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author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:42:35 -0400
parents fc00894c1d4a
children
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1 Dear Sakura
2 by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
3 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
4 pearsong1954@yahoo.com
7 “Where the hell is she?” Syaoran scowled as he found himself at the
8 starting point of his search, his empty bedroom. He had awoken to
9 find Sakura missing, her side of the bed barely slept in. His
10 brunette wife was almost always there when he got ready for work. He
11 had thought that she had been downstairs making breakfast or waiting
12 for him, but Sakura hadn’t been there either. His concern escalating,
13 the Chinese sorcerer had made his way through the entire house,
14 twice, to no avail. Sakura was nowhere to be found.
15 Sighing, Syaoran once again poured over the room he and his wife
16 shared. One of her small bags was gone. It was the one Tomoyo had
17 given her as a going away present when Sakura had agreed to come back
18 to Hong Kong with him. The only reason he remembered was because the
19 sickeningly cute bag held most of Sakura’s things for her gym class,
20 so it was often next to their bed so it would be readily available
21 for her in the morning. But her school supplies lay next to the bed
22 in disarray, as if Sakura had dumped them all out before taking the
23 bag. That didn’t make any sense. What good would an empty bag do?
24 Continuing his search, the frustrated man scoured the room for
25 anything else that might be a clue to his wife’s whereabouts. He
26 couldn’t tell if anything else was missing, but he found enough of
27 her things hurriedly tossed to the side that he could guess that
28 there were. His eyes slowly scanned the room before stopping on the
29 desk that lay against the far wall. On top of it lay his Lazan Board,
30 but there was a curious empty spot next to it. "The Sakura Book!” he
31 nearly yelled out. The familiar pink book was nowhere to be seen.
32 Sakura sometimes took it with her when she wanted to speak to the
33 Cards or when she simply wanted it nearby, but it always wound up on
34 that desk. A terrible sense of foreboding swept through the Chinese
35 sorcerer.
36 Running down the stairs, Syaoran forced past his older sister,
37 Shiefa, brusquely. He hardly paid attention to her as he continued
38 through the house. Where had Sakura gone off to? Why would she leave
39 so suddenly? Was there some new danger? He paused for a moment in
40 front of the door to the garden. He had to relax. He had told Sakura
41 time and time again that if she cried it would keep her from getting
42 anything done. It was the same as this situation. If he panicked, he
43 wouldn’t be able to resolve the situation. Nodding to himself, he
44 tried to clear his thoughts. Sakura obviously hadn’t had time to grab
45 more than a few things, so she was obviously in a hurry. She had
46 taken the Book of Sakura with her, so it could have something to do
47 with the Cards. Hadn’t she mentioned some dream that had concerned
48 her lately? He couldn’t recall what it had been about exactly. So
49 perhaps she had rushed off to whatever this new magical emergency
50 was. But then why hadn’t she told him? He may not be as powerful as
51 she, but he had vowed to protect her. Tomoyo had made him promise
52 that the night before their wedding. It had been an unexpected visit
53 from the dark haired girl, one he hadn’t quite understood. Why would
54 the Daidouji girl come to him rather than to Sakura the night before
55 their wedding? She was obsessed with his bride to be, after all. But
56 she had come to him that night. Her normal smile hadn’t been on her
57 face and that had immediately worried him that it might have
58 something to do with Sakura. But after he had finally allowed her
59 inside, Tomoyo had watched him carefully for what felt like an
60 eternity, studying his very soul. When she finally spoke, her soft
61 voice sounded extremely far away, as if she had traveled the world
62 over and was too exhausted to take another step. They had spoken for
63 a short time, mostly about Sakura, though Syaoran had been uneasy the
64 entire conversation. Finally, Tomoyo had walked up to him and looked
65 him straight in the eyes. For someone who had faced countless
66 hardships and numerous battles, Syaoran had thought he was prepared
67 for anything. But Tomoyo’s infinite gaze, her stormy blue eyes seeing
68 deep past all that he was... Syaoran had flinched. He had barely
69 heard her speak and it took him a moment to piece together what he
70 had heard. She wanted him to promise that he would take care of
71 Sakura, that he would make her happy. Her words had irritated him,
72 and he had grown angry with her at the time. “What are you talking
73 about? Of course I’ll take care of her,” he had said.
