Mercurial > moonlitnights
diff old/stories/dearsakura-22.txt @ 2:fc00894c1d4a moonlitnights
[svn r3] moved all the bad stuff to 'old'
author | rlm |
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date | Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:53:12 -0500 |
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1.1 --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 1.2 +++ b/old/stories/dearsakura-22.txt Fri Feb 19 20:53:12 2010 -0500 1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,320 @@ 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 + “Where the hell is she?” Syaoran scowled as he found himself at the 1.11 +starting point of his search, his empty bedroom. He had awoken to 1.12 +find Sakura missing, her side of the bed barely slept in. His 1.13 +brunette wife was almost always there when he got ready for work. He 1.14 +had thought that she had been downstairs making breakfast or waiting 1.15 +for him, but Sakura hadn’t been there either. His concern escalating, 1.16 +the Chinese sorcerer had made his way through the entire house, 1.17 +twice, to no avail. Sakura was nowhere to be found. 1.18 + Sighing, Syaoran once again poured over the room he and his wife 1.19 +shared. One of her small bags was gone. It was the one Tomoyo had 1.20 +given her as a going away present when Sakura had agreed to come back 1.21 +to Hong Kong with him. The only reason he remembered was because the 1.22 +sickeningly cute bag held most of Sakura’s things for her gym class, 1.23 +so it was often next to their bed so it would be readily available 1.24 +for her in the morning. But her school supplies lay next to the bed 1.25 +in disarray, as if Sakura had dumped them all out before taking the 1.26 +bag. That didn’t make any sense. What good would an empty bag do? 1.27 + Continuing his search, the frustrated man scoured the room for 1.28 +anything else that might be a clue to his wife’s whereabouts. He 1.29 +couldn’t tell if anything else was missing, but he found enough of 1.30 +her things hurriedly tossed to the side that he could guess that 1.31 +there were. His eyes slowly scanned the room before stopping on the 1.32 +desk that lay against the far wall. On top of it lay his Lazan Board, 1.33 +but there was a curious empty spot next to it. "The Sakura Book!” he 1.34 +nearly yelled out. The familiar pink book was nowhere to be seen. 1.35 +Sakura sometimes took it with her when she wanted to speak to the 1.36 +Cards or when she simply wanted it nearby, but it always wound up on 1.37 +that desk. A terrible sense of foreboding swept through the Chinese 1.38 +sorcerer. 1.39 + Running down the stairs, Syaoran forced past his older sister, 1.40 +Shiefa, brusquely. He hardly paid attention to her as he continued 1.41 +through the house. Where had Sakura gone off to? Why would she leave 1.42 +so suddenly? Was there some new danger? He paused for a moment in 1.43 +front of the door to the garden. He had to relax. He had told Sakura 1.44 +time and time again that if she cried it would keep her from getting 1.45 +anything done. It was the same as this situation. If he panicked, he 1.46 +wouldn’t be able to resolve the situation. Nodding to himself, he 1.47 +tried to clear his thoughts. Sakura obviously hadn’t had time to grab 1.48 +more than a few things, so she was obviously in a hurry. She had 1.49 +taken the Book of Sakura with her, so it could have something to do 1.50 +with the Cards. Hadn’t she mentioned some dream that had concerned 1.51 +her lately? He couldn’t recall what it had been about exactly. So 1.52 +perhaps she had rushed off to whatever this new magical emergency 1.53 +was. But then why hadn’t she told him? He may not be as powerful as 1.54 +she, but he had vowed to protect her. Tomoyo had made him promise 1.55 +that the night before their wedding. It had been an unexpected visit 1.56 +from the dark haired girl, one he hadn’t quite understood. Why would 1.57 +the Daidouji girl come to him rather than to Sakura the night before 1.58 +their wedding? She was obsessed with his bride to be, after all. But 1.59 +she had come to him that night. Her normal smile hadn’t been on her 1.60 +face and that had immediately worried him that it might have 1.61 +something to do with Sakura. But after he had finally allowed her 1.62 +inside, Tomoyo had watched him carefully for what felt like an 1.63 +eternity, studying his very soul. When she finally spoke, her soft 1.64 +voice sounded extremely far away, as if she had traveled the world 1.65 +over and was too exhausted to take another step. They had spoken for 1.66 +a short time, mostly