wet tears dripped down
    1.72 +her chin, falling past her feet, tiny diamonds dropping from up above
    1.73 +like rain drops. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had never gone
    1.74 +to Hong Kong if this whole thing could have been avoided. Maybe she
    1.75 +could have slipped from Sakura’s life without hurting her darling
    1.76 +brunette. Maybe the beautiful life that lay before Sakura could have
    1.77 +been saved. Not that it mattered what might have been. That possible
    1.78 +future now lay in ruins and the future awaiting Sakura and Tomoyo
    1.79 +looked to be a dark and stormy one indeed. Involuntarily, the dark
    1.80 +haired girl’s mind went back to her cherished kiss with Sakura. What
    1.81 +had been a secret dream she had held dear from the time she had been
    1.82 +a child now seemed like the beginning of the end. What had begun as a
    1.83 +farewell trip with her friend had become something much more. Tomoyo
    1.84 +had intended to try and distance herself from Sakura so it would be
    1.85 +easier to part from her life, but the brunette hadn’t allowed it.
    1.86 +They had instead been closer, more intimate than they ever had in the
    1.87 +days when Sakura had been back in Tomoeda. This had, for once, taken
    1.88 +Tomoyo by complete surprise. So off guard had she been that she had
    1.89 +made the mistake of giving into the love that her heart was always
    1.90 +drowning in, kissing Sakura that one night in the garden. It had been
    1.91 +one of her fondest wishes come true, to hold Sakura close and to be
    1.92 +able to kiss her friend with all the fire that burnt in her heart.
    1.93 +And the night had felt so magical, so dreamlike. It had been her one
    1.94 +chance to give her heart to Sakura. But now it seemed that it had
    1.95 +condemned the two, slowly but surely destroying everything Tomoyo had
    1.96 +worked so hard for. But even then, Tomoyo couldn’t fully blame the
    1.97 +sweet kiss they had shared, the tender moment locked deep within her
    1.98 +heart. 
    1.99 +	Wind whipped long lavender hair around almost violently in the dark
   1.100 +night. Tears sparkled dimly as they fell past the dark locks of hair.
   1.101 +Tomoyo felt trapped, boxed in, trapped as surely as any of Sakura’s
   1.102 +Cards had been. She was crushed by the enormous weight of the mistake
   1.103 +she had made. Stealing Sakura’s kiss held with it a high sentence. It
   1.104 +held with it the power to destroy both Sakura’s life and her own. And
   1.105 +the pale heiress couldn’t live with the thought of her dream,
   1.106 +Sakura’s happiness being obliterated because of her giving in to her
   1.107 +heart. It hardly seemed fair that such a small thing had caused so
   1.108 +much damage. Why should Sakura suffer because of Tomoyo’s longing? A
   1.109 +long time ago, Tomoyo had thought that she could just be happy as
   1.110 +long as Sakura was. Now she realized that wasn’t true. She wanted
   1.111 +desperately for Sakura to be happy, but it left her so lonely and
   1.112 +cold inside. That realization had come with a terrible price. Giving
   1.113 +into that pain, giving into her loneliness had brought about an end
   1.114 +to the happy life she had always wanted for Sakura. It reminded the
   1.115 +lavender haired phantom of an ancient myth she had once heard long
   1.116 +ago. It was of a man who fought his way to Hades to bring back the
   1.117 +woman he loved. He had come with such bravery, such courage that he
   1.118 +had been allowed to take her back on one condition, that she follow
   1.119 +behind him and that he couldn’t look back to her until they reached
   1.120 +the surface. And so the pair traveled all the way back to the surface
   1.121 +together like that, the woman right behind him. So happy was he to
   1.122 +see the light, to finally have the woman he loved back, the man
   1.123 +turned to see her. But to his horror, she had not fully gotten to the
   1.124 +surface. In moments, she was returned the Hades. The man, distraught
   1.125 +by his lover being torn from him after nearly having her back, was
   1.126 +left alone and tormented. He killed himself shortly thereafter.
   1.127 +Sakura had been terrified by the dark tale, but Tomoyo had found it a
   1.128 +sad example of the pain love could cause. Now she saw herself in the
   1.129 +same situation. She had led Sakura to her happy life, had finally
   1.130 +left her with the happiness she always wanted for Sakura. But having
   1.131 +been so close to leaving Sakura with this happiness, Tomoyo had
   1.132 +allowed herself to look back, to give in to her feelings. And in that
   1.133 +brief moment, she had ruined it all. Sakura’s happiness was being
   1.134 +stripped from her, right in front of Tomoyo’s eyes.
   1.135 +	But did Sakura have to suffer for Tomoyo’s mistake? No, the heiress
   1.136 +had decided. She had come to the conclusion that the only way to save
   1.137 +Sakura’s happiness was to leave her life, to disappear from the
   1.138 +brunette’s thoughts. But before she could fade from the only one she
   1.139 +could ever love, Sakura had rushed to Japan to stop her. Now Tomoyo
   1.140 +was trapped, unable to do anything to stave off the ruin that awaited
   1.141 +them. Her careful plans lay useless at her feet, leaving her with
   1.142 +nothing. Or did it? She had wanted to fade from Sakura’s life
   1.143 +quietly, to slip away in the least painful way possible. Now that
   1.144 +wasn’t an option with Sakura here in Japan for her. But that didn’t
   1.145 +mean that she couldn’t still save the brunette’s happy life. Tomoyo
   1.146 +knew that she herself was the catastrophe facing Sakura. If she
   1.147 +remained, the Mistress of the Cards could lose everything. Her
   1.148 +husband, the baby that Syaoran could grant her, the life and family
   1.149 +in Hong Kong that she now had. Tomoyo had sacrificed so much for
   1.150 +Sakura’s happiness, ignoring the pain and loneliness in her own heart
   1.151 +as long as Sakura’s genki heart was fulfilled. The thought that she
   1.152 +was what could ruin that horrified her. It was such a sickening
   1.153 +twist. Staying could only hurt Sakura, bringing an end to her life in
   1.154 +Hong Kong. So Tomoyo would have to leave it, to escape before she
   1.155 +could cause anymore damage. Maybe Sakura could still keep her happy
   1.156 +life, could still hold onto it if Tomoyo wasn’t there to confuse her.