74 Tomoyo had merely stared at him, her deep eyes never losing their
75 hold on his. His anger seemed to pass through her as if she hadn’t
76 even noticed it. “I want you to promise that you will always make
77 Sakura happy. I want you to keep her safe,” she said in her gentle
78 voice, but there had been no questioning her. Despite her gentle
79 façade, her words were laced with steel. He would protect her, he
80 would make her happy, or... He didn’t even want to know the
81 consequences. He tried to laugh at the thought now, of this pale and
82 weak girl doing anything to him if he didn’t fulfil his promise, but
83 he couldn’t bring himself to find any humor in the situation. He knew
84 in his heart that Tomoyo had been dead serious that day, that there
85 was no falling short on his side of the deal. There was something
86 about the dark haired girl that had frightened him. He had agreed
87 with her demands quickly, hoping she would leave him alone. But she
88 had waited a moment longer, still staring at him. Brushing back some
89 hair, she offered him a small smile and a nod before turning around.
90 He hadn’t seen her leave and he had almost convinced himself that she
91 had merely been a ghost before he finally got a hold of himself.
92 Finding himself in the garden, Syaoran walked out into the chilly
93 morning, holding himself as the bitter wind rushed past him. That
94 promise felt as if it had been made a lifetime ago. But still, a
95 promise is a promise. And even more than that, this was his wife. He
96 was supposed to protect her. So where had she gone to without him? If
97 it was something to do with her magic, then why wouldn’t she bring
98 him along? It didn’t make any sense. A small spring of anger welled
99 up inside him as he fought against the cold. She needed him, didn’t
100 she? Of course she did. But then why hadn’t she told him of whatever
101 this was? Why would she run off without him? He was her husband. He
102 was the one that she was supposed to come with for everything. But
103 recently, she had spent all of her time talking about that Daidouji
104 girl. He had gotten so sick of hearing ‘Tomoyo’ all around the house.
105 Even Fanren had started talking about her! He knew she was Sakura’s
106 friend, but he hated seeing the one he loved talking about another
107 all the time, even if it was just another girl. He had gotten angry
108 at her over it, but he thought that had been resolved. Besides, he
109 didn’t talk about other people all the time, so why should she?
110 Shaking his head, Syaoran once again tried to clear his thoughts,
111 but the jealousy and anger wouldn’t go away. Even if Sakura was the
112 most powerful magical being on the planet, why would she hurry off
113 without him? Did she think she didn’t need him for this? What if
114 something terrible happened that she needed him to save her from?
115 Tomoyo sure as hell couldn’t save her. For all Sakura had talked
116 about her recently, the pale girl could never help her with some
117 magical problem. That was why she needed him for something like this.
118 It was foolish to rush off on her own. Now he would have to find her,
119 and, most likely at the last possible instant, save her.
120 Syaoran’s scowl grew darker as he stepped out among the flowers. He
121 was liking this less and less. What the hell could Sakura be up to?
122 He was her husband. He had a right to know, even if this didn’t have
123 anything to do with the Cards. They were married and he was the one
124 she should be going to with her problems so he could fix them. But
125 instead, she always turned to Tomoyo, crying out her problems in
126 letters and telephone conversations that cost a big chunk of Sakura’s
127 paycheck because she wouldn’t get off the phone until it was pitch
128 black outside. But could Tomoyo ever fix her problems? No. She was
129 merely a shoulder to cry on. But somehow, Sakura always felt better
130 about everything. And that made Syaoran even more jealous about the
131 attention that someone else was receiving from his wife. Sakura would
132 crawl back into bed after writing a long letter or after she had been
133 on the phone with Tomoyo for entirely too long and she would smile
134 happily, as if she were completely refreshed and wrap her arms around
135 him before falling asleep. He was glad to see Sakura happier, even if
136 it puzzled him, but he was angry that it was through someone else. He
137 knew that he didn’t think Sakura needed to talk about everything and
138 that he didn’t always feel like listening after a hard day at work,
139 but he was still frustrated that he wasn’t the one making her feel
140 better.