about Sakura, though Syaoran had been uneasy the 1.67 +entire conversation. Finally, Tomoyo had walked up to him and looked 1.68 +him straight in the eyes. For someone who had faced countless 1.69 +hardships and numerous battles, Syaoran had thought he was prepared 1.70 +for anything. But Tomoyo’s infinite gaze, her stormy blue eyes seeing 1.71 +deep past all that he was... Syaoran had flinched. He had barely 1.72 +heard her speak and it took him a moment to piece together what he 1.73 +had heard. She wanted him to promise that he would take care of 1.74 +Sakura, that he would make her happy. Her words had irritated him, 1.75 +and he had grown angry with her at the time. “What are you talking 1.76 +about? Of course I’ll take care of her,” he had said. 1.77 + Tomoyo had merely stared at him, her deep eyes never losing their 1.78 +hold on his. His anger seemed to pass through her as if she hadn’t 1.79 +even noticed it. “I want you to promise that you will always make 1.80 +Sakura happy. I want you to keep her safe,” she said in her gentle 1.81 +voice, but there had been no questioning her. Despite her gentle 1.82 +façade, her words were laced with steel. He would protect her, he 1.83 +would make her happy, or... He didn’t even want to know the 1.84 +consequences. He tried to laugh at the thought now, of this pale and 1.85 +weak girl doing anything to him if he didn’t fulfil his promise, but 1.86 +he couldn’t bring himself to find any humor in the situation. He knew 1.87 +in his heart that Tomoyo had been dead serious that day, that there 1.88 +was no falling short on his side of the deal. There was something 1.89 +about the dark haired girl that had frightened him. He had agreed 1.90 +with her demands quickly, hoping she would leave him alone. But she 1.91 +had waited a moment longer, still staring at him. Brushing back some 1.92 +hair, she offered him a small smile and a nod before turning around. 1.93 +He hadn’t seen her leave and he had almost convinced himself that she 1.94 +had merely been a ghost before he finally got a hold of himself. 1.95 + Finding himself in the garden, Syaoran walked out into the chilly 1.96 +morning, holding himself as the bitter wind rushed past him. That 1.97 +promise felt as if it had been made a lifetime ago. But still, a 1.98 +promise is a promise. And even more than that, this was his wife. He 1.99 +was supposed to protect her. So where had she gone to without him? If 1.100 +it was something to do with her magic, then why wouldn’t she bring 1.101 +him along? It didn’t make any sense. A small spring of anger welled 1.102 +up inside him as he fought against the cold. She needed him, didn’t 1.103 +she? Of course she did. But then why hadn’t she told him of whatever 1.104 +this was? Why would she run off without him? He was her husband. He 1.105 +was the one that she was supposed to come with for everything. But 1.106 +recently, she had spent all of her time talking about that Daidouji 1.107 +girl. He had gotten so sick of hearing ‘Tomoyo’ all around the house. 1.108 +Even Fanren had started talking about her! He knew she was Sakura’s 1.109 +friend, but he hated seeing the one he loved talking about another 1.110 +all the time, even if it was just another girl. He had gotten angry 1.111 +at her over it, but he thought that had been resolved. Besides, he 1.112 +didn’t talk about other people all the time, so why should she? 1.113 + Shaking his head, Syaoran once again tried to clear his thoughts, 1.114 +but the jealousy and anger wouldn’t go away. Even if Sakura was the 1.115 +most powerful magical being on the planet, why would she hurry off 1.116 +without him? Did she think she didn’t need him for this? What if 1.117 +something terrible happened that she needed him to save her from? 1.118 +Tomoyo sure as hell couldn’t save her. For all Sakura had talked 1.119 +about her recently, the pale girl could never help her with some 1.120 +magical problem. That was why she needed him for something like this. 1.121 +It was foolish to rush off on her own. Now he would have to find her, 1.122 +and, most likely at the last possible instant, save her. 1.123 +Syaoran’s scowl grew darker as he stepped out among the flowers. He 1.124 +was liking this less and less. What the hell could Sakura be up to? 1.125 +He was her husband. He had a right to know, even if this didn’t have 1.126 +anything to do with the Cards. They were married and he was the one 1.127 +she should be going to with her problems so he could fix them. But 1.128 +instead, she always turned to Tomoyo, crying out her problems in 1.129 +letters and