   1.157 +It pained Tomoyo that she couldn’t leave quietly, slipping away into
   1.158 +the night like she had planned. Sakura would undoubtedly find out
   1.159 +about her suicide, especially with her in Japan. But Tomoyo saw no
   1.160 +other options open to her. In order for Sakura to live, she had to
   1.161 +die. Her own life held nothing but pain in her future if her
   1.162 +beautiful Cardmistress were to lose everything. And she wouldn’t let
   1.163 +Sakura be punished for Tomoyo’s own innocent sin. This was her only
   1.164 +way to escape Sakura’s life and save her friend’s happiness. Sakura
   1.165 +allowed her no other options. The auburn haired girl wouldn’t let her
   1.166 +go otherwise. If the heiress was dead then Sakura wouldn’t be so
   1.167 +confused about the feelings in her heart, seeking solace in her
   1.168 +husband. Eventually her memories of the lavender haired girl would
   1.169 +fade away, leaving her with nothing more than a faint remembrance of
   1.170 +her guardian angel from long ago. And she would grow happy and old
   1.171 +with her husband and as many children as Fate would bless them with.
   1.172 +Away from the pain, safe from the loneliness, Tomoyo prayed that she
   1.173 +would be able to watch Sakura from up above, to see the happy life
   1.174 +that her death would ensure. It was a high price, one that had to be
   1.175 +paid in blood. But it was one that the lavender eyed woman would
   1.176 +gladly pay if it meant she could stop the catastrophe awaiting her
   1.177 +dearest Sakura. 
   1.178 +	Clutching the teddy bear Sakura had made for her against her chest,
   1.179 +Tomoyo gazed into the darkness, the dim lights blurring into streaks
   1.180 +through her tear filled vision. Her numb, slender fingers grasped
   1.181 +onto a slightly bloodied picture of Sakura. It had been the same
   1.182 +picture that her picture frame had held before she had smashed the
   1.183 +frame to jagged shards. Her beautiful Sakura smiled happily, frozen
   1.184 +forever in that simple image. She had fled her house with only these
   1.185 +two possessions in the early hours of the morning. Sakura’s sudden
   1.186 +appearance had struck her like the blade of a knife, wedged deep into
   1.187 +her heart. It had shattered everything. Curled up in the darkness,
   1.188 +Tomoyo had cried for hours while holding onto the teddy bear she had
   1.189 +named Sakura. The pale woman had thought desperately of a way to fix
   1.190 +things, but nothing but despair had managed to penetrate her troubled
   1.191 +mind. So she had ran. Just as she had planned on doing before with
   1.192 +her planned out escape from Sakura’s life, she had run. She hadn’t
   1.193 +known at first where she was running to, how she would escape the
   1.194 +Mistress of the Cards, but she had finally found herself here. It
   1.195 +seemed fitting, to end up where some of Sakura’s most important
   1.196 +moments had been. If anyone had noticed the distraught barefoot girl,
   1.197 +they hadn’t said anything. How she had made her way to Tokyo Tower,
   1.198 +even Tomoyo wasn’t exactly sure. But she stood there nonetheless,
   1.199 +soft bare feet dirty and bloody from all of her walking. Her
   1.200 +nightgown fluttered in the increasing wind, her dark hair seeming
   1.201 +alive as it moved about her. 
   1.202 +	“Sakura-chan wouldn’t even recognize me, would she?” Tomoyo
   1.203 +whispered softly into the teddy bear’s ear. She held it gently,
   1.204 +lovingly, her tears rolling onto the soft cloth of its head. This
   1.205 +gift from Sakura was all she had left, the only thing she could hold
   1.206 +onto. It was her only companion at the end of her long and painful
   1.207 +road. There was some measure of relief in that, in knowing that it
   1.208 +was almost over. The cold, tangible pain inside of her was
   1.209 +unbearable. It cut through her viciously, tearing at her weak and
   1.210 +fragile soul. Her heart was pierced deeply, her love for Sakura
   1.211 +making the pain only more acute. She had to wonder if Sakura would
   1.212 +recognize this wretched, lonely girl about to throw herself off of
   1.213 +Tokyo Tower. Sakura had always seen what Tomoyo had portrayed for
   1.214 +her. In all the years they had known each other, Tomoyo had tried to
   1.215 +never show Sakura her fears, her pain, or her tears. And certainly
   1.216 +not her loneliness. She had always been happy for Sakura, always
   1.217 +offering her a smile. Sakura didn’t know what lay beneath that
   1.218 +smiling exterior. The Cardmistress hadn’t been allowed to see beneath
   1.219 +Tomoyo’s masks. Tomoyo had worn them for her, had always smiled for
   1.220 +Sakura’s sake. She had never wanted to burden Sakura with her
   1.221 +problems, with her own pain and tears. Only the briefest of glimpses
   1.222 +had been given to Sakura of the inner turmoil that lay beneath her
   1.223 +happy façade. But that had been part of the problem. Discovering
   1.224 +Tomoyo’s loneliness that night in the garden when they had shared a
   1.225 +kiss had sparked Sakura’s indomitable determination, forcing the
   1.226 +energetic brunette to try and find out who Tomoyo loved and to fix
   1.227 +the pain she had seen. Tomoyo had burdened Sakura after all in a way
   1.228 +she had never wished to. And she hated herself for that, for allowing
   1.229 +herself to let Sakura see her that way. It had been one of the
   1.230 +deciding factors in what had begun to ruin Sakura’s life. So she had
   1.231 +tried to hold onto her masks for as long as she could, to hide the
   1.232 +shadows from Sakura. She had been doing that since she had been a
   1.233 +child, always keeping up a mask of happiness for Sakura, never
   1.234 +letting her see the cold, lonely child beneath their constraints. But
   1.235 +now she was entirely without her masks, having left the broken shards
   1.236 +behind. She felt naked, unable to hold back the grief that held her
   1.237 +heart in a viselike grip.  They had finally broken, and with them, so
   1.238 +had the girl underneath. Tomoyo had only been able to handle so much
   1.239 +before her soul began to splinter just like the glass in the picture
   1.240 +frame. She had tried to write Sakura a goodbye note on the back of
   1.241 +the picture she held, to try not to worry her with her death, but it
   1.242 +was impossible for her. Her masks were entirely gone. She couldn’t
   1.243 +hide her pain any longer. Sobbing in frustration, Tomoyo had finally
   1.244 +given up, leaving only a half written apology on the back of the
   1.245 +picture of Sakura. 
