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     1.2 +++ b/old/stories/alwayseternal1.txt	Fri Feb 19 20:53:12 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,343 @@
     1.4 +Always and Eternal
     1.5 +
     1.6 +By MH Hughes
     1.7 +
     1.8 + 
     1.9 +
    1.10 +Notes and the like: Ok, these characters do not belong to me….*phew* Got that off my chest!
    1.11 +
    1.12 +The fic is slightly AU-ish in the first part….the second will be more present day. Maybe….basically whatever I am in the mood for ^^
    1.13 +
    1.14 +And in being AU, expect possible OOC behavior. But you’ll like it, I swear ^^
    1.15 +
    1.16 +I will also begin this with a song, which I also do not own….it is by Cibo Matto, a Japanese group…I suggest you get one of their CD’s. They rock!!! Alright, I can babble at the end of the first part….^_~
    1.17 +
    1.18 + 
    1.19 +
    1.20 + 
    1.21 +
    1.22 + 
    1.23 +
    1.24 + 
    1.25 +
    1.26 + 
    1.27 +
    1.28 +*******************************************
    1.29 +
    1.30 + 
    1.31 +
    1.32 +She’s got a living stone and rain in her mind
    1.33 +
    1.34 +She doesn’t have an umbrella to cover herself
    1.35 +
    1.36 +She’s got a living stone and pain in her hand
    1.37 +
    1.38 +All I can do is sing for her and myself
    1.39 +
    1.40 +I wish I can take it away to three thousand light years away
    1.41 +
    1.42 +Don’t be afraid, I’ll be next to you.
    1.43 +
    1.44 + 
    1.45 +
    1.46 + 
    1.47 +
    1.48 +*************************************************
    1.49 +
    1.50 + 
    1.51 +
    1.52 +Sakura fell into bed, feeling exhausted and spent. She had no reason to feel this way…school, cheerleading practice, coming home and doing chores……
    1.53 +
    1.54 +Even Kero was sleeping when she got in and not playing that video game of his.
    1.55 +
    1.56 +Why am I so tired?
    1.57 +
    1.58 +She closed her eyes, grateful for the darkness. But sleep wouldn’t come easily at first.
    1.59 +
    1.60 +Instead, Sakura laid there and stared out the window, her eyes seemingly searching….
    1.61 +
    1.62 +For what?
    1.63 +
    1.64 +A Clow card? No….I don’t sense anything out of the ordinary.
    1.65 +
    1.66 +Except myself. I don’t feel ordinary. Hoe…..
    1.67 +
    1.68 +She felt a headache coming on. Sakura massaged her temples and tried to come up with the explanation for her odd feeling.
    1.69 +
    1.70 +It started today….early this morning….before dawn…..
    1.71 +
    1.72 +Sakura paused in her ministrations. A dream.
    1.73 +
    1.74 +She awoke with from a dream, the effects of it still cloying at her, heavy like humid air….
    1.75 +
    1.76 +Sakura couldn’t shake the feeling all day.
    1.77 +
    1.78 +I just want to sleep….Sakura turned on her side and forced her mind to stop thinking about it, it wasn’t a vision…at least it didn’t feel like it.
    1.79 +
    1.80 +Good, Sakura decided.
    1.81 +
    1.82 +No problems, time to relax…..to sleep…..She yawned, letting her eyelids grow heavy, until her breathing calmed…..her headache left….her muscles uncurled…..
    1.83 +
    1.84 +And for a moment, almost too brief to be noticed, a flutter went through her body.
    1.85 +
    1.86 +It clinched at her heart.
    1.87 +
    1.88 +But Sakura didn’t catch it. She slipped into slumber.
    1.89 +
    1.90 + 
    1.91 +
    1.92 +***********************************************************
    1.93 +
    1.94 + 
    1.95 +
    1.96 +Again, that dream…..
    1.97 +
    1.98 +Sakura barely tasted her food at breakfast. Even Touya commented on her lack of enthusiasm. 
    1.99 +
   1.100 +She didn’t understand it herself.
   1.101 +
   1.102 +The dream was so vivid……
   1.103 +
   1.104 +Sakura was sipping from a cup, bitter tea…very bitter…..salty?