telephone conversations that cost a big chunk of Sakura’s 1.130 +paycheck because she wouldn’t get off the phone until it was pitch 1.131 +black outside. But could Tomoyo ever fix her problems? No. She was 1.132 +merely a shoulder to cry on. But somehow, Sakura always felt better 1.133 +about everything. And that made Syaoran even more jealous about the 1.134 +attention that someone else was receiving from his wife. Sakura would 1.135 +crawl back into bed after writing a long letter or after she had been 1.136 +on the phone with Tomoyo for entirely too long and she would smile 1.137 +happily, as if she were completely refreshed and wrap her arms around 1.138 +him before falling asleep. He was glad to see Sakura happier, even if 1.139 +it puzzled him, but he was angry that it was through someone else. He 1.140 +knew that he didn’t think Sakura needed to talk about everything and 1.141 +that he didn’t always feel like listening after a hard day at work, 1.142 +but he was still frustrated that he wasn’t the one making her feel 1.143 +better. 1.144 +Tomoyo’s visit had proven even worse for the Chinese sorcerer. She 1.145 +had managed to captivate the hearts of his family, in particular his 1.146 +older sister, Fanren. Even his mother seemed to take favor with the 1.147 +pale beauty! How could she get Ieran-sama’s attention when even he 1.148 +failed under her scrutiny? That had infuriated him. His wife had been 1.149 +so obliviously happy during the Japanese girl’s stay, spending every 1.150 +conceivable moment with her. The thing that had gotten to him the 1.151 +most was that Sakura had looked happier during Tomoyo’s brief stay 1.152 +than he could ever remember her, even during the honeymoon. He hadn’t 1.153 +been able to wait for Tomoyo to leave so things could get back to 1.154 +normal again. But they hadn’t been able to. Sakura had seemed even 1.155 +more distant lately, her conversations invariably leading back to the 1.156 +dark haired girl. He had lost his temper several times and though he 1.157 +regretted it now, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He just didn’t 1.158 +want to hear about her anymore in his house. Sakura was his wife, 1.159 +damn it! No one else’s. No one else had claim to her. He was the one 1.160 +she should always come to for help. He was the one who should always 1.161 +make her happy. He should be the one she was always talking about! 1.162 +So wrapped up in his burning jealousy was Syaoran that he barely 1.163 +noticed the rustle of leaves in a tree above and the sound of 1.164 +branches shifting as someone leapt out. He felt the wind whip past 1.165 +his face as he narrowly dodged the leaping form. His eyes quickly 1.166 +focused on his attacker, his body shifting to a fighting stance. 1.167 +“Meiling?!” he blurted out in surprise. His beautiful cousin stood 1.168 +before him in a short, blue Chinese dress that barely fell past her 1.169 +thighs. Intricate lavender flowers lay entwined across the deep blue. 1.170 +Her amber eyes met his with an anger that sent ripples through him. 1.171 +In a fluid movement that looked more like a dance than an attack, her 1.172 +fist lunged for him. Syaoran ducked it easily. “What the hell are you 1.173 +doing?” he shouted at her, blocking a kick. He tried to sense any 1.174 +magic coming from her to see if she had been enchanted, but he could 1.175 +feel nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. All he had to do was glance 1.176 +at those burning amber eyes to see the fury that held her. 1.177 +Meiling kicked again, driving Syaoran back with her strong legs. 1.178 +This man had once been her fiance, the man that she had loved with 1.179 +all of her heart. The man that she still loved. Which is why she was 1.180 +still so angry with him. How he could have left her for some Japanese 1.181 +girl was completely beyond her. Had he simply been infatuated with 1.182 +Sakura’s magic? That was part of why he fell for the white haired 1.183 +boy, so it was reasonable. And as Sakura had grown in magical power, 1.184 +so had Syaoran’s feelings for her, as if the two ideas were linked 1.185 +firmly together. Whatever the reason, he had spurned his cousin’s 1.186 +affections and instead married the Cardmistress. To say that Meiling 1.187 +had been distraught was an understatement. Dreams of marrying her 1.188 +beloved Syaoran had been with her since childhood. The bitter taste 1.189 +of defeat, of having the once she loved so callously toss her aside 1.190 +had been maddening. How he could dare do that to her when she had 1.191 +given him everything had picked at her heart the same way a 1.192 +thoughtless person pulls away a butterflies wings. Her wings had been 1.193 +stolen from her and she could no longer soar. All because some hussy 1.194 +had come along and stolen the attention of the only one she had ever 1.195 +loved. She would never forgive Sakura for taking away her Syaoran. 