   1.246 +	Hugging the teddy bear in her arms as tightly as she could against
   1.247 +her trembling skin, Tomoyo sobbed against the bear named Sakura’s
   1.248 +head, her hair draped over the two of them as the wind grew eerily
   1.249 +calm for a moment. “I’ll miss you, Sakura-chan. Please take care of
   1.250 +her for me. I want... I need Sakura-chan to be happy. So I have to go
   1.251 +away for that. I need to fade away from her life. I don’t want to
   1.252 +hurt her like this. I wanted to move away before I did this so it
   1.253 +wouldn’t hurt Sakura-chan or mother. But there’s nothing else I can
   1.254 +do. I need to do this for Sakura-chan. It’s my last chance to save
   1.255 +her happiness,” she whispered quietly, tears soaking into the bear’s
   1.256 +head. Gingerly kissing the top of the teddy bear’s head, Tomoyo set
   1.257 +it down gently near the edge. The small bear seemed to be looking out
   1.258 +at the city spreading out below them, its tiny ribbon flowing in the
   1.259 +returning breeze. 
   1.260 +	“I love you, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said louder as she stood up. Her
   1.261 +pale skin glimmered softly in the moonlight, her lavender hair
   1.262 +falling about her like tendrils of the night itself. Clasping her
   1.263 +hands together in front of her, the pale woman looked like a grieving
   1.264 +angel. She had stood by in Sakura’s life for years, always content
   1.265 +with loving her friend from afar. She had done so not because she had
   1.266 +been embarrassed to say anything and not because she wasn’t brave
   1.267 +enough to tell the brunette. No, it had been something much deeper
   1.268 +than that. She had done it precisely because she loved Sakura. She
   1.269 +had watched her grow closer to Syaoran, had watched the one she loved
   1.270 +with all of her heart giving her heart to another. Tomoyo hadn’t
   1.271 +burdened Sakura with her own feelings, had instead tried to nurture
   1.272 +Sakura’s heart towards another. Because she believed that the
   1.273 +Mistress of the Cards, her sweet auburn haired best friend, had
   1.274 +chosen her princess long ago. Just like in the play they had done so
   1.275 +long ago, Sakura was the noble and determined prince. Syaoran was her
   1.276 +princess. And Tomoyo wouldn’t, couldn’t fight that. She had no wish
   1.277 +to. As long as Sakura could be happy, that was all that mattered. So
   1.278 +she had stayed in the background, watching as Sakura had fallen in
   1.279 +love with a little push from herself, had watched as the two had
   1.280 +begun a relationship. When you love someone so much it hurts, that
   1.281 +they become your entire world, then it becomes their happiness, not
   1.282 +your own, that matters. Maybe she could have had Sakura with the
   1.283 +amount of control she could wield over the brunette. But it would
   1.284 +never be worth having Sakura if she wasn’t happy. So if someone else
   1.285 +could have Sakura’s love, could thrill her and fill her with joy at
   1.286 +the world, then that would be Tomoyo’s goal in life. And so even if
   1.287 +it hurt, Tomoyo had given her all to make sure that Sakura would be
   1.288 +happy with Syaoran. And she would safeguard that now. Forever.  	
   1.289 +	Alone. In one way or another, Tomoyo had always been alone. Sakura
   1.290 +had never really seen her, never looked past her masks. They had
   1.291 +always been close, but Sakura had never looked through to the girl
   1.292 +beneath her cheerful exterior. And besides Sakura, Tomoyo really
   1.293 +hadn’t had any other friends. Chiharu, Naoko, and Rika had all been
   1.294 +Sakura’s friends. Friends by the common association with Sakura
   1.295 +maybe, but nothing more. It had been so easy for Sakura to make
   1.296 +friends with her warm and loving nature. But it had always been
   1.297 +something difficult for the more introverted heiress. Sakura had been
   1.298 +her first real and best friend. And she had cherished that deeply.
   1.299 +But it left her so alone because of how in love she had fallen with
   1.300 +Sakura. Because she could never show her everything that lay in her
   1.301 +heart. And though her mother cared about her deeply, the
   1.302 +businesswoman had always been so busy with work. Tomoyo had always
   1.303 +loved the times they could spend together, but they had been few and
   1.304 +far between at times. But now that loneliness would finally come to
   1.305 +an end. She could slip away. She had always been in the background,
   1.306 +so no one should notice after a while that she was even gone. It was
   1.307 +finally over. 
   1.308 +	Taking a step forward, Tomoyo looked up at the stars above. She
   1.309 +wondered where Nadeshiko was up above. The beautiful woman was almost
   1.310 +certainly an angel now. She would have to ask her to keep an eye on
   1.311 +her mother. Maybe she could be Sakura’s angel. She had always wanted
   1.312 +nothing more than to watch her beautiful best friend smile joyously.
   1.313 +If she could keep an eye on Sakura after her death, she could watch
   1.314 +all that she would be missing in life. To see Sakura live her happy
   1.315 +life, to see her have children and grow old with the one she loved,
   1.316 +that would be all she could hope for. If she could be Sakura’s angel,
   1.317 +she could always be with her. And Sakura could finally be happy.
   1.318 +There would be no more danger of her ruining her dearest
   1.319 +Cardmistress’s gorgeous life. Death held no fear for the lavender
   1.320 +haired woman. It held release in it’s grasp, and salvation for the
   1.321 +happiness she wished to protect. She could finally escape her
   1.322 +loneliness and torment, leaving them as well as her masks behind. 