141 Tomoyo’s visit had proven even worse for the Chinese sorcerer. She
142 had managed to captivate the hearts of his family, in particular his
143 older sister, Fanren. Even his mother seemed to take favor with the
144 pale beauty! How could she get Ieran-sama’s attention when even he
145 failed under her scrutiny? That had infuriated him. His wife had been
146 so obliviously happy during the Japanese girl’s stay, spending every
147 conceivable moment with her. The thing that had gotten to him the
148 most was that Sakura had looked happier during Tomoyo’s brief stay
149 than he could ever remember her, even during the honeymoon. He hadn’t
150 been able to wait for Tomoyo to leave so things could get back to
151 normal again. But they hadn’t been able to. Sakura had seemed even
152 more distant lately, her conversations invariably leading back to the
153 dark haired girl. He had lost his temper several times and though he
154 regretted it now, he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He just didn’t
155 want to hear about her anymore in his house. Sakura was his wife,
156 damn it! No one else’s. No one else had claim to her. He was the one
157 she should always come to for help. He was the one who should always
158 make her happy. He should be the one she was always talking about!
159 So wrapped up in his burning jealousy was Syaoran that he barely
160 noticed the rustle of leaves in a tree above and the sound of
161 branches shifting as someone leapt out. He felt the wind whip past
162 his face as he narrowly dodged the leaping form. His eyes quickly
163 focused on his attacker, his body shifting to a fighting stance.
164 “Meiling?!” he blurted out in surprise. His beautiful cousin stood
165 before him in a short, blue Chinese dress that barely fell past her
166 thighs. Intricate lavender flowers lay entwined across the deep blue.
167 Her amber eyes met his with an anger that sent ripples through him.
168 In a fluid movement that looked more like a dance than an attack, her
169 fist lunged for him. Syaoran ducked it easily. “What the hell are you
170 doing?” he shouted at her, blocking a kick. He tried to sense any
171 magic coming from her to see if she had been enchanted, but he could
172 feel nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. All he had to do was glance
173 at those burning amber eyes to see the fury that held her.
174 Meiling kicked again, driving Syaoran back with her strong legs.
175 This man had once been her fiance, the man that she had loved with
176 all of her heart. The man that she still loved. Which is why she was
177 still so angry with him. How he could have left her for some Japanese
178 girl was completely beyond her. Had he simply been infatuated with
179 Sakura’s magic? That was part of why he fell for the white haired
180 boy, so it was reasonable. And as Sakura had grown in magical power,
181 so had Syaoran’s feelings for her, as if the two ideas were linked
182 firmly together. Whatever the reason, he had spurned his cousin’s
183 affections and instead married the Cardmistress. To say that Meiling
184 had been distraught was an understatement. Dreams of marrying her
185 beloved Syaoran had been with her since childhood. The bitter taste
186 of defeat, of having the once she loved so callously toss her aside
187 had been maddening. How he could dare do that to her when she had
188 given him everything had picked at her heart the same way a
189 thoughtless person pulls away a butterflies wings. Her wings had been
190 stolen from her and she could no longer soar. All because some hussy
191 had come along and stolen the attention of the only one she had ever
192 loved. She would never forgive Sakura for taking away her Syaoran.