   1.105 +
   1.106 +No, that was tears….tears pouring from her face and into the tea. Why am I crying so?
   1.107 +
   1.108 +Sakura then looked up and saw Tomoyo, the girl looking beautiful in a robe….so many colors…
   1.109 +
   1.110 +Red, blue, orange, yellow…..
   1.111 +
   1.112 +“Don’t you remember?” Tomoyo kept asking. Sakura could only cry.
   1.113 +
   1.114 +“How could you leave me?” Was all Sakura could say…over and over…..her sobbing only becoming worse.
   1.115 +
   1.116 +Sakura shuddered at the thought of it now.
   1.117 +
   1.118 +Is something going to happen to me? Or to Tomoyo?
   1.119 +
   1.120 + 
   1.121 +
   1.122 +It was hot. Too hot. Sakura roller bladed down the street slowly, Tomoyo walking beside her, talking about her newest fashion creation…..
   1.123 +“Sound good, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo asked, shaking Sakura out of her overheated haze.
   1.124 +
   1.125 +“Uh…yes, very nice…”
   1.126 +
   1.127 +“Sakura, it is rude not to listen when someone is talking to you…” Tomoyo giggled, showing that it really didn’t bother her at all that Sakura seemed a million miles away.
   1.128 +
   1.129 +Sakura smiled weakly, the dream presenting itself once again…should I tell Tomoyo?
   1.130 +
   1.131 +But Tomoyo’s house loomed ahead and Sakura sighed dejectedly.
   1.132 +
   1.133 +Guess not…..
   1.134 +
   1.135 +“And we’ll still go on that picnic on Saturday?” Tomoyo asked.
   1.136 +
   1.137 +“Of course, Tomoyo-chan.” Sakura said, running a hand through her hair. Tomoyo smiled at her warmly and grabbed Sakura’s shoulder.
   1.138 +
   1.139 +“You can tell me anything, Sakura-chan…..” The girl said softly. Was Sakura that obvious with her plight?
   1.140 +
   1.141 +“Oh, no…I’m fine! See?” Sakura smiled broadly, hoping Tomoyo couldn’t tell she was lying.
   1.142 +
   1.143 +If the black haired girl did know, she didn’t let on.
   1.144 +
   1.145 +****************************************************************
   1.146 +
   1.147 + 
   1.148 +
   1.149 +Sakura took at bath, trying to refresh herself.
   1.150 +
   1.151 +It did not work very well.
   1.152 +
   1.153 +She walked into her bedroom, looking idly for Kero.
   1.154 +
   1.155 +“Kero-chan?” She questioned. No answer….that’s strange….Unless….
   1.156 +
   1.157 +The cake downstairs…Sakura knew she should go after him, but could not muster the energy to catch him and bring him back.
   1.158 +
   1.159 +If he gets caught, I can come up with something….maybe.
   1.160 +
   1.161 +She glanced at her desk of drawers, seeing the picture of her and Tomoyo, sliding her finger over the glass…..
   1.162 +
   1.163 +What is the dream telling me?
   1.164 +
   1.165 +Sakura suddenly felt very dizzy, her head swimming….light and disconnected with the rest of her body….She dropped to her knees, watching the room spin out of control.
   1.166 +
   1.167 +“Don’t you remember?” Tomoyo’s voice echoed. Sakura tried to focus on the sound of the other girl, to try and find it in this confusion….
   1.168 +
   1.169 +“Don’t you?” The voice pleaded. Sakura grabbed her head….remember? Remember what?
   1.170 +
   1.171 +Then she saw herself, kneeling across from her….watching her.
   1.172 +
   1.173 +Is…is this a card? Sakura’s mind managed to ask.
   1.174 +
   1.175 +Her double smiled at her, reaching out to touch Sakura’s face…..
   1.176 +
   1.177 +“You must try, try to recall the past….” Sakura heard herself say.
   1.178 +
   1.179 +Tears sprang forth from her eyes at those words…..
   1.180 +
   1.181 +Sakura rested her head in her hands.
   1.182 +
   1.183 +“I have tried….I have…..please, show me how….” 