   1.323 +	Dark tresses waved in front of Tomoyo, nearly blinding the quiet
   1.324 +phantom as the wind began to pick up violently again. Tomoyo took no
   1.325 +notice of the gale, her hands held tightly to her chest. Her battered
   1.326 +heart whispered it’s endless love to Sakura amidst the rustling of
   1.327 +the wind. “Goodbye, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said softly, taking a last
   1.328 +glance at the steadfast teddy bear. It was time to go. But her love
   1.329 +would never leave her. Eternity awaited, calling to her. Turning back
   1.330 +to the city lights that continued to shine like beacons in the
   1.331 +darkness, Tomoyo stepped forward onto the edge of the structure. The
   1.332 +wind threatened to throw off the small toy designer, angrily shaking
   1.333 +her with all its might. But the girl waited patiently, tears still
   1.334 +dripping below. Pulling up her bloodstained picture, Tomoyo’s fingers
   1.335 +gently traced over the smiling Sakura. Behind her tears, Tomoyo
   1.336 +returned the smile to her beloved. In an instant, the picture
   1.337 +disappeared. The lavender haired woman’s heart skipped a beat as her
   1.338 +tear streaked eyes darted for the small object. It floated a few feet
   1.339 +away from her, fluttering in the heavy wind.  “Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo
   1.340 +called out, reaching out for the picture, her frozen moment of
   1.341 +Sakura. Tired, bare feet pushed against metal as she grasped for the
   1.342 +metal. And with that, the world gave away beneath her. The pale woman
   1.343 +plummeted from Tokyo Tower, falling for what felt like an eternity,
   1.344 +but seeming like nothing more than precious seconds. Releasing a weak
   1.345 +sob, Tomoyo clutched her hands to her chest. Dark hair streaked
   1.346 +behind her as the angel took flight, diving to the world below. Her
   1.347 +soul had been broken a short time ago. Now her body would join it,
   1.348 +broken on the pavement below. It would finally be over. Her eyes
   1.349 +closing, her mind shifted through countless images of her beloved.
   1.350 +She was going to die, but her thoughts went immediately to the woman
   1.351 +she loved. ‘Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. It makes me sad to see you
   1.352 +cry,’ she begged the brunette as the pavement rushed up at her like a
   1.353 +bullet train. 
   1.354 +	A cry reached Tomoyo’s ears, but it was indistinguishable over the
   1.355 +howl of the wind. It roared like an angry beast, fighting merely to
   1.356 +prove it’s existence. Her eyes closing tightly, Tomoyo saw Sakura’s
   1.357 +cute face smiling softly at her. “Sakura, I love you,” Tomoyo
   1.358 +whispered seconds before plowing into the concrete below. 
   1.359 +	“TOMOYO-CHAN!!!” Sakura screamed as she alighted next to her
   1.360 +friend’s lifeless body. Her wings disappeared in a storm of feathers
   1.361 +as she collapsed next to the broken and bloody body of the gentle
   1.362 +heiress. Horrified, Sakura reached out with shaky fingers, turning
   1.363 +Tomoyo over. The sight immediately made her wish she hadn’t. Tomoyo
   1.364 +had always been the most gorgeous woman Sakura had ever known, her
   1.365 +graceful beauty always touching Sakura’s heart. But now she lay
   1.366 +broken, shattered. Her best friend was gone, and what was left behind
   1.367 +was a painful reminder. With shaking hands, Sakura brushed back
   1.368 +fluttering lavender hair from Tomoyo’s face. Stormy blue eyes looked
   1.369 +at her lifelessly, their sparkle completely vanished. Tears burst
   1.370 +forth from Sakura as she shook her head violently. “No!! Please,
   1.371 +no..” Tears spilt down her cheeks, dripping to the broken woman
   1.372 +beneath her. She had been too late. She had been flying the entire
   1.373 +day, searching in a frenzy to find Tomoyo, her mind single mindedly
   1.374 +set on finding her best friend. It had taken her forever to finally
   1.375 +find her, and it had only been at the last possible moment when she
   1.376 +had seen Tomoyo’s body tumbling through the air. She had lost. She
   1.377 +hadn’t been fast enough. Bitter sobs wracked her body as she held
   1.378 +onto what was left of Tomoyo. Bloody lavender hair pressed against
   1.379 +her face as she continued to cry. The pale woman’s words echoed
   1.380 +through her mind like an accusation. ‘I wasn’t afraid because I knew
   1.381 +Sakura-chan would save me.’ Yet for all of that faith, Sakura had
   1.382 +failed once again to save her best friend. Had, in fact, failed for
   1.383 +the last time. “Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura cried weakly into Tomoyo’s
   1.384 +hair. “I love you.. Please don’t leave me alone..” Just like always,
   1.385 +she had been too late, and Tomoyo had paid the price. Too late...
   1.386 +Sakura blinked back a fresh surge of tears as she weakly got to her
   1.387 +feet. No, not too late. She couldn’t be. She wouldn’t let herself be.
   1.388 +“I’ll save you, Tomoyo-chan. Just like you always said I would. I
   1.389 +promise,” Sakura whispered as she numbly pulled out her staff. She
   1.390 +had once chance. She was too exhausted to use much more of her power.
   1.391 +So she would have only one chance at this. The staff twirled in her
   1.392 +hands as she tossed a Sakura Card into the air. “Return!! Bring me to
   1.393 +before Tomoyo-chan fell!” She cried out above the bestial howl of the
   1.394 +wind. She wouldn’t let this be the end. 