193 But at the same time, she couldn’t forgive Syaoran either. ‘But I
194 gave you everything,’ she had whispered when she had learned of the
195 wedding. Syaoran had tried to explain it to her, but she ran off. She
196 hadn’t let him see her tears. But as soon as she was alone, they came
197 bitterly and with a vengeance. ‘I loved you and I gave you
198 everything. I gave you my heart. Why couldn’t you accept it? Is there
199 something wrong with it? Is it not good enough?’ she had asked
200 herself in the midst of her tears. But no answers had ever come to
201 her, from her own heart or from Syaoran.
202 Though the marriage had only been half a year ago at the most,
203 Meiling could have sworn it had been an eternity. Forced to watch her
204 beloved cousin and his blushing bride had driven her near the
205 breaking point. To see the man she loved with another woman, to know
206 that her lonely heart would never receive his attention was too
207 sickeningly cruel. How Tomoyo dealt with it, she couldn’t begin to
208 fathom. All she knew was the pain. It was her constant companion, a
209 travel guide to life that she had been unlucky enough to come across.
210 And all the while, Syaoran had never once shown any sympathy, any
211 remorse for breaking her heart. How thoughtless! How cruel! How dare
212 he!?! Meiling renewed her assault with further vigor, her rage
213 fueling her near dance-like attacks.
214 Syaoran kept on the defensive, but he was beginning to tire.
215 Meiling had gone crazy. That was the only explanation. Why else would
216 she fight him like this? It made no sense. He decided that the only
217 way to finish this battle would be to take her out. She seemed in no
218 mood to give up. With a sigh, he lunged forward. He felt bad for what
219 he had to do, but it had to be done. He and Meiling had sparred often
220 enough in the past and he nearly always won. So he would have to
221 defeat her here and find out just what was going on. He waited
222 patiently for her to collapse, but to his surprise, his fist missed
223 her entirely. His eyes widened as he saw her leg dart out. A painful
224 realization hit him seconds before her leg did. She was a whole lot
225 faster than he had ever imagined. This fight had been hers from the
226 beginning. Pain blossomed through him like a sudden and unexpected
227 supernova. The wind rushed out of him in a frenzied path to escape
228 his burning lungs. His stomach called out in agony as he first
229 hunched over and then collapsed to the ground altogether. “How..?” he
230 got out weakly.
231 Meiling crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing as she
232 watched the man lying in pain on the grass below her. “Didn’t think I
233 could beat you, huh? You thought I’d always settle for second place
234 with you, is that it? I always got second and you always got first as
235 children. You always came in ahead of me.” Brushing a dark pigtail
236 over her shoulder, she knelt next to her prone cousin. “I let you
237 win. I loved you, so I was happy to let you win as long as I could be
238 the one to finish next to you. I loved how happy it made you, how
239 exhilarated you always were when you succeeded. You always had this
240 thirst for victory, for winning. And I was pleased to let you drink
241 its nectar from my hands.” She shrugged absently as she stood up,
242 stretching. “And let’s face it, Syaoran. Martial Arts was never your
243 thing. You were always better at magic anyway.”
244 Trying to catch his breath, Syaoran struggled with what she was
245 telling him. So all those times that he had beaten her as a child,
246 every sparring match he had won, they were because she had let him?
247 This girl who had been there for almost all of the life he could
248 remember, who had always trailed just behind him, had allowed him to
249 pull ahead simply because of her feelings for him? Memories came back
250 in a flood, of her making careless mistakes when they were sparring
251 or slowing just enough when they were sprinting to allow him to pass.
252 He sighed painfully. It seemed that not only his stomach would
253 bruise, but his ego as well. “What were you thinking?” he asked
254 angrily, forcing himself up on his hands. He turned his firey gaze on
255 her, but she didn’t look like she was in a mood for it. Her own
256 smoldering eyes made his feel like simmering coal in comparison.
257 “I won. I refuse to live in your shadow anymore, Syaoran. I refuse
258 to let you continue hurting me like this. I won't lie down and let
259 you force your damned marriage in my face.” Meiling began to walk
260 away from him, the wind playing idly with her hair. “So I’m finished.