   1.184 +
   1.185 +*************************************************************
   1.186 +
   1.187 + 
   1.188 +
   1.189 + 
   1.190 +
   1.191 +Then she drifted, pulled by a black current she could not fight….The further she went, the less she could recall her room, her brother or father…all of it was slipping away from her mind’s grasp. What….? A small tendril of light was piercing her vision. Dawn…it feels like morning, Sakura thought, feeling oddly calm and serene.
   1.192 +
   1.193 +Her hands fell to her sides, grazing….is this grass? Yes, grass….Sakura sat up, recognizing the field before her, it’s tall green waving at her…..My field….mine…….
   1.194 +
   1.195 +In the distance, smoke weaved it’s way upward and into the sky…..a house….my house.
   1.196 +
   1.197 +Sakura began to walk.
   1.198 +
   1.199 +This path…I know it, Sakura thought. Each step she took seemed familiar, filling her soul with an unknown happiness.
   1.200 +
   1.201 +I am finally home, Sakura smiled to herself.
   1.202 +
   1.203 +*********************************************************************
   1.204 +
   1.205 + 
   1.206 +
   1.207 + 
   1.208 +
   1.209 +Tomoyo was almost asleep when she heard a small tapping at her bedroom window. She got up and threw the curtains open, almost expecting Sakura to be there….
   1.210 +
   1.211 +“Kero-chan?” Tomoyo whispered, her face falling somewhat. The Seal beast came into her room, all business.
   1.212 +
   1.213 +“A new card has Sakura under it’s magic.” Kero stated. Tomoyo felt her blood run cold.
   1.214 +
   1.215 +“Sakura….” Her voice managed to say, as she grabbed some more suitable clothing, her limbs feeling numb.
   1.216 +
   1.217 +“It is the Memory Card….I have yet to understand all it’s powers…” Kero talked as Tomoyo climbed out of her window.
   1.218 +
   1.219 +“You don’t know what it does?” Tomoyo asked, not wanting to sound worried but unable to conceal it.
   1.220 +
   1.221 +“Let’s go. I’ll show her to you.” Kero answered.
   1.222 +
   1.223 + 
   1.224 +
   1.225 +***********************************************************************
   1.226 +
   1.227 + 
   1.228 +
   1.229 + 
   1.230 +
   1.231 +Sakura entered the house, touching the table with the red cloth, so fine….hanging on the surface.
   1.232 +
   1.233 +She lingered in the kitchen, her fingertips pressing onto the cool marble counter, her nose taking in the scents of a recent meal….cumin or rosemary….her mother’s herb garden, near the stream….
   1.234 +
   1.235 +Sakura went further into the home, to where she knew her room waited for her.
   1.236 +
   1.237 +Her bed, disheveled, her books from school….the little hearts she drew on the thin paper given to her….given by…….
   1.238 +
   1.239 +Sakura felt tears splash onto her cheeks.
   1.240 +
   1.241 +Tomoyo……
   1.242 +
   1.243 + 
   1.244 +
   1.245 +She ran as fast as she could without falling down. Each root was jumped, all puddles of muddy water were traversed with ease……Just over there, just a little bit further……
   1.246 +
   1.247 +Sakura stopped short, not wanting to look desperate and slowed her pace down.
   1.248 +
   1.249 +Then she saw the girl.
   1.250 +
   1.251 +She sat in the garden, letting the flowers be graced by her presence, her soft gray-black hair loose…not in the usual bun her mother insisted on…..
   1.252 +
   1.253 +Sakura felt her heart skip a beat.
   1.254 +
   1.255 +“Tomoyo!” Sakura hollered out, waving a hand. Tomoyo smiled at her…..that smile! I feel as though I have not seen it forever, Sakura thought as she ran over.
   1.256 +
   1.257 +She couldn’t stop herself from embracing Tomoyo. 
   1.258 +
   1.259 +The girl laughed softly.
   1.260 +
   1.261 +“Sakura-chan?” She asked. But Sakura just held her, afraid…..very afraid Tomoyo would disappear if she let go.