   1.395 +
   1.396 +
   1.397 +	Dark tresses waved in front of Tomoyo, nearly blinding the quiet
   1.398 +phantom as the wind began to pick up violently again. Tomoyo took no
   1.399 +notice of the gale, her hands held tightly to her chest. Her battered
   1.400 +heart whispered it’s endless love to Sakura amidst the rustling of
   1.401 +the wind. “Goodbye, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo said softly, taking a last
   1.402 +glance at the steadfast teddy bear. It was time to go. But her love
   1.403 +would never leave her. Eternity awaited, calling to her. Turning back
   1.404 +to the city lights that continued to shine like beacons in the
   1.405 +darkness, Tomoyo stepped forward onto the edge of the structure. The
   1.406 +wind threatened to throw off the small toy designer, angrily shaking
   1.407 +her with all its might. But the girl waited patiently, tears still
   1.408 +dripping below. Pulling up her bloodstained picture, Tomoyo’s fingers
   1.409 +gently traced over the smiling Sakura. Behind her tears, Tomoyo
   1.410 +returned the smile to her beloved. In an instant, the picture
   1.411 +disappeared. The lavender haired woman’s heart skipped a beat as her
   1.412 +tear streaked eyes darted for the small object. It floated a few feet
   1.413 +away from her, fluttering in the heavy wind.  “Sakura-chan!” Tomoyo
   1.414 +called out, reaching out for the picture, her frozen moment of
   1.415 +Sakura. Tired, bare feet pushed against metal as she grasped for the
   1.416 +metal. And with that, the world gave away beneath her. The pale woman
   1.417 +plummeted from Tokyo Tower, falling for what felt like an eternity,
   1.418 +but seeming like nothing more than precious seconds. Releasing a weak
   1.419 +sob, Tomoyo clutched her hands to her chest. Dark hair streaked
   1.420 +behind her as the angel took flight, diving to the world below. Her
   1.421 +soul had been broken a short time ago. Now her body would join it,
   1.422 +broken on the pavement below. It would finally be over. Her eyes
   1.423 +closing, her mind shifted through countless images of her beloved.
   1.424 +She was going to die, but her thoughts went immediately to the woman
   1.425 +she loved. ‘Please don’t cry, Sakura-chan. It makes me sad to see you
   1.426 +cry,’ she begged the brunette as the pavement rushed up at her like a
   1.427 +bullet train. 
   1.428 +A scream hit her ears, taking her by surprise. Dark lashes fluttered
   1.429 +open, sending diamond tears into the wind. It took her a moment to
   1.430 +see the source, a small angel rushing up towards her, shimmering
   1.431 +wings beating rapidly behind her. The angel’s beauty left Tomoyo
   1.432 +breathless as the distance between then dropped away. The lavender
   1.433 +haired woman idly wondered if the angel was Nadeshiko, coming to meet
   1.434 +her. It was hard to make out the winged woman in the darkness. Still
   1.435 +stunned by the ethereal beauty that darted her way, Tomoyo let out a
   1.436 +final prayer. ‘Please let me be Sakura’s angel,’ she pleaded. 
   1.437 +	But Tomoyo’s wish lay incomplete, the air knocked out of her as she
   1.438 +stopped short of the ground below. The angel held onto the lavender
   1.439 +haired woman tightly, her grasp actually bruising the pale flesh
   1.440 +beneath her nightgown. Wings beat heavily as they tried to stop the
   1.441 +pair’s downward momentum. Struggling desperately, Sakura slowly began
   1.442 +to slow their descent. Her eyes closed tightly as she tried to focus
   1.443 +on nothing but the task at hand. With Tomoyo in her arms, she found
   1.444 +that extremely difficult, especially with the nature of how she had
   1.445 +found the woman. But somehow everything managed to fade away. There
   1.446 +was nothing but the moment, the action at hand. Emerald eyes opening,
   1.447 +Sakura looked forward, pouring out everything she had in one last
   1.448 +ditch effort. Wind whipped at her, pounding into the two woman,
   1.449 +weakening Sakura’s wings as they struggled to stay aloft. Her heart
   1.450 +pounding thunderously against the pale woman in her arms, Sakura felt
   1.451 +her wings falter briefly as she tried to push forward. Sweat burned
   1.452 +at her eyes as fatigue slowly sapped at her body. Panic began to
   1.453 +overwhelm her, but she forced it away with all of her might. She
   1.454 +could see a bright light ahead of her, awaiting them. It was
   1.455 +gorgeous, deep and illuminating. She struggled to reach the light,
   1.456 +forcing herself forward despite the pain that gnawed at her weakening
   1.457 +body. She thought she saw someone in the light, a woman with long,
   1.458 +dark hair and angel wings. ‘Tomoyo?’ Sakura thought weakly to
   1.459 +herself. But that couldn’t be. Tomoyo was still in her arms. Sakura’s
   1.460 +eyes widened after a moment. ‘Mama?’ The woman watched her intently
   1.461 +as Sakura desperately fought to reach the light and the ledge of the
   1.462 +Tower. She could see the teddy bear she had given Tomoyo resting on
   1.463 +the ledge, watching out along with her mother. Almost... Sakura
   1.464 +strained the last of her strength into a final push to reach the
   1.465 +ledge. The world pushed away beneath them as she flew upwards. One
   1.466 +hand shot out, reaching for the metal. It slowly edged closer. Her
   1.467 +fingers brushed the cold, but blessed metal of the Tower. With some
   1.468 +sort of handhold, she could force her tired wings to get them the
   1.469 +rest of the way up. Her fingers grappled for a better handhold. To
   1.470 +Sakura’s horror, the tower seemed to pull away from her questing
   1.471 +fingers. A sudden gust of wind had caught her wings and forced her
   1.472 +away from the tower. With no strength left, the two woman plummeted
   1.473 +once more. 
   1.474 +	Air buffeted a fatigued and despondent Sakura as she clutched
   1.475 +desperately onto Tomoyo. It wasn’t fair. She almost had it. She had
   1.476 +almost saved Tomoyo. Just like Tomoyo had said long ago, that Sakura
   1.477 +would always come and save her. She had almost been able to. But just
   1.478 +like always, Sakura had failed her. And so she paid for that failure
   1.479 +with her life as well as Tomoyo’s. Her arms clenched onto the cold,
   1.480 +pale woman, tears sparkling in her eyes. She had thought that she
   1.481 +could save her this time. But at least, she thought, she could be
   1.482 +with Tomoyo this time. She wouldn’t die by herself. They would go
   1.483 +together, in each other’s arms. But even with that, Sakura couldn’t
   1.484 +help but feel defeat grip her soul. She had promised she would save
   1.485 +her, had wanted to come and save her best friend once and for all.