1.196 +But at the same time, she couldn’t forgive Syaoran either. ‘But I 1.197 +gave you everything,’ she had whispered when she had learned of the 1.198 +wedding. Syaoran had tried to explain it to her, but she ran off. She 1.199 +hadn’t let him see her tears. But as soon as she was alone, they came 1.200 +bitterly and with a vengeance. ‘I loved you and I gave you 1.201 +everything. I gave you my heart. Why couldn’t you accept it? Is there 1.202 +something wrong with it? Is it not good enough?’ she had asked 1.203 +herself in the midst of her tears. But no answers had ever come to 1.204 +her, from her own heart or from Syaoran. 1.205 +Though the marriage had only been half a year ago at the most, 1.206 +Meiling could have sworn it had been an eternity. Forced to watch her 1.207 +beloved cousin and his blushing bride had driven her near the 1.208 +breaking point. To see the man she loved with another woman, to know 1.209 +that her lonely heart would never receive his attention was too 1.210 +sickeningly cruel. How Tomoyo dealt with it, she couldn’t begin to 1.211 +fathom. All she knew was the pain. It was her constant companion, a 1.212 +travel guide to life that she had been unlucky enough to come across. 1.213 +And all the while, Syaoran had never once shown any sympathy, any 1.214 +remorse for breaking her heart. How thoughtless! How cruel! How dare 1.215 +he!?! Meiling renewed her assault with further vigor, her rage 1.216 +fueling her near dance-like attacks. 1.217 + Syaoran kept on the defensive, but he was beginning to tire. 1.218 +Meiling had gone crazy. That was the only explanation. Why else would 1.219 +she fight him like this? It made no sense. He decided that the only 1.220 +way to finish this battle would be to take her out. She seemed in no 1.221 +mood to give up. With a sigh, he lunged forward. He felt bad for what 1.222 +he had to do, but it had to be done. He and Meiling had sparred often 1.223 +enough in the past and he nearly always won. So he would have to 1.224 +defeat her here and find out just what was going on. He waited 1.225 +patiently for her to collapse, but to his surprise, his fist missed 1.226 +her entirely. His eyes widened as he saw her leg dart out. A painful 1.227 +realization hit him seconds before her leg did. She was a whole lot 1.228 +faster than he had ever imagined. This fight had been hers from the 1.229 +beginning. Pain blossomed through him like a sudden and unexpected 1.230 +supernova. The wind rushed out of him in a frenzied path to escape 1.231 +his burning lungs. His stomach called out in agony as he first 1.232 +hunched over and then collapsed to the ground altogether. “How..?” he 1.233 +got out weakly. 1.234 + Meiling crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing as she 1.235 +watched the man lying in pain on the grass below her. “Didn’t think I 1.236 +could beat you, huh? You thought I’d always settle for second place 1.237 +with you, is that it? I always got second and you always got first as 1.238 +children. You always came in ahead of me.” Brushing a dark pigtail 1.239 +over her shoulder, she knelt next to her prone cousin. “I let you 1.240 +win. I loved you, so I was happy to let you win as long as I could be 1.241 +the one to finish next to you. I loved how happy it made you, how 1.242 +exhilarated you always were when you succeeded. You always had this 1.243 +thirst for victory, for winning. And I was pleased to let you drink 1.244 +its nectar from my hands.” She shrugged absently as she stood up, 1.245 +stretching. “And let’s face it, Syaoran. Martial Arts was never your 1.246 +thing. You were always better at magic anyway.” 1.247 + Trying to catch his breath, Syaoran struggled with what she was 1.248 +telling him. So all those times that he had beaten her as a child, 1.249 +every sparring match he had won, they were because she had let him? 1.250 +This girl who had been there for almost all of the life he could 1.251 +remember, who had always trailed just behind him, had allowed him to 1.252 +pull ahead simply because of her feelings for him? Memories came back 1.253 +in a flood, of her making careless mistakes when they were sparring 1.254 +or slowing just enough when they were sprinting to allow him to pass. 1.255 +He sighed painfully. It seemed that not only his stomach would 1.256 +bruise, but his ego as well. “What were you thinking?” he asked 1.257 +angrily, forcing himself up on his hands. He turned his firey gaze on 1.258 +her, but she didn’t look like she was in a mood for it. Her own 1.259 +smoldering eyes made his feel like simmering coal in comparison. 