   1.262 +
   1.263 +“Is something wrong?” Tomoyo asked, her voice a little concerned.
   1.264 +
   1.265 +“I just missed you.” Sakura answered, knowing it would sound silly. Tomoyo giggled and pushed Sakura off gently.
   1.266 +
   1.267 +“I just saw you at Mitashi-sensei’s, Sakura-chan……”
   1.268 +
   1.269 +“I know.” Sakura blushed, now feeling embarrassed. She fidgeted with her hands until Tomoyo shook her head understandingly.
   1.270 +
   1.271 +“You had that dream again didn’t you?” Tomoyo stated. Sakura nodded, her face lowered.
   1.272 +
   1.273 +“I am not going to leave here…you mustn’t let it bother you. Mother doesn’t believe anyone would marry me anyway…too independent minded she says….And marriage would be the only way I could leave, though it would be nice to see the world….”
   1.274 +
   1.275 +Sakura grabbed the girls delicate hands in her own.
   1.276 +
   1.277 +“You and I can travel, Tomoyo-chan” Sakura said softly, hoping…just hoping….
   1.278 +
   1.279 +“And how would we live? Selling rice cakes by the trading road?” Tomoyo laughed.
   1.280 +
   1.281 +“But…?”
   1.282 +
   1.283 +“Gomen, Sakura-chan, but that is unrealistic. Though, I find it sweet that you would want to spend your days with me….arigatou, Sakura.”
   1.284 +
   1.285 +Tomoyo stood up then, pulling her hands away and walked onto the terrace.
   1.286 +
   1.287 +“Want to stay for dinner, Sakura-chan?” Tomoyo asked, suddenly cheery and light.
   1.288 +
   1.289 +“Nani?” Sakura asked, still trying to feel Tomoyo’s hands in hers.
   1.290 +
   1.291 +“Dinner?”
   1.292 +
   1.293 +“Hai…” Sakura followed her inside…….
   1.294 +
   1.295 +My Tomoyo….don’t leave me….
   1.296 +
   1.297 + 
   1.298 +
   1.299 +*****************************************************************
   1.300 +
   1.301 + 
   1.302 +
   1.303 +Li looks upset, Tomoyo noted. I suppose he really does care for Sakura….I wonder if Sakura feels the same? The two seem so different, but they carry some of the same qualities….
   1.304 +
   1.305 +They hunt the Clow Cards.
   1.306 +
   1.307 +They both had crushes on Yukito-san.
   1.308 +
   1.309 +Maybe…would this be the special person for her Sakura?
   1.310 +
   1.311 +“It is possible…” Kero muttered. Tomoyo knew that Li and Kero had little affection for each other, but she hoped that they could put it all aside for Sakura’s sake.
   1.312 +
   1.313 +“It is the only possibility, but…I do not know how to break the spell.” Li said somberly.
   1.314 +
   1.315 +“Silly pookie baka….” Kero stated, to which Li grumbled. Tomoyo sighed.
   1.316 +
   1.317 +“Sakura needs our help…please fight later.” She pleaded. The two of them backed down.
   1.318 +
   1.319 +“So, it is thought to be Memory’s purpose to what?” She asked Li.
   1.320 +
   1.321 +“It lulls you to sleep in order for you to recall memories your mind has repressed…..whether in this life or another…”
   1.322 +
   1.323 +“Really?” Tomoyo looked at the sleeping girl, that beautiful auburn hair framing her face…..
   1.324 +
   1.325 +Sakura, what are you remembering? Tomoyo wondered.
   1.326 +
   1.327 + 
   1.328 +
   1.329 +**************************************************************************
   1.330 +
   1.331 + 
   1.332 +
   1.333 +End of Part one
   1.334 +
   1.335 + 
   1.336 +
   1.337 + 
   1.338 +
   1.339 +Notes:
   1.340 +
   1.341 +*sighs* I feel better now! I have wanted to right this forever…..^^ Any questions about plot? Like what the hell is going on? Email me and I will explain all…in great detail, no doubt ^_~
   1.342 +
   1.343 +You can find me residing at SPIRITWOMAN@skybest.ocm
   1.344 +
   1.345 +MH
   1.346 +