   1.486 +She couldn’t fail. It wasn’t right. She had finally come to save
   1.487 +Tomoyo from her pain and loneliness, had finally understood that
   1.488 +their hearts were entwined with red ribbons. But she hadn’t been able
   1.489 +to offer up her heart to the gorgeous dark haired woman, hadn’t been
   1.490 +able to make up for the years of neglecting just how important Tomoyo
   1.491 +was to her. Tears fell scattered to the stormy wind as they both
   1.492 +dropped. “Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura called out as she clung to the dark
   1.493 +haired woman. No, things couldn’t end this way. Not when she finally
   1.494 +understood her heart. Not when she finally understood who she loved.
   1.495 +She couldn’t let her terrible mistake from years before end like
   1.496 +this. She had caused Tomoyo such pain through her confusion about her
   1.497 +own feelings and her marriage to Syaoran. But she had vowed to make
   1.498 +that up to her, to love Tomoyo with all of her heart, to heal her
   1.499 +lonely heart. She had to offer her heart to the dark haired woman, to
   1.500 +finally truly save her. 
   1.501 +	Tomoyo’s heart had nearly stopped in her chest. Sakura was here?
   1.502 +Sakura had found her? No, that wasn’t how it was supposed to be.. She
   1.503 +was supposed to die, to free Sakura from the burdens that lay over
   1.504 +her. Tears sparkled in her eyes as she stayed in the brunette’s arms.
   1.505 +Sakura wouldn’t let her leave. She wouldn’t let her escape. No matter
   1.506 +how hard she tried, everything kept moving towards the inevitable
   1.507 +destruction of Sakura’s happy life. Tomoyo hadn’t even been allowed
   1.508 +to kill herself, to end the pain and to save Sakura. What was she to
   1.509 +do now? How could she hope to fix things now? Despair flooded through
   1.510 +her in a wave, her sobs shaking her against the auburn haired woman.
   1.511 +If Sakura saved her, then she would be trapped here to see the loss
   1.512 +of Sakura’s happiness and to deal with her own pain. But if Sakura
   1.513 +didn’t save her, they would both die. That wasn’t what she wanted at
   1.514 +all. She was supposed to be the one who died, not Sakura. The
   1.515 +Mistress of the Cards had so much awaiting her. She couldn’t die now. 
   1.516 +	Feeling the dark haired woman shuddering in her arms, Sakura felt
   1.517 +her own heart twinge in pain. This woman, the best friend she had
   1.518 +ever had, her support when things were too much for her, her bravery
   1.519 +when she had couldn’t force up any, her mother when she had none, her
   1.520 +confidante when she had secrets that no one else could here. Tomoyo
   1.521 +had always been everything for her. The pale woman had given her
   1.522 +everything she could ever ask for, never thinking at all that Sakura
   1.523 +should ever repay her for the love and support that she had always
   1.524 +poured out to Sakura so constantly. Sakura had to make up for that.
   1.525 +She had to finally make amends for what she had done. And more
   1.526 +importantly, she had to let her heart go free. “Windy!! Please stop
   1.527 +our fall!!” She called out, her staff hitting into the Sakura Card.
   1.528 +Her power was still weak after using the Return Card and having used
   1.529 +Fly all day long so she didn’t know if it would be strong enough to
   1.530 +carry them to the ground. 
   1.531 +	Flying through the air, the magical woman that was Windy shifted
   1.532 +past Sakura and Tomoyo, slowing the fall against the strong gale that
   1.533 +fought back against her. The two tumbled through the air, reaching
   1.534 +ever nearer to the ground. Windy struggled against the wind as the
   1.535 +two fell together, exerting what power she could. Their descent
   1.536 +slowed, but they continued to fall. 
   1.537 +	Sakura felt the ground rushing up to meet her and shifted under
   1.538 +Tomoyo. The two hit the ground hard, the wind sliding them along
   1.539 +across it for a second. Pain burst through Sakura’s shoulder and
   1.540 +lower back in a dazzling display of fire and ice. Flame burned at her
   1.541 +weary muscles as she lay under her best friend, panting heavily. It
   1.542 +took her a moment to realize that she had succeeded. She had saved
   1.543 +Tomoyo after all. Well, not necessarily. But they were both alive, so
   1.544 +it was a start. Taking a deep breath, she released it into Tomoyo’s
   1.545 +hair. Burying herself against the lavender haired woman, Sakura felt
   1.546 +hot tears fall down her cheeks, sliding down Tomoyo’s neck. “Oh,
   1.547 +Tomoyo-chan!! I thought I was going to lose you...” she cried out.
   1.548 +After her failure before, it seemed a miracle that she was here with
   1.549 +her friend. It was almost as if Tomoyo had been brought back to life.
   1.550 +The fact that she was sitting there, holding onto Tomoyo beneath the
   1.551 +Tokyo Tower just as she had been before when Tomoyo had died hit her
   1.552 +with a startling suddenness, bringing fresh tears spilling down her
   1.553 +face as she cried against the pale woman. 
   1.554 +	Tomoyo shifted in Sakura’s embrace, holding onto the sobbing woman.
   1.555 +Her own cold tears fell bitterly to the floor below. Escape had been
   1.556 +snatched from right in front of her. There was no way she could kill
   1.557 +herself now. It would hurt Sakura too much, especially after that.
   1.558 +But she felt profound despair eating away at her. She had failed and
   1.559 +now Sakura’s happy life would come collapsing around the both of
   1.560 +them. And there was absolutely nothing she could do but drown in her
   1.561 +own sorrow. “Sakura-chan..” Tomoyo whispered, her soft voice
   1.562 +cracking. “Please don’t cry..”