1.260 + “I won. I refuse to live in your shadow anymore, Syaoran. I refuse 1.261 +to let you continue hurting me like this. I won't lie down and let 1.262 +you force your damned marriage in my face.” Meiling began to walk 1.263 +away from him, the wind playing idly with her hair. “So I’m finished. 1.264 +I’m not going to let myself stick around and wait for things to work 1.265 +out. I’m leaving, Syaoran. My life is my own. I just took it back 1.266 +from you. I gave you my heart and if it’s not good enough for you, 1.267 +then I might as well leave.” Tears sparkled in her eyes as she turned 1.268 +to face him one last time. “I love you, Syaoran. And I always will. 1.269 +But I won’t let you hurt me anymore. Goodbye.” And with that, she 1.270 +leapt into the trees. 1.271 + “Meiling! Meiling!!” Syaoran cried out after her. But it was too 1.272 +late. She was already gone. “Damn it!” Struggling to his knees, the 1.273 +Chinese sorcerer winced as pain shot through his belly. “What else 1.274 +could go wrong today?” he muttered to himself, walking back towards 1.275 +the house. Just what was he supposed to tell his mother, the 1.276 +matriarch of the Li family? He dreaded the thought. She would not be 1.277 +pleased about Meiling’s sudden decision. ‘Probably like she wasn’t 1.278 +pleased with my decision to marry Sakura-chan instead of Meiling,” he 1.279 +thought disparately. 1.280 + “Sakura-chan’s gone!!” 1.281 + “Ack!!” Syaoran reeled back, getting ready to attack the demon that 1.282 +had leapt out at him. His heart finally slowed as the Seal Beast came 1.283 +into view, concern etched all over it’s small yellow head. Syaoran 1.284 +pushed past him, not in the mood to deal with Kero’s antics at the 1.285 +moment. 1.286 + “Hey, brat, I said ‘Sa-ku-ra-chan-is-gone’. What, you don’t speak 1.287 +Japanese all of a sudden?” Kero asked irritably. He never did much 1.288 +like the Chinese sorcerer and Sakura’s marriage to him hadn’t changed 1.289 +the situation. Syaoran wouldn’t even let him sleep in the same room 1.290 +as Sakura like he used to! 1.291 + “I know that! I’ve been looking for her all morning,” Syaoran 1.292 +replied angrily, wishing that the stuffed animal could be busy doing 1.293 +anything besides pestering him at the moment. “I’ve looked 1.294 +everywhere.” He sighed resignedly. 1.295 + “Everywhere, huh?” The Seal Beast smirked proudly, crossing his 1.296 +arms. “I guess you need to get glasses, boy, because you missed 1.297 +something.” Producing a letter out of nowhere, Kero grinned 1.298 +triumphantly. He was always happy to outwit people he didn’t like and 1.299 +Syaoran ranked very highly on his list. 1.300 + Syaoran snatched the letter away from the flying teddy bear 1.301 +instantly, skimming through it. He knew that style too well. He had 1.302 +seen Sakura reading these when he had been drifting off to sleep. It 1.303 +had to be from Tomoyo. And sure enough, it was. The letter was polite 1.304 +and explained to Sakura that she had to say goodbye, that she would 1.305 +be going away. “Crap!” Syaoran tossed the letter, hurrying upstairs, 1.306 +Kero in hot pursuit. 1.307 + “So what is it? Do you know where she is?” Kero asked impatiently. 1.308 +He didn’t know what the letter meant, only that it was important. The 1.309 +fact that it said that Tomoyo was leaving and that it had been found 1.310 +near where Sakura kept her keys worried him. 1.311 + “Sakura-chan’s gone back to Japan. She’s trying to stop Daidouji- 1.312 +san,” Syaoran said over his shoulder, cramming clothes into a 1.313 +suitcase. It all made sense now. Why Sakura had been so hellbent on 1.314 +Tomoyo for the past few weeks, why she had been so happy to see 1.315 +Tomoyo during her visit, why she had needed the dark haired girl so 1.316 +much. And he wasn’t about to let some rich girl steal his wife away 1.317 +from him. Sakura was his and he was going to make sure it stayed that 1.318 +way, no matter what happened. Slamming the clasps on his suitcase, he 1.319 +stood up and scanned the room one last time for anything he might 1.320 +need. 1.321 + “So we’re going back to Japan to find Sakura-chan? Oh yeah!!” Kero 1.322 +exclaimed, bringing his small arm down in an excited gesture. “Let’s 1.323 +get goin’, kid!!”