261 I’m not going to let myself stick around and wait for things to work
262 out. I’m leaving, Syaoran. My life is my own. I just took it back
263 from you. I gave you my heart and if it’s not good enough for you,
264 then I might as well leave.” Tears sparkled in her eyes as she turned
265 to face him one last time. “I love you, Syaoran. And I always will.
266 But I won’t let you hurt me anymore. Goodbye.” And with that, she
267 leapt into the trees.
268 “Meiling! Meiling!!” Syaoran cried out after her. But it was too
269 late. She was already gone. “Damn it!” Struggling to his knees, the
270 Chinese sorcerer winced as pain shot through his belly. “What else
271 could go wrong today?” he muttered to himself, walking back towards
272 the house. Just what was he supposed to tell his mother, the
273 matriarch of the Li family? He dreaded the thought. She would not be
274 pleased about Meiling’s sudden decision. ‘Probably like she wasn’t
275 pleased with my decision to marry Sakura-chan instead of Meiling,” he
276 thought disparately.
277 “Sakura-chan’s gone!!”
278 “Ack!!” Syaoran reeled back, getting ready to attack the demon that
279 had leapt out at him. His heart finally slowed as the Seal Beast came
280 into view, concern etched all over it’s small yellow head. Syaoran
281 pushed past him, not in the mood to deal with Kero’s antics at the
282 moment.
283 “Hey, brat, I said ‘Sa-ku-ra-chan-is-gone’. What, you don’t speak
284 Japanese all of a sudden?” Kero asked irritably. He never did much
285 like the Chinese sorcerer and Sakura’s marriage to him hadn’t changed
286 the situation. Syaoran wouldn’t even let him sleep in the same room
287 as Sakura like he used to!
288 “I know that! I’ve been looking for her all morning,” Syaoran
289 replied angrily, wishing that the stuffed animal could be busy doing
290 anything besides pestering him at the moment. “I’ve looked
291 everywhere.” He sighed resignedly.
292 “Everywhere, huh?” The Seal Beast smirked proudly, crossing his
293 arms. “I guess you need to get glasses, boy, because you missed
294 something.” Producing a letter out of nowhere, Kero grinned
295 triumphantly. He was always happy to outwit people he didn’t like and
296 Syaoran ranked very highly on his list.
297 Syaoran snatched the letter away from the flying teddy bear
298 instantly, skimming through it. He knew that style too well. He had
299 seen Sakura reading these when he had been drifting off to sleep. It
300 had to be from Tomoyo. And sure enough, it was. The letter was polite
301 and explained to Sakura that she had to say goodbye, that she would
302 be going away. “Crap!” Syaoran tossed the letter, hurrying upstairs,
303 Kero in hot pursuit.
304 “So what is it? Do you know where she is?” Kero asked impatiently.
305 He didn’t know what the letter meant, only that it was important. The
306 fact that it said that Tomoyo was leaving and that it had been found
307 near where Sakura kept her keys worried him.
308 “Sakura-chan’s gone back to Japan. She’s trying to stop Daidouji-
309 san,” Syaoran said over his shoulder, cramming clothes into a
310 suitcase. It all made sense now. Why Sakura had been so hellbent on
311 Tomoyo for the past few weeks, why she had been so happy to see
312 Tomoyo during her visit, why she had needed the dark haired girl so
313 much. And he wasn’t about to let some rich girl steal his wife away
314 from him. Sakura was his and he was going to make sure it stayed that
315 way, no matter what happened. Slamming the clasps on his suitcase, he
316 stood up and scanned the room one last time for anything he might
317 need.
318 “So we’re going back to Japan to find Sakura-chan? Oh yeah!!” Kero
319 exclaimed, bringing his small arm down in an excited gesture. “Let’s
320 get goin’, kid!!”