   1.563 +	Shaking her head as she sat back to look at Tomoyo, Sakura wiped at
   1.564 +her tearful emerald eyes with the backs of her hands. “Oh, Tomoyo-
   1.565 +chan.. I thought... I thought..” A shuddering breath escaped the
   1.566 +brunette as she looked long and hard at the dark haired woman in
   1.567 +front of her. Tomoyo looked beyond despair. Her stormy blue eyes were
   1.568 +bloodshot, her tears still falling from her chin. Her deep eyes
   1.569 +looked hollow, weak. As shattered as Tomoyo had been when Sakura had
   1.570 +found her the first time. That realization sent a chill down Sakura’s
   1.571 +spine. She had never seen Tomoyo like this before. She had caught a
   1.572 +glimpse of it back before they had kissed, but this was utter
   1.573 +hopelessness. “Tomoyo-chan..!!” Sakura cried out as she grappled onto
   1.574 +the dark haired woman again, burying her head against the crook of
   1.575 +Tomoyo’s neck. Just what had she done to Tomoyo? The woman looked
   1.576 +lost, alone. Shattered. Was it her fault? Had she slowly done that to
   1.577 +Tomoyo? The thought terrified her. How could she have caused such
   1.578 +damage? No wonder Tomoyo had been about to die. For her, she reminded
   1.579 +herself. Tomoyo had been trying to protect her to the bitter end.
   1.580 +“Tomoyo-chan, I know. I know how you feel.” She felt Tomoyo tense in
   1.581 +her arms at her words, but she just held onto her tighter. “I know
   1.582 +what I’ve done. And I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Tomoyo-chan. I
   1.583 +had no idea. But that doesn’t make up for what I did. I never knew
   1.584 +how important you were to me. But I do now. I know why you were going
   1.585 +to.. to k..” Sakura trailed off, unable to continue that thought.
   1.586 +Images of a dead Tomoyo returned unbidden in her mind. She blinked
   1.587 +back burning tears. “And if you still want to, I won’t stop you,”
   1.588 +Sakura whispered. She felt Tomoyo’s head shift against her at that,
   1.589 +Tomoyo’s own tears falling against her. “But if you do, please hold
   1.590 +your hand out to me. Because I won’t be without you anymore. If
   1.591 +you’re going to die, I want to die with you. Because I can’t live a
   1.592 +life without you. I’m sorry it took me so long to understand that.”
   1.593 +Moving back slightly, she looked into Tomoyo’s tear filled, stormy
   1.594 +blue eyes. Her own emerald eyes looked back at her with a firey
   1.595 +determination. She meant every word of what she said. Forcing Tomoyo
   1.596 +to live for her sake wasn’t right. If the pain was too much for her,
   1.597 +then.. “I’ll follow right behind you, whatever you decide,” Sakura
   1.598 +continued. 
   1.599 +	Choking back a sob, Tomoyo looked away. She couldn’t keep staring
   1.600 +into those emerald orbs any longer. Her body shuddered as her fists
   1.601 +clenched up. Sakura knew? Panic began to grow in her heart, but
   1.602 +Sakura’s words played over again and again in her mind. Part of her
   1.603 +still wanted to die, to escape the pain and her own lonely heart.
   1.604 +Sakura would allow her to leave? But how could she if Sakura herself
   1.605 +would be following? “Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo whispered softly, her voice
   1.606 +barely audible above the wind. “I just want you to be happy.”
   1.607 +	Sakura ventured a weak smile, reaching out shaky fingers to brush
   1.608 +away some of Tomoyo’s tears. “You make me happy,” she whispered in
   1.609 +reply. Jade eyes blinked back tears as she met Tomoyo’s eyes once
   1.610 +more. “Tomoyo-chan, I’m sorry for all of the pain I’ve caused you.”
   1.611 +Tomoyo began to argue the point, but Sakura shook her head, cutting
   1.612 +the lavender haired woman off. “I’m sorry for not knowing my own
   1.613 +heart. I let everyone else tell me who I loved without looking
   1.614 +myself. And I didn’t realize the damage it caused. I thought everyone
   1.615 +else knew my heart better than I could. But I know now that that
   1.616 +isn’t true. No one could tell me who I loved. I had to find it out
   1.617 +for myself. And I finally did. I finally figured it all out.” The
   1.618 +brunette smiled a little more proudly. “Tomoyo-chan, I love you. I
   1.619 +know that now. You’ve always been the one who made me happy. When
   1.620 +you’re not there, I.. It isn’t like when I’m with you. I don’t feel
   1.621 +strong enough. I don’t have all of Tomoyo-chan’s love and support to
   1.622 +back me up. So how can I keep going?” The Cardmistress took a deep
   1.623 +breath as she watched Tomoyo. “I can’t be happy without you. So I
   1.624 +want to be with you, wherever you go. I love you, Tomoyo-chan.”
   1.625 +	Shock crossed Tomoyo’s face as her lavender hair fluttered in the
   1.626 +wind. Her mouth opened slowly, but nothing came out. Never had she
   1.627 +believed she would hear those words. They were a fantasy, something
   1.628 +that had been a vivid and beautiful dream but nothing more. To hear
   1.629 +Sakura utter them, to see those emerald eyes looking at her with all
   1.630 +honesty. It seemed that her whole life had been built around her love
   1.631 +for Sakura. But she had always been in the background, loving her but
   1.632 +never being loved. Helping her to find the love that she herself
   1.633 +could not have. She had no doubt that she herself would do anything
   1.634 +for Sakura, but the thought that Sakura would do the same, follow her
   1.635 +even in death, simply astounded her. Releasing a pent up sob,
   1.636 +Tomoyo’s pale body shook lightly. This was all too much. She didn’t
   1.637 +know what she was supposed to do. She held her head weakly, her eyes
   1.638 +shutting out the world around her. But it was Sakura’s words that
   1.639 +finally shattered her confusion. ‘You make me happy’. ‘I want the one
   1.640 +I like to be happy,’ Tomoyo had said long ago. “Sakura-chan!!” Tomoyo
   1.641 +got out as she held onto Sakura tightly, dark hair draping over the
   1.642 +both of them. “I’ve always loved you,” the lavender haired woman
   1.643 +whispered into Sakura’s ear as she poured all of her remaining
   1.644 +strength into simply holding onto the Cardmistress. 
   1.645 +	Resting her head against Tomoyo’s, Sakura let her eyes fall closed.
   1.646 +She felt drained from everything, but the pale woman’s embrace
   1.647 +comforted and soothed her weary spirit. She buried her face in
   1.648 +Tomoyo’s lavender hair, delighting in the intoxicating scent. It was
   1.649 +over. She had finally managed to save Tomoyo after all. After all
   1.650 +those years of waiting, she had finally reached her princess. No, it
   1.651 +wasn’t over. Not in the least. Things were just beginning. Sakura
   1.652 +didn’t know where things would go or what would happen, but it hardly
   1.653 +seemed to matter. If Tomoyo was with her, she could overcome
   1.654 +anything. “Everything will always be right. I promise, Tomoyo-chan.”
   1.655 +	Silence reigned for long moments, the only sound the howling of the
   1.656 +wind. Tomoyo shifted against Sakura, her broken heart rejoicing.
   1.657 +Maybe.. Maybe she wasn’t all alone. And maybe she could make Sakura
   1.658 +happy after all. Besides, she knew Sakura better than anyone else.
   1.659 +And devoting her life to Sakura sounded like the most delicious
   1.660 +punishment for nearly leaving Sakura’s life. Her nose brushed
   1.661 +Sakura’s ear as she moved against the other woman, content to immerse
   1.662 +herself in their embrace. “Sakura-chan makes a very cute angel.” The
   1.663 +two giggled together, laughing into the dark night. Everything had
   1.664 +been so painful and so desperate for so long. It felt so nice to let
   1.665 +it all leak away, to let go. Tomoyo’s heavy eyelids fell closed. She
   1.666 +felt exhausted from the long night and the emotional torment that had
   1.667 +held her tightly in its grasp. It felt peaceful in Sakura’s arms,
   1.668 +warmer than she can imagine being in a long time. “I’ll make you
   1.669 +happy, Sakura-chan,” the lavender haired woman vowed in her soft,
   1.670 +gentle voice. 
   1.671 +	“I know, Tomoyo-chan. I know,” Sakura replied, finally allowing
   1.672 +herself to relax. All of the chaos of the past few days had nearly
   1.673 +been too much for her to handle, especially without Tomoyo’s support
   1.674 +to make it through it all. It felt so nice to know that it was
   1.675 +finally gone. Her princess was rescued and all was right with the
   1.676 +world. Not a bad days work. Her old life may be left behind, but
   1.677 +Sakura felt a thrill at the new life that lay ahead of her. Whatever
   1.678 +promise or perils it held, the brunette would be happy to face them. 
   1.679 +	Watching Sakura silently, Tomoyo sighed in contentment. The girl
   1.680 +she had loved for so long was now right in front of her. Her love
   1.681 +wasn’t hidden any longer. She smiled lovingly at Sakura, cupping the
   1.682 +slightly surprised brunette’s chin. Licking her dry lips, Tomoyo
   1.683 +allowed herself to repeat what had shortly before felt like a
   1.684 +grievous mistake. It was a slow, soft kiss that warmed Tomoyo’s heart
   1.685 +and soul. It felt like all of the unfinished feelings and the
   1.686 +uncertainty of their last kiss was finally washed away. It wasn’t a
   1.687 +farewell kiss, or even a gesture between friends. This was a new
   1.688 +beginning. Tomoyo’s hands rested gently on Sakura’s warm cheeks while
   1.689 +Sakura’s arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel Sakura’s blush
   1.690 +fade away as Sakura began kissing her back. Sitting back, Tomoyo’s
   1.691 +hand went to her own cheek as disappointment colored her expression.
   1.692 +“Oh no...”
   1.693 +	Sakura looked at Tomoyo hazily, her lips still warm from Tomoyo’s
   1.694 +brief presence. She wanted to lean forward and continue the
   1.695 +delightful action, but the lavender haired girl’s expression shook
   1.696 +her out of her stupor. “Huh? What’s wrong Tomoyo-chan?” Her heart
   1.697 +began to beat in panic. She had thought everything was finally
   1.698 +resolved.
   1.699 +	Tomoyo’s fingers reached out and tugged lightly on the costume
   1.700 +Sakura was wearing. “Sakura-chan finished my last costume? And wore
   1.701 +it? And I didn’t get to get any of it on video?” she said in utter
   1.702 +despair.
   1.703 +	Sweatdropping, Sakura tilted her head to the side. She should have
   1.704 +seen that coming. “Tomoyo-chan..” Sakura blushed slightly as she
   1.705 +leaned towards Tomoyo, her lips halting inches away from the pale
   1.706 +woman’s. “I’ll let you videotape me as much as you want in it.
   1.707 +Later.” Leaning the rest of the way, Sakura kissed the gentle
   1.708 +heiress, all the anguish from the time they had first been apart
   1.709 +months ago melting away at the slow but luxurious kiss. 
   1.710 +	Tomoyo returned the kiss with all of the pent up love that had been
   1.711 +buried in her heart for over nine years. Sakura made a soft sound as
   1.712 +the kiss became more passionate, only spurring Tomoyo forward. Seeing
   1.713 +Sakura in her last costume, seeing it finished, it all made the
   1.714 +moment even more perfect. She had felt so sad when she realized she
   1.715 +wouldn’t be making anymore costumes for Sakura anymore. But Sakura
   1.716 +had come to her rescue wearing it, having finished it some time
   1.717 +before. Sakura had saved her body and her lonely, broken soul. Tomoyo
   1.718 +lost herself to the kiss, to Sakura’s sweet embrace. The Tokyo Tower,
   1.719 +the surging wind, the night sky, it all faded away as surely as
   1.720 +Tomoyo had intended to. But she no longer had such drastic desires.
   1.721 +All she wanted was to stay there with Sakura, to love her. Pulling
   1.722 +away slowly from their kiss, Tomoyo smiled happily. But this time,
   1.723 +she hid nothing from the brunette. Sakura held onto her on the cold
   1.724 +ground, but neither seemed to notice. They had both reached this
   1.725 +point from such different places. Tomoyo had always known the love in
   1.726 +her heart, but had hid it to protect the one she loved. Sakura hadn’t
   1.727 +known her own heart until it was almost too late, but she hadn’t been
   1.728 +able to hide it in the least. Despite the different roads traveled,
   1.729 +it didn’t matter. Because from now on, they would be travelling the
   1.730 +same road together. 
   1.731 +	
   1.732 \ No